what if

what if #166: discharge on indigo gauze

...i was really asking myself what if dots could be square?  and what if windows are dots, holes to see through?  and that was working and led to the question what if i make windows by bleaching indigo... i cut a stencil from freezer paper and ironed it to a piece of very loosely woven indigo, because it had holes in it and i was still thinking "see through". the discharge paste was soft scrub because i had some here. and the punch line is... the back!  windows but softer. i like the back where the bleach worked its way though, but not all the way. a cloudy day.

what if #161: reverse embroidery

...i have done so much with reverse applique, what if the same is done with embroidery?  i thought of this while working on this section of a project, and before i filled in the leaf i thought what if i don't.  now i am asking what if (?)  i embroider around things and build  the image by focusing on the background. this particular sample section is indigo split back stitch on linen. i like the relief of it.

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 #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 # 145: double kantha dot

....as a continuation of the one color nine patch, all indigo in different weights and textures after asking what if its all the same color in concept but using different fabrics. and then what if i quilt the dot only. a freezer paper stencil was used as a guide to trace the circle shape border.. kantha style running stitch in both directions filled the circle. border removed for a softer edge, yes what if there was no hard edge? .
.... i like how the 2 directional stitching looks like ikat after the border was removed, how it has a woven feel. and the texture is more than marvelous. and the stitching is a reversible technique (looks the same on the back)
cotton and linen 1 1/34" indigo squares- hand pieced
2 strands dmc floss for stitching.
linen twill base

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 #132: pattern play overlay

.....so i suppose i am revisiting this. and this time i am asking what if i play with 2 different patterns. and what if one is static and the other flowing. and what if i use dots as windows and use a spool to trace perfect circles....what if the circles don't need to be perfect? what if i use the cutouts as applique but what if i just darn them on with a quilting stitch, will they just melt into the web of the surface. what kinds of patterns can i create by tilting the pieces? what if i use the stripe as a stitching guide and play with the thread color a bit?
....well then... what if i write all my questions on the back as a document of process? cool...
now the last and craziest what if today.  what if....this could be a bookmark. a bit big you say? ( 4" x 12"). nah... a "book mat" perhaps? nah... i think it will work fine and i will call it a .....'question mark' !!!!!  a new series with a function. place keepers.  keepers of the evolution of creative thought. oh yeah. my new format for what-iffing 2009.

what if #111: crazy meeting places

somehow when i was looking at my sketch, i thought if i crop it it sort of reminds me of crazy patchwork.
.....i thought, ok, what if (?) i use bleach to discharge the tree branch lines, cropping the design so it is abstract and crazy. like a mosaic. it looked good and i wanted to keep it simple, so i said what if i just use that simple kantha stitch?
then it seemed appropriate to decorate the intersections somehow. simple cross stitch. X marks the spot. what if i couch those  Xs to keep those crossroads secure? what if the kantha stitches changed direction in the blocks of blue?
......i like this one for its simplicity, the ragged patterned discharge(torn paper stencils) and the wild texture. and of course the functionality of the structure.
but most of all i like it because it symbolizes the different paths that have crossed in the process of this shared "what if" environment. thank you all for being here.

center discharged 5" square quilted to 7" chambray square. cotton. indigo thread used to stitch dark indigo sections.

what if#104: symmetrical crazy

....so usually crazy quilting is defined as patchwork with no particular pattern and i thought well, what if it is done with a regular pattern...free pieced nine patch. and what if i embellish the seems by using a flat rag strip and embroider over it to hold it in place.
and i am still focusing on intersections. i like this a lot because it is easy, quick and very functional. i feel a quilt coming on.
in process. indigo. about 7" square.

what if#102: crazy indigo continued

....so as i recall, i was asking myself, what if the crazy block could have a single color as a theme?
what if it was indigo? what if the indigo scraps were gifted? making it a sort of memory or thank you block?
and then i asked what if i just cut holes, windows to represent the crazy shapes? and put another fabric behind the mask? and what if i focus in the intersections of the shapes.
and then what if i use kantha stitching and thread beads to hold it together? ...the feather fell from the sky.
i am so pleasantly surprised to see what everyone is doing. i am collecting all the what if questions that have been asked so i can make a list we can all work from. (part of the cqr collaborative)