May theme from the Sketchbook Challenge

Looks like May is going to be an inspiring month ;-)) The new theme is:

Can't Resist This!

It was posted on 05/01/2011 by Judy Herwitt. Now the first thing that comes to my mind is ... chocolate !! <Sigh> But don't forget that you can use stuff to work as a resist ...
For more information, look here: 

Can't Resist This!

And now - have fun and show us, what you can't resist ;-))

April's Theme

This month's theme is Branching Out, which means expanding your skills, sprouting new ideas, discovering unknown territory. The flip side of that is Out on a Limb, which means taking risks, facing fear of failure, getting into your discomfort zone, facing your Inner Critic, and taking the plunge with courage.

This month's fearless leader suggests that you :

try "...something new, something that really challenges you, even something that inspires fear of failure. Do something that your Inner Critic knows you can't do! There is no failure or "can't do" in branching out; when you are honestly challenging yourself you will always be treated by a surprise. Remember, only you can know if you are truly branching out. One person's safe zone is another's unknown territory. Oh, and don't forget to have fun!!!"
Looking forward to seeing your journal quilts on this theme!

Spilling Over

Hi All, Kit Lang checking in.

thought I'd share with you my piece for the Spilling Over challenge.

This is made up of two different hand painted fabrics, some dyed scrim from Deborah O'Hare at The Blue Hare and some roving in blues, greens and pinks which I lightly felted to the linen/cotton blend hand painted background and then quilted with an assortment of variegated threads.

The 'spilling over" part comes in with the blue/pink/bright overlays which look like spilled paint to me.

Process at my process blog Coneflowers In Leslieville. 

Hope you had a great weekend!

4. Journal Quilt!

After I used my first "carte blanche", it was about time I did my 4. Journal Quilt. I still was fascinated by the theme "opposites" - so I used it. Is there a stronger contrast as the one between white and black? To me, no - so I wanted to play with that. And I became more and more intrigued by handstitching on the surface - just a sample for this is the work by Lisa Call. Last not least, I wanted to explore the contrast of straight line and curved lines.
So; I set to work: ironed a piece of white linen of about 7", backed it with a piece of thing batting and picked a fairly thick silk sewing thread (guess it's supposed to be used for buttonholes?). Than I settled in front of a nice movie and started stitching - by hand ... and I liked it!  First, I tried to do straight lines across without marking. Not a good idea ;-)) So I unstitched my first few stitches and wondered how I could mark my line? The pojagi class I took some weeks ago came to my mind, and I tried pulling my needle along a ruler across the fabric with a little pressure. It worked ... I should have used it for ALL of my straight lines ;-)) I did 7 straight lines on one half of my piece. For the second half, I wanted a contrasting way of lines. Hmmmm ... how about circles? Yes. I started with a circle - and made it bigger as I had first thought. And I made up my mind - just one circle is enough.
I am very pleased with my 4. Journal Quilt - I will for sure explore hand-stitching further. Oh my, many more possibilities ;-))

Happy March!

The Journal Quilt Challenge theme for this month is "spilling over".

spill over

vb

(intr, adverb) to overflow or be forced out of an area, container, etc.

n spillover

1. Chiefly US and Canadian the act of spilling over

2. Chiefly US and Canadian the excess part of something

3. (Economics) Economics any indirect effect of public expenditure

4. (Astronomy) Astronomy the part of the noise associated with a radio telescope using a dish antenna caused by pick-up by a secondary antenna from directions that do not intercept the dish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the original poster says: "A free expression in words, color, pattern, and your own personal style - a time to spill over on the page of life.  "

go with the theme have fun - and I hope to actually produce my February journal quilts sometime before the end of March!

Cheers,

Kit

3rd Journal Quilt: "Opposites"

This third Journal Quilt was a rather quick project. It started with a simple statement - "I wonder how stitching through acrylic paint pieces would work?" Jens heard this simple sentence - next thing I know, I had a leftover piece of acrylic paint (it had dried and hardened on the palette) in my hand. It was yellow ... and the new theme for our challenge was "Opposites" ... in my opinion, that called for purple. Out came the box with my purple scraps, and I pieced a roughly 6" square in dark-purple scraps. I layered it with a backing and some batting. Next thing I took the acrylic paint piece ... and after all the straight seams in the background, I cut it up with some curved lines. With a little help of Mistyfuse, I glued my two pieces down to my background. Than I quilted - with yellow thread, of course ... - a freehand-grid over it. Last step was finishing the piece; done with a zig-zag in yellow.
Conclusion: stitching through acrylic paint pieces works ... but: it breaks very easily. When I use it again, I'll use some very thin netting on top of it to keep stray pieces in place. I'm already glad about this Journal Quilt idea, it gives me motivation to really try new techniques hands-on and stops me from only thinking about doing it. What will I try next ??? For the 4th Journal Quilt, the theme will still be "Opposites" ...

Theme for February Challenge

From The Sketchbook Challenge is... ::drumroll::

OPPOSITES

This is wide open. You will make your choices as you go along. Consider this: the best way to enhance something in an image is with its contrast, its opposite. A warm color will be set off with just the right touch of a very cool color. Rough texture is emphasized by smooth surface. Agitated lines have a stronger voice when contrasted with gentle areas.

Opposites include those of color, temperature, orientation in space, kinds of marks... and more.

Journal Quilt No 2 - "ART"

My second Journal Quilt was actually finished Saturday, but I did not find enough time to post it ... Sorry !
I painted the letters on my pieced background, and added threadwork with white thread on top of the white fabric paint. The binding was done with an almost black knitting yarn and a strand of metallic white embroidery thread. And the final touch ... was done with Marabu Fun Glitter Glue! I put white / silver glue on top of my letters, and added a small red line of glue to the binding. On my blog you'll find a bit more information and more pictures of the process.
Even if this piece started of as a "use what you have"-project - after the background was done, I knew I wanted to add the word "ART". Art has become an important part of my life - therefore, it is "Highly Priced". Adding words / letters starts to intrigue me, so be prepared to see more of that in the future ;-))

"Taking Flight"

This is my second journal quilt for our blog challege (theme: Highly Prized).

This one talks about personal empowerment working hand-in-hand with belief in a spiritual power, and how that combination propels me forward, gives me strength, and provides balance in my life.

Explication and technique at my process blog: Coneflowers In Leslieville

Grandmother's Flower Garden

I prize lots of things but nothing really seemed to punch my get-up-and-make-a-journal-quilt-about-it! That is until I started putting the binding on a bright batik quilt, one so full of color, that I named it "Grandmother's Flower Garden."  This quilt began bringing back so many highly prized memories I have of my grandmother's flower garden.....and that's when I had it.....my ah ha moment....an idea for my highly prized journal quilt. 

Her garden was always a simple one with zinnias and marigolds and canna lilies - oh, just all those old time flowers that re-seed year after year and flourish in the heat of the South. 

So, I found one of my thread sketched fabric cards, printed it on fabric and surrounded this pretty lady in her smart hat with imaginary flowers.  There you have it, my highly prized journal quilt. 

It's a wee one at 7 1/2" x 9".

                                                    Marty



Highly Prized - Grandmother's Flower Garden - a journal quilt



My first Journal Quilt - finished ;-))

While I tested an idea for creating wood-like structures with felt and wool, I suddenly realized I liked my little piece very, very much. So I measured it, hoping it would be big enough - which, in fact, was! I cut it down to a roughly 6,5" x 6,5" square and declared it the base for my very first Journal Quilt.

Surprise, surprise, my background reminded me of wood ... Something like "forests" came to my my mind - how to depict that on 6"x6"??? I spotted a fabric with dwarfs in the wood - would that work? Let's give it a try ... Thanks to Mistyfuse, the dwarf was sitting comfortably on this little piece of felt in no time. 

Next came grass - and another mushroom ;-)) The stitching was done with several threads, one of them hand-dyed (the bright green at the left and the right side). Using this one was hard on the HORIZON, I would not like to do a big piece with it (or maybe I just need to play a bit with different needles and settings on my machine ... it really looks great to me ...)

For the next step I wanted to add leaves. But I wanted also a 3D-effect ... I joined a leaf-printed fabric with a solid handdyed fabric and cut the leaves out. For the veines, I used stitching. See the tiny leaf on top of the picture? That was done without any help ... and I struggled to get it done properly. Than I heard a tiny voice in my head say - "use a stabilizer!" I did, as you see in the other leaves, and doing the stitching on them was no problem at all.

Before I sewed the leaves down on the piece, the edges were secured with a zigzag. Than the leaves were sewn on with a single stitching line in the main veine. This way, they add depth to the design and I hope, you have the impression of a dwarf, sitting hidden behind leaves !
And where's the connection to "Highly Prized"? The piece started off just because I liked my felted test-piece so much. The dwarf was just a cute thing to use. But while I worked on it and silently asked myself the same question - I realized: dwarfs are common figures in literature and fairy tales. As a bookseller, I LOVE to read, and I love fantasy stories. Therefore, the dwarf in the woods is a symbol for all the figures and creatures in my favourite stories!
Working on my first Journal Quilt was a LOT of fun. I'm happy that I was able to visualize an idea and to make it work. Now I'm looking forward to your comments and your questions ;-))

Highly Prized

This is the first of my journal quilts for our project on the theme "Highly Prized" (click pic for greater detail)

When I thought of what I prize highly, I immediately thought of my BSP (Beloved Spouse for those of you who are new to my blog), my children, my family. There is nothing that I prize more highly than my precious family and our love for one another, and I am nearly daily, consciously grateful for BSP and the life we have made for ourselves.

If I'd had the ability, I would have printed the words and the photo onto the fabric, but in lieu of that ability, I've glued and stitched them (the words with clear filament thread).

Otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with this abstract and celebratory visioning of our life. 

Highly prized - my Beloved Spouse, our children and our life together.

Your thoughts? Ideas for improvment?

How it's made at my process blog