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reviving some old doodles (even though it is not wednesday) and wondering what if you make your own prints? diluted textile paint and micron pen over an existing dot print. cotton twill. i don't know too much about tossing repeats or motifs, but who cares?
......i need a heart shape, what if i cut an old pillow?
mark, cut, remove excess stuffing, resew. ready to cover. and what if i cover it by wrapping? just a thought...
.....i created this quilt woven piece a while ago. and i quilted it on the machine. and that was a question that went something like what if i quilt this by machine? will i like it? and i still don't like machine quilting even if it is faster. but then i asked myself (as i recall) ...what if i was to whip that stitch with a contrasting color, to make it look twisted, would it help? and it certainly did. i almost forgot this one...it changes the look and texture, and by golly, maybe i can do some machine quilting after all.... here and there....maybe.
cotton woven strips cut with curves
woven together
machine quilted to poplin
embroidered dots.
clipped and machine washed.
machine stitch whipped with 2 strands black floss.
mending methods have my interest at the moment. i am still working with the vintage piece i started in the previous post. i should mention i quickly dipped it in in brown dye to disguise some staining. some of hand stitch seams have pulled apart so i thought what if (?) i wrap the seam in a bar of satin stitch. in this case i am going all the way through and catching the backing fabric. i used one layer of thin cotton batting and gauze so i could really get a feel for the tension created. the stitch forms a gully type line on the back and fits in with regular quilting. the method is decorative and very reinforcing. not to mention the texture. and again, quilting and embroidery become one step.
i have a lot of old pieced scraps, worn pieces and leftovers from quilts. etc. i used my new found machine free piecing knowledge and patched some worn scraps back together, doing the best i could to retain the look of the original pattern. some odd little patches resulted, but it added character to the piecing. terrible photo but you get the idea. mended and refashioned patchwork. 
for years i have been wondering what if i try to make a quilt that mimics a waffle. with 3D cubes. i just had to get it out of my system. this is a rough commuter train trial and a quick scan.
one waffle block
linen and cotton
1 7/8" x 1 7/8" overall
5/8" squares
english paper piecing method
cube lightly stuffed with cotton batting.
i like it. it works. very slow going. difficult to attach cube. cannot be done by machine. to be continued, slowly.
i have added a 3D category for this one. i want to try some more dimension projects to fit into the new flickr group- dimensional textiles- that glennis has started.
the question: what if quilting is done with dots?
the reasoning: like tying without the tails. points of color. tacking the layers without lines of stitching. a new kind of texture. a short cut to combine embellishment with quilting.
the texture is very fun.
the process is very simple.
the back is clean and acceptable.(picture 2)
designs and shading can be accomplished with different color dots or combining different strands of color.
4 strands give a nice bulk .
i learned that threading the needle with 2 strands and using them double gives less bulk at the needle eye and it is easier to get through the fabric. threading the needle with 4 strands is difficult and is like 8 strands at the needle eye when sewing.
freehand dot placement and varying the stitch repeat gives nice variation.
the drape of the final product depends on how close the dots are.
it is easier to stitch the dots farther apart and then go back and fill in if you want them closer.
after catching both layers several times, the thread from each complete dot is carried in between the layers to the next dot so the stitch is a dot on both sides.
this post is continued from here
the answer to what if quilting was to be done with dots(?) is you get a very interesting texture and tack the layers together very securely.
6" x 6"
linen sandwich, thinnest cotton batting
9 patch sampler
dots embroidered with 4 strands of cotton floss.
reversible
in process
continued here
dots formed with thread, ombre pattern to soften a woven stripe. 2" x 5". cotton on cotton. small stitched study for FEVER quilt.
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