what if ?

what if #52: discharged indigo patchwork

what if i chop up some discharge experiments and piece them together. and what if i just use a sewing machine to make it go faster. i want to see. now.  6" x 12" . cotton and linen. indigo. bleach discharge.

what if #53: indigo embroidery

even though this indigo yarn i have is very thick and was meant for weaving, i was wondering what if i use it in some solid embroidered areas? it actually abrades while sewing and there is a nice uneven fade out quality about it. i am using it together with some wonderful hand dyed thread. the greenish color i picked up somewhere and it fits into the indigo range so it looks like part of the fade. the yellow is hand dyed by wonderful sara.

part of a piece that will measure 5" x 12"
freehand pattern drawn in permanent marker on 4" cotton squares. pieced by machine. hand embroidery. (back stitch)
i used a very large eye needle to minimize abrasion. the thread is soft and doesn't hold up for long when stitching through tight fabric. i keep the thread short and that seem to help.  worth every extra effort, lovely color ( better photo in next post) and texture effect. continued here

what if #53: part 2

some progress, and a decision to add a few more favorite weaving  threads ( jaspe, linen), and a question in my mind, what if, i mean can i handle covering the while surface or most of it with stitch? mini indigo suzani ?

i have some other things on my mind here too.

later.

continued from

part 3

what if #53: part 3

a little red? a little red!

continued here

what if #54: an indigo story

just  a day dream i had on the commuter train this morning.   i was wondering if  i can remember it all and  catch the thought. that thought contains what if i combine many different  techniques and cultural elements.  with a focus on indigo.

what if #55: english paperless piecing

Tricia from Magic Indigo sent this to me a long time ago. and i promised to work around it and send it back. i am as slow as a snail, but when she won the indigo draw, i thought what if i get going and work on it and send it with her prize? this piece was done in the true english paper piecing method, some of the paper was still in. i removed one piece to use as a template. i have done paper piecing before but i thought what if i use my paperless method of piecing?
the template is simple cut from paper and used temporarily to iron around. the paper is removed before sewing. less paper, less time, and i find that when the paper is left in it is much harder to adjust ill sized sides and ease the seams together. (and it works for any shape)
i am varying the pinks around the new ring. to give it some variation. pinks from Nellie.

this is a gift so i will finish it up on the other blog.....

what if #56: free tucking

i often think that breaking up a large open area in a patchwork would be nice, sort of a same color mosaic with just seams forming a design. i thought what if i just fake it with tucking. a short cut, but surface interest.
i used a sewing machine. just fold and stitch close to the fold. a grid first, all lines sewed in one direction and then in the crosswise direction. zip zip. patchwork. but nice and uneven.
there are a lot of possibilities here and it is a great lazy way to use big blocks and break them up. a few more:

transfer