what if ?

what if #23: starlight revisited

finishing things sometimes invokes what-iffing, especially if time has passed and you find yourself thinking new thoughts. or even forgetting the original if. 

just packing up a gift and  i came across this old project, unfinished, and i thought  why those look like wishing stars, and they should have faces.

and as a quick side trip i decided to make it into a little doll house size quilt.  the train was too crowded for a big project today.
needs more work on the stippling and the story.

painted stars on patchwork. painted stars and embroidered embellishment on floral print. scanned, photo later.

 

what if #27: painted applique

...the band of lions applique planned a while back has turned into an experiment because i was wondering what if i create them as a cluster, one applique, and make them out of an ikat fabric that will fade in and out , ghost-like.... i painted over the fabric so that the ikat would show through. they are ready for stitching.

3 figure cluster appliqué on 6" quilt block

drawn freehand with black micron pen

Deco Art SoSoft fabric paint, thinned with water

Kaffe Fasset yarn dyed cotton ikat base used for applique.

what if # 30: combination applique

painted applique worked well and i planned to use it again  but this time after i started painting i began to wonder what if i paint parts and piece other parts. this s a fairy for my quilt project and i decided to use leaf print fussy cuts for the wings instead of painting them. i'll play around with this idea. i like the contrast created between the painted surface texture and the prints.

4.5"x3"

all cotton

to be continued as always.....

what if #30: continued...

commuter sewing is bumpy, but i am not worried about the messy stitches here because this will be edged when appliquéd to the quilt. i left the turning edge oversized so that the applique  wings would appear slightly stuffed.

i like the progress here. i was experimenting with doodling on fabric and i used the result for the dress. i mean i was on the train jotting down notes and it was hanging around between pages in my notebook and i just thought... what if i use that for the dress?
i was thinking about making the arms more stuffed, trapunto style,  but what about limbs that would lift right off the quilt?
what if i try that?
continued from

final stage

what if #42: the nature of dots

i have always been obsessed with dots, and spots, and the tiniest motifs floating on an open ground. at the same time, i am  learning to piece by machine which is new for me. this what if, is a series. i accepted Robin Ferrier's invitation to post on side by side and i will use the opportunity to continue to explore variations on this theme. it will be about small spot motifs, and also about inspiration from nature. and  i will be working in linen mostly...the project will also be a lot about the fabric, its texture, its structure , its history, its beauty. off i go...what if i explore the nature of dots? that small pieced patch is 3/10ths of an inch!!! the black dots are painted.

hey! and you can catch the queen of the series Lee over at side by side too! oh what fun...

i will make a category for this series... to connect the dots.

what if #67: working over an existing pattern

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?

what if#78: marker ikat

....how it used to upset me when i drew on fabric and the ink ran. i searched high and low for a better marker. i was thinking if (?) the ink runs along the threads it could look a bit like ikat. it does. oh, it does!

permanent laundry marker on old stained linen. bottom piece has been machine washed and ironed.

the longer you hold the marker to the fabric, the more it runs. i am sure it will vary from fabric to fabric.

what if #109: crazy markings

.....i couldn't resist. what if (?) i draw the embellishments. this is a quick answer but i think i will go back and do it again on a real patchwork. or i guess i could also color this in! ha!
block is 7", marker and crayon on textured linen.

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.

#154: Fortuny dots

i always associated fortuny with pleated fabric, not knowing much else about them. after receiving some small gifted pieces from phyllis, i was amazed by the strange and unfamiliar technique used in this print. (shown front and back) ... at first glance the design appears to be a woven damask, but looking closer it is obvious that the fabric is a solid twill and the design has been produced by layering pigment and dye perhaps in combination of screen printing and hand painting. and after some research it is apparent that the technique is not exactly known. it is indeed unique. 

 

 my limited experience with prints has at least left me with enough knowledge to recognize the difference in nature between the colored areas of the design, the lighter greenish part is much stiffer and the pigment lies on the front surface, probably applied over the gold hand dyed/painted ground.  on a whim i asked myself  what if (?) i draw  dots and fill them in so the colored area spans both the soft and hard surfaces of the design. i was guessing that they would absorb the color differently.  they did as the gold sucked up the ink and the pigment print ...which has a metallic nature...resisted a bit. two tone dots. very cool and just another layer of pigment. i think it fits the fortuny mood of the fabric. 

 

  i also tried it with other colors. and lines. a sort of resist technique using the nature of a pigment print.