what if

what if # 163: thread patchwork

as i continued from  here and started to quilt the background... i wondered what if (?)  i use stitches to give the impression of a patchwork background... i marked a fine grid using a pen and tiny dots to set up a  framework and stitched every other square in contrasting thread to color in the checkerboard. i think it forms a nice order and surface interest. and brings it into patchwork mode.

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 #143: combining 2 things

....my question is what if(?) i combine two types of textiles. one over the other. in concept.
antique linen embroidery over old cotton hand pieced patchwork, using a double exposure computer graphics tool. just to get the idea. to be executed real time soon. isn't this cool? it make me ask what if the quilting pattern or embroidery has no planned placement over the patchwork? that could work. 

what if #134: weaving a ninepatch

.....i have chosen the nine patch as a focus for a new project so i am experimenting with the idea a bit. first i asked what if i weave the nine patch?  while i was asking myself what if i start a different way so there is more indigo i realized that if you flip it over, the color arrangement is the opposite.
then..... since i am also focusing on dots i asked why not just tack it with thread beads for now to hold it to the foundation...
1.5" strips, white linen and cotton indigo
woven and tacked to a striped cotton indigo base.
i need to adjust the width of the outer strips  so i have the proper seam allowance... more on this. lots more.

what if #130: fake couching

.......i am in a bit of a time crunch on this quilt and i was going to embroider some lines and then couch over them but i thought what if i just draw them and then couch them. who would know. works fine and i have other ideas now. pretty good fake, ya think? loving it. the couching goes through and doubles as a quilting stitch too! lines drawn with laundry marker. stitched with 3 strands dmc.

what if #126: fabric graph paper

i always design stuff on point paper. especially patchwork. but with a more direct method in mind i asked myself what if (?)  i use the natural grid of a yarn dyed plaid to provide the guidelines of a patchwork sketch. a sketch for a skatch. seems a very direct method indeed.

.....i have started to applique the design. and i like it. a lot.

what if #125: patchwork skitchskatchwork

..... of course this is just a computer collage but i couldn't help but ask what if i cut up the skitched skatchwork and pieced it back together? continued from what if # 122.

what if #121: skitch and skatch

this one is dedicated to Paula, (one of my favorite stitchers and a fellow what-iffer) and her recent skitch-capades... a continuation from my last post and my old adventures over here. what if i combine skitch with skatch as an all over effect? working on a sketch with patch and stitch. 3" lion block, applique patch work and stitched face. 

silk and cotton on linen. i am freeforming the approach to applique, cutting a piece larger than needed and using turned applique using the drawn lines as a guide. i suppose you could cut pattern pieces if you need to be more exact. i like the ease of going out of the lines once in a while. i am having great fun fussy cutting patterns and fitting them in as special effects.

what if #120: skatchwork

this is a continuation of what if #43.... an idea i explored where patchwork can be done applique style. this time i am really looking at a similar application but moving away from the traditional pattern framework and asking what if (?) i just make a sketch of a quilt block on fabric (laundry marker and micron pen) and fill in the spaces applique style. since it is kind of a combo of sketching and patchwork...i am calling it skatchwork. i am working small( 3" square), with mostly silk and the teeniest of scraps. freestyle, some ragged and some turned edge and probably cleaning it up with a bit of thread filler. and of course changing my mind along the way..continued here

what if #110: weaving patchwork

....i have often thought how weaving is based on a grid system and have taken inspiration from woven designs when designing patchwork. so i was asking myself what if  it is the other way around. weaving designs inspired by patchwork.
wool on cotton warp.  3" square.