A TECHNIQUE DRIVEN Blog dedicated to mastery of surface design techniques. First we dye, overdye, paint, stitch, resist, tie, fold, silk screen, stamp, thermofax, batik, bejewel, stretch, shrink, sprinkle, Smooch, fuse, slice, dice, AND then we set it on fire using a variety of heat tools.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

To Art Quilting and Beyond - Week 4/Part 4

Are you ready????

Grab your nearest security blankey or teddy bear.....

So many scary movies this week.  I don't watch them because I keep yelling at the TV screen "Don't split up you guys! Are you crazy?"  So I'm not allowed to watch them any more.

But for this particular art quilt project, I'm saying (not yelling thankfully) DO split up!! This is a slasher presentation after all. But I guarantee no blood or monsters. Not even zombies.

Yep...we're going to cut up quilts. I know some of you have done this before but it seemed appropriate for this week and Halloween stuff to hack and slash.

First off is "A Tale of Two Crooked Houses"  (that sounds scary right?)

But it isn't. The crooked house is actual a photo I took at a local nursery years ago. Unfortunately it is no longer there but at least I still have my photo! This little shed/house has found its way into a couple of other pieces of art in my studio. I've sketched it and used it in ATCs several times. And now YOU get to see it!

Here is the original photo. Is this not totally adorable???


This particular time it is the subject in a project on contrast.

I did one small quilt in color and one in black and white.

                         


Then out came the rotary cutter and .....OH THE QUILT-ANITY!!!!

I cut them both up in the same shapes and then, in true Frankenstein fashion, sewed them back together!



To date I've only done the binding on the one and since moving have yet to come across the second one or I would have bound it for this presentation.  I did color binding on the top and bottom and b/w binding on the left and right sides. It is still one of my favorite projects results. It's a little cutie-patootie!


Next up is "A Tale of Two Friends - and a Shared Addiction"

Once upon a time long long ago, a van of art quilters was traveling across South Dakota after a retreat. After a night in the hotel, Starbucks was the first order of business for all of us....except one.  "I don't drink coffee" say she. But we did finally convince her to just have a small espresso. And that was the beginning of the end it seems. 

Wil and I have become more like family than just friends over the past 8 years since that retreat. And now she is just as addicted as the rest of us! Maybe even more. I don't even have my own expresso machine! LOL!!

Several years ago when she was visiting during the summer, we decided to share a coffee quilt. We got a Starbucks logo to print off onto fabric and put it onto some wonderfully coffee-looking rusted fabric. Then the slashing part. We cut it in half and we both kept one half of the quilt. It's been a while but since it fit into my Slasher Movie theme, I decided to finish it....finally.


Now to find fabric for the other half of the quilt. I decided since it is our quilt, I would use a leftover piece that Wil did for one of her quilts. The colors fit in with what I wanted to do.  I even kept on with the slasher theme and used leftover bits of batting for the right half.  Thankfully it is fusible batting so it stayed in place quite well.



The right half gets cut to fit in with the left half.



I zig-zagged the two halves together and covered the "seam" with a commercial fabric I had on hand. It has coffee beans on it.  (Wonder if hubby has figured out by now that his "Favorite Things" quilt might never happen????) Took this photo in a different location so the color is a bit different.


Here is the quilting pattern I used.



Attached to my half of the quilt was a packet of bits of fabric. Wil can confirm or deny but to the best of my memory, they were pieces we had made that summer when she was visiting.  They were to be used in this quilt when it got designed.  So I used them and added a few rusted bits (some of my favorite things) and some felt strips I had in my stash. I haven't done an actual binding like this in a while but for this piece I wanted to add the coffee beans again.  Here is the final quilt.

Shared Addiction







5 comments:

  1. ADORABLE! This is a fantastic concept. thanks. Enjoy your next cup of coffee knowing you've inspired us this month! :)

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  2. I love these pieces and really appreciate the process descriptions. You are BEYOND clever and creative!

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  3. Just want to say I enjoy your experiments very much!

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  4. When I started reading this post I thought you would keep my name hidden, but alas you exposed me -:))). Yes, the small pieces of fabric you attached were cut offs of what we dyed that summer. I have to admit that my part is still in a ziplock baggy, but I promise you that I will start working on it soon.

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  5. Thanks to all of you! I'm so glad you are inspired by things I find so fun and satisfying! Wil, yes I outted you girl! Come on...you have an "overachiever" title to maintain!! LOL!!Thought including your name might help motivate you!

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