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.....
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
the edge is messy so what if i just use added cutouts to cover the gaps?
this is a great way to refashion a floral. like planting a garden.
what if i experiment with all kinds of fabrics for the dots?
the dots are the only unifying element. i am also experimenting with handing small applique with in a border. (fussy fit )
scanned image:
freehand drawn dots outlined with split backstitch, turned applique dots, cut large so that turning under provides padding.
7" x 7" overall
dots are in general about 1/2"
linen ground
study for a series of larger pieces
inspired by that candy, dots on paper.
what if i use that fussy fit appliqué method for a traditional patchwork design?
no reason, just for the hell of it.
hand drawn with micron pen on recycled cotton striped mens shirting fabric (doubled).
outlined in back stitch using black and white cotton jaspe 20/2 weaving yarn
turned appliqué scraps in linen and silk fit inside outlines.
pieces cut extra large so excess is stuffed under giving the illusion of trapunto padding.
scanned, better photo later.
as promised, photo that shows the effect...
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.
.....i have experimented with cut out frames before but in a more random fashion. for instance here and here. but today i thought what if i use that plaid graph paper idea for holes. they become much more like windows when you follow the grid.
.....i also wondered what if i use that double cloth i have with the check on one side. this idea added other advantages. it is 2 sided so i can use it either way. it is double layered so the frame will have some loft. it is double woven being consistently tacked together in a grid of woven stitches which give the frame stability against curving and i also love the tiny dots that actually quilt the fabric together. i like them visually and i am thinking about them structurally for another what if.
....to continue on the idea of dots and grids, i asked what if the grid itself is a dot? intersecting woven lines pieced into a dotted sheer jacquard clip spot. all fabrics are sheer cotton. free machine pieced. seam pressed out flat.
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.
I guess it started here with this fussy cut. And it seemed a bit boring so I asked myself what if I just shade the petals of the flower a bit, just to kick it up a notch... why not ? Many prints these days are not as detailed as the old ones. It's a shame....because of the speed of the machines and the cost of screens. Maybe i can fix that.... slowly.
I used the ochre colored Pitt Pen to add some dimension.
...then I took a look at the fabric that I cut the fabric from. And I asked once again, what if I add some definition? I actually got carried away. Oh! The possibilities with this one... especially if you can draw.