what if

what if #169: recolored patchwork

...so continuing from my last post where i covered up a section of patchwork that was not fitting properly... i thought what if i use a sheer fabric just to tweek the color a bit instead. kind of how you work a painting. recently gifted silk chiffon does the trick. coloring over and existing patchwork could be quite interesting. you can even see the seams or old stitching beneath. again i am trying it ragged style because what is underneath shows a bit like a frame or a shadow, adding dimension. i'll call it watercolor applique. ragged style.

i have noticed that chiffon works well for a ragged edge because of the nature if the crimp, it keeps its threads in place.

what if #168: patched patchwork

so what if you don't like it. or at least part of it?  what if you cover it, or at least part of it?  and then it seems ok. and has quite a charm about it i think. i think so. and i feel this may come in handy. a lot. i will call it cover up applique. ragged style.

what if # 167: an applique outline

so what if the thread used to sew down the applique doesn't match? what if only the outline of the heart is red. less stress and nice too.  white linen heart, relaxed needle turn applique on pink linen. might be nice white on white too. with red stitching of course.

what if # 160: reverse collage applique

i have been thinking a lot about positive negative lately and building an image in reverse and so today after playing with the idea of a reverse applique star i thought what if the reverse applique was placed over some crazy collage to give the image more interest. random scraps and fussy cuts arranged on a backing and then covered with a star cut out. and what if i add some dimension to the mask with crayon. regular crayon, scribble on and ironed into the fabric, between the pieces of brown paper to absorb the wax. i have done that before. it fades slightly with washing but work fine for shadowing.
crazy reverse quilting? maybe this falls into cqr? shall i try this with dots? i think so.

what if #157: halo applique

i wanted to use a dark fussy cut motif on a same dark color ground.  the dark elephant was cut from a light ground so there was a halo of gold around it.  while needle turning  the edge i asked myself what if i just leave a small amount of the light ground showing?...but then what if (?) i vary the amounts of that lightness in thickness, letting it show more here and disappear there.  i was thinking this would give it more of a drawn line quality.   i let the stitches show a bit to to break the line here and there.  i think this effect makes the applique and the background integrate well.  technique being used here.

this method is seems sort of another version of this...except working with the background of the cut out as a line.

what if #156: crazy dots

...so what if i combine crazy and dots?  layer one technique onver another?  works for me.  foundation pieced crazy square free pieced to background.  applique dots outlined in magic thread.

what if #155: stuffed dots

so Dee asked if i was stuffing the dots and i wasn't...until i asked myself what if i do?  and what if i use indigo shibori?  i tried silk and cotton but the silk worked the best because the shine shows off the relief.  they are stuffed with cotton batting recycled from an old stuffed animal.  i placed a ball of batting in the outlined circle, covered it with a larger circle of shibori and needle turned the dot catching the batting inside, working within and against the outline.  pressing on the dots spread the batting to edges. nice texture. imagine lots of them.

i am working on the patched knee of my old jeans which i cut off to make shorts.

what if #151: applique outside the lines

 ...i often sketch my appliques directly on fabric and then needle turn to hide the lines. today i wondered what if i don't worry so much about the lines? maybe if they show here and there i would get a nice sketchy effect. this ghostly beast was drawn freehand on an old stained linen with micron archival pen. permanent. sewn down needle turned style, quickly (with out worry).  there is an embroidered border on the old linen randomly running through the figure. stitched to a dobby woven cotton background with additional embroidered details in very pale colors ...again over drawn lines. i love this so much i am leaving here now to do some more.

area shown here is 4" x 5".

what if #147: ikat quilting

somewhere along the line after feeling a relationship between the visual effect of the double kantha and ikat , i thought what if ? i expand on that idea and mimic ikat patterns with that stitch.  by extending outside the shape. and then i did the same by combining it with patchwork. so the feathered stitch has more of a solid center. the patchwork here has been skatched, that it patched (applique) over a free hand sketch. linen and cotton patching over indigo dyed linen base. dmc floss for quilting.

what if #137: nine patch cover up

....the question was, after noticing the nine patch within the woven check, what if (?) i cover up parts of the woven pattern to isolate certain areas, highlighting the normally unnoticed nine patch motif. and what if (?) i arrange the cover-up to produce another 9 patch configuration.
each applique square was cut to the size of 3 x 3 woven squares. it is interesting to notice that most woven checks are slightly elongated so the patches are not exactly square. i used my skatching method here, that is a piece was cut slightly larger that the area to be patched. it was needle turned to fit into the space i wanted to cover. TIP- when working with straight edges it is easier to start by finger pressing a fold on the first edge, matching it to the first edge to be sewn.  there are many other options for block variation here.

dobby woven yarn dyed check cotton ground, cotton, linen and silk skatches. overall size of skatched area is approximately 4" x 4"

the dots are part of another thought.

more about undoing pattern over here.