Making the Australian Quilt at the NGV
The applique motif I have come up with here is taken from a pieced and appliqued quilt made by Susan McCord, an Indiana farm woman, in 1860. She appliqued her stem but I have used chain stitch and appliqued on to an old piece of crazy quilt.
By Karen Ives, on Pinterest
Sunday morning I played around with new stones thinking they were going to be grey but perhaps because it is the bleak mid-winter the stones turned a warmer colour. This piece is inspired by Mark's paintings of stones disappearing under water. He is brilliant at that. For both of us scenes like this bring up whisperings of summers spent on beautiful Georgean Bay. For those of you in Toronto don't forget The Artist Project at the Better Living Centre February 21-14, 2019 Mark Berens will be at Booth 506. Strips of plant dyed fabrics soon to become rocks. By Sunday evening I was happily couching away. I have based the background onto an old blanket and it is like stitching butter. The one thing about this kind of stitching is it allows for mind wandering and as I stitched these delicious rusts and browns my mind whispered memories of my beautiful Rusty Pups They are dearly missed As are their antics and adventures. And then as I prepared this post A photo demanded to be noticed So much like my new stones. I have a teacher who always says the piece you start next should always be informed by the last piece you did. Perhaps this means my next piece will have to be seaweed in the colours of my Georgean Bay stones. But I already have soooo many new beginnings just started! But my mind is flowing with ideas on how to go about a seaweed piece. It is so easy to have many ideas isn't it The days just aren't long enough for their execution! I hope you have a day rich in creative ideas.
Want to wow everyone with your applique then check out how to create interesting fabric for applique pieces - tutorials
Tiny vessels hand stitched and cut to form abstracted memories. Sizes from 3-8 cms. Loop Head stitch pots Worn and Wethered Summer Fields Autumn
More pieces that are going to Festival of Quilts the week after next.
While shopping at the antique mall, one of the things I’ve been noticing re-surge more and more are Victorian Crazy Quilts and all of their lovely styles and forms. Since I cannot begin to to…
Love the colours and the whimsy of this piece. Genus Imaginus - A Collection of Imaginary Flora Fibre artist Carolyn Flood creates original contemporary designs in thread. Her bold images of idiosyncratic flowers catch your attention from a distance, and get even more interesting as you get closer. Seductively tactile compositions on cotton and silk fabrics entail both machine stitching and hand embroidery. With sensuous materials and sensual imagery, Carolyn Flood gives us flowers as they see themselves. November 15, 2009 - January 3, 2010
A few weeks ago, I did a Monday Morning Inspiration post on Antonio Berardi. I just love his design aesthetic, and I mentioned in the post how much he reminds me of the late, great Claude Montana(my design hero). If only Vogue Patterns would approach designers like Antonio Berardi and Roberto Cavalli, I know that I would be in heaven. A while back, a friend gave me a wonderful Claude Montana coat pattern, and I recently tracked down another pattern. I'll share both in another post. Montana's designs are truly timeless, and I will probably be making up his designs until I can no longer see :) But, today's post is not about these incredible designers. In the post I did on Antonio Berardi, SJ Kurtz of http://erniekdesigns.blogspot.com/ left a comment and told me about the wonderful production of The Marriage of Figaro that the Seattle Opera is doing. The video is just a little over 2 minutes in length, and WELL worth the time. Many of the costumes have been created with repurposed denim. Be sure to take note of the cuffs that were made with repurposed denim pockets, and the sweet corselette made from the seat of a pair of denim pants.Incredible! Not that the video isn't plenty of inspiration, but I thought I would tack on a little more :) Not too sure about the epaulets, but I do like the coat, especially the quilted bottom panel. What a great piece, patchwork, but modern. This is from the Yves St. Laurent Spring 2016 collection. Once again, I like the patchwork. Not too crazy about the frayed hem. Gucci 2015 Spring collection. Pretty cutwork. Over the top with Alexander McQueen! Roberto Cavalli Fabulous work. Beautiful blouse from Madeleine, Fall 2014 Could possibly be re-created with lightweight denim bandannas. When I initially saw this photo, I thought skirt. It was a small picture. Then I took a closer look and realized that it's a picture of hanging shirts. Somehow, I think this could translate into an interesting design. From Fendi. Love the little cropped jacket. This is a little something from the, "interesting, but I'm not sure" file. Denim lends itself to incredible embellishment possibilities. Below is a quilt, but I thought it would make an interesting panel on a jacket. More embellishment ideas. And finally, a little fun with scraps. Don't throw any denim away!!! Denim has become a mainstay of our wardrobes, and rightfully so. It's durable and so easy to care for. I've had a lot of fun putting together today's little post. Hope it's been inspiring! Rhonda
"He Heard The Surf Roar" by Ana Buzzalino was inspired by a photo of Lawrencetown Beach in Nova Scotia.
This is my favourite of the three I've made so far and as it's quite nostalgic too I think I'll display it in my craft room for a while. I've remembered that the small braid flowers are very old - from my late Aunt's crafting days - she was the one who inspired me to start crafting over 60 years ago. I have another idea to make for a friend.
Appliqued crocheted piece by Kate Clayton Donaldson Sold at Case Antiques I've long been intrigued by this photograph in the Library of Congress, which has been posted for several years without any identification. Lately, though, the artist is identified as Kate Clayton Donaldson who did the piece above. The photograph was taken by Doris Ulmann about 1934 for a series she did with Allen Eaton for the 1937 book Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands. Just what was in that cardboard box? And is the woman making a quilt? I now realize that the box is full of crocheted figures. She is not making a quilt but rather an appliqued picture. John C. Campbell Folk School,Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University Catharen Clayton of Cherokee County was born in Kentucky on April 19,1870 and died on August 1, 1960 according to her tombstone and death certificate. Collection of the American Museum of Folk Art Her method seems to be chain-stitching motifs and then assembling them onto a small piece of coarsely woven wool or linen. A prominent tree and some free-form animals link the work to traditional Indo-European imagery. UPDATE: Dot commented: "The figures look to be made with a double crochet stitch, not chain stitch. Some of the wider vines are also one row of double crochet; others may be chain stitch." This piece in the collection of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild is 31 inches wide. Collection of the Asheville Art Museum She may have dyed the yarns in the figures and the backgrounds herself. Because it is "folk art" the thought is she was using "natural dyes" but the way the colors are fading looks more like the synthetics in the packaged dyes that were readily available in North Carolina in the 1930s. From a Brunk Auction Kate and her story illustrate a point about our attitudes towards the makers and the work. She is considered a folk artist but she was also a commercial artist. There are several origin stories about how she began creating her small compositions. John C. Campbell Folk School today. It was founded to teach marketable craft skills to local residents. The probable truth is that in the early 1930s she was working in the kitchen of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, 10 miles from her home in Marble. Her grandson Hayden Hensley was a student at the school in the late 1920s, learning woodcarving. She had stitched crocheted figures to an old baby blanket and liked the results well enough to show it to the people in charge of the adult education center. They were impressed, saw the commercial viability of the small piece and encouraged her to make more to sell. Donaldson & Allen Eaton Eaton's mission was to link crafts and rural traditions to provide an income for Southerners. She met Allen Eaton of the Southern Mountain Handicraft Guild, a cooperative marketing crafts. He and Doris Ulmann interviewed and photographed mountain artists for their survey in 1933 & 1934. That may be Eaton in the Doris Ulmann photo of Donaldson showing him how she works. The alternative, folky version of the story is that her work was inspired by "cow blankets" created by women in Italy. The caption at the Asheville Art Museum: "Many parallels have been made between the cow blankets of Granny Donaldson and the Po Valley fashion blankets made by women in Italy. In Italy, the blankets are used to proclaim the spirit of life and are worn by cows during festivals. Donaldson never heard of the Italian cow blankets and says that she didn't own a cow when she began her first blanket, although rumors still remain that she copied the Italian blankets for her cow, Bessie." http://www.ashevilleart.org/gallery/gallery-piece/cow-blanket-1308/ Another version is that she made an appliqued blanket to keep her cow warm. This piece of functional art was noticed by a passing art lover. The culprit in the cow blanket story may be a feature writer named Bill Sharpe, "Steeped in the Lore of North Carolina," who published an article in the Washington Star on March 2, 1946 with a few paragraphs on Donaldson and her cow blankets. In this story a passerby noticed Bessie the cow clad in a Donaldson blanket and the rest was history---or folklore---or what people wanted to hear about North Carolinians at the time. Do note another folky touch in that she is known as Granny Donaldson. How come men artists are never known as Grampy Bill Traylor? The textiles are fun to look at and there are a lot of them in the folkart market over the past years. Here's one from a Slotin Folk Art Auction in 2011 And the caption: "Farm Animal Pictorial Wall Hanging. c. 1980's. Knitted and hooked yarn on cotton backing. A few minor holes, otherwise great condition. 27" x 34"h. Provenance: Sally Cathey's Blue Ridge Weavers, NC, a copy of the envelope that Granny Donaldson used to send the work to Sally Cathey accompanies the piece. Est. $500-800." Didn't "Granny" die in 1960? https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10128111_383-granny-donaldson-pictorial-wall-hanging Little Brasstown Baptist Cemetery Donaldson at work with a crazy quilt on her chair. Source? Don't call them cow blankets and don't call her Granny, unless, of course you want to set my teeth on edge. Read about Allen Eaton and his influence on the ideas of folk art and the arts and crafts movement: https://www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/CraftRevival/people/alleneaton.html
Hand dyed in indigo these kid’s t-shirts are gender neutral and one of a kind, each with a unique patchwork appliqué made from power clashing vintage textiles.
За подготовку текста спасибо Ларисе Гавриковой glarchik и Алике rikki_t_tavi Annemieke Mein - текстильный скульптор из Австралии. Ее картины, панно, одежда с элементами флоры и фауны - это…
Using some of that “stuff “in the sewing room Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise. Julia Cameron While doing the New year tidy up in my sewing, creating, p…
Pat Winter's wonderful magazine, Crazy Quilt Gatherings has recently come out with the summer issue and I am absolutely thrilled to have several of my crazy quilted eyeglass cases published in the company of many gorgeous creations of crazy quilters I admire. As always, Pat has done a marvelous job gathering delightful eye candy along with interesting articles, tutorials and techniques that any crazy quilter would love. The magazine can be purchased at MagCloud and if you do so, you will find me smiling at you on page 25 :) Thank you, dear Pat! And, as you can see in this photo I took of my copy of the magazine, I have just finished a new eyeglass case, for a lady whose favorite color is brown. It was a bit of a challenge, as brown and I - to put it mildly - are not the best friends ever. Wishing you all a wonderful day,
Print for sale www.etsy.com/listing/98209053/print-of-an-embroidered-ill...
A raffle quilt made by the Retreating Angels
If you are one of those people that creates things with your hands, you really are very lucky. Apart from the calming effect that handwork has, using your hands to do meaningful tasks benefits both your physical and mental health. I know that it benefits me, curbs depression and boredom, gives me purpose. It definitely calms me and as I mellow with age it tends to make me so laid back that I am almost horizontal. Nothing wrong with that and I feel real sympathy for those that have not discovered the joy of handwork. We all know them – those that say that life is boring (how can you ever be bored I ask, with tears in my eyes), those that look for their kicks at the bottom of a bottle or those that spend their time mall-cruising munching on medication. Sad, really. For those of us that have discovered handwork and, in particular, those of us that discovered it early in life, the chances are we’ve tried the lot. I have. From watercolours to miniatures, dressmaking to felting. And everything in between. The only thing I have never tried is pottery. The idea didn’t grab me, bit messy. But needlework, done with my hands, no machine involved? What can I say? In reality, I have devoted all of my spare time and much of my life to it. I think it would not be unfair to say that most hand-stitchers have tried all of the different arts associated with their passion. Quilting, beadwork, lace making, embroidery, patchwork. They’ve probably also enjoyed crochet, knitting and tatting. But seldom do they combine these different arts. Some years ago I started building a doll’s house. One twelfth scale, everything made with my own hands and a few simple tools. It gave me the opportunity to use every craft that I had ever learnt. From wood carving to gilding, stitching to moulding with polymer clay. I was in my element and, particularly because I was forced to be innovative. I was so pleased with myself when I worked out how to make a wooden floor that looked like the real thing, using a roll of oak strip that kitchen-builders use down the sides of cupboard doors and a carton of wood filler. In my mind, crazy patchwork is the needlework equivalent of that doll’s house. It is an opportunity to use every kind of needle art that you have ever learnt. When I stitch, I spend some of the time thinking up what I am going to do in the future. A few years ago I had this thought that I would like to embellish crazy patch in such a way that not one thing is bought and stitched on, nothing should come out of a stash and, definitely, nothing that decorates it should be a machine-made applique or strip of lace. Everything that forms the embellishment should be made with nothing more than a needle, a thread, some beads and my own imagination. I tucked the idea behind one of my ears for future consideration. It was still sitting neatly behind my left ear when my fabulous publisher and I were sharing far too much French Red in Paris a few years ago. She asked me if I could write a book for quilters. I said no, I’m not an expert on quilting. Then suddenly, fuelled by Bordeaux and Beaujolais, this crazy patch thing came screaming out from behind said ear. And that was it. Or rather, this is it. Two of the projects in the book include crazy patchwork panels that have been put together with a sewing machine but, other than that, everything has been made by hand with a needle. What you might call ‘crazy patch from scratch’. That necessarily means that there are a lot of techniques’ galleries in the first half of the book. These include embroidery, bead embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery, beadwork, tatting, needle weaving and needle lace techniques’ galleries. That’s for the embellishment. There is a techniques’ gallery for crazy patching and also simple quilting techniques for finishing off. We decided to count the number of techniques the other day and it came to something in the region of 160, depending on how you count it. For that reason alone, we are hoping that the book will be of interest to all sorts of needle artists from quilters to embroiderers. Even if the actual projects are not necessarily something they would want to do. However. I had such fun working up the projects. I was barely restricted by lines, I could use every technique that I had ever played with and I could invent different ways to use them. Gussy Up This is the first project in the book and is truly ‘crazy patch from scratch’. I drew a circle with a large soup plate, ruled some lines to resemble crazy patchwork and then had fun. I filled the blocks with either needle weaving or otherwise, crewel embroidery stitches that created a background that loosely resembled fabric. And then I embellished. No applique, but daisies embroidered with thread. No buttons, but three-dimensional flowers made one bead at a time with beautiful Miyuki beads and beading thread. No machine made lace, but needle lace techniques stitched through the fabric to resemble insertion lace, then threaded with Di van Niekerk’s hand painted silk ribbon. Silk ribbon roses, bead embroidery, tatting and even some simple beading techniques that are generally used to make necklaces or bracelets, rethought to resemble braid. Of all the designs in the book, I had the most fun with this one. Nightshade The embroidery in the middle, although resembling crewel work is largely done with needle weaving, needle lace and bead embroidery, with a few crewel stitches pulling the whole thing together. The outside border is, as with the previous project, crazy patch from scratch. Every block is a needle weaving technique and where the two parts of the design meet, the intersection is worked with a beadwork jewellery technique. My friend Pat van Wyk took my line drawing, enlarged it and (being a hand quilter at heart) recreated it with applique and traditional crazy patch techniques. A photograph of the exquisite cushion that she made it into appears in the book. Waiting For Santa The cuff of this Christmas stocking is, like the previous two projects, worked from scratch. Just lines on the fabric to resemble crazy patch, then lots of fun filling in with once again, a selection of all of the techniques – embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery, beadwork, needle lace, needle weaving, tatting…….and the pattern to make up the stocking is in the book. Rambling Vine If you thought that I might have forgotten my readers who are embroiderers pure and simple, then the Rambling Vine design would put your mind at rest. It is a wall hanging (or whatever you would like to make it) that comprises an ornate Jacobean-style embroidered branch lying adjacent to a panel of traditionally-worked crazy patch, machine stitched with 15 different fabrics onto a natural-coloured linen/cotton blend base. And madly embellished, in line with the general style of this book. There are of course, needle artists out there who don’t want to embroider and to show them that they don’t have to, my friend Margie Breetzke has worked the Jacobean panel using a combination of applique techniques, bead embroidery and simple embroidery stitches. A photograph of the stunning result is in the book. Savannah Winter The day before I started this project, I had driven back from Johannesburg through the dry Highveld, as we call it in South Africa. A long, straight, flat, rather boring drive, it was mid-winter and everything at first glance appeared to be dead, dry and frigid with frost. I was, however, in the right frame of mind, not ever having really noticed how splendid the colours were on previous drives at the same time of year. For the better part of six hours I watched the road through my windscreen, all the time marvelling at the colours that were there. The gold and khaki of the dry grass, the grey-blue of the winter sky, the purple of the mountains in the distance, the green of the few evergreen trees, the crystal of the frost on the ground and some pink. When I got to Harrismith, decided it was time for a break and took off my sunglasses, I realised there was no pink in the landscape. It was my rose-tinted spectacles. But, what the heck, it’s a nice addition to the palette and so it was included. This project is machine-pieced crazy patchwork, the embellishment is of course, all hand worked using the same variety of techniques and I have made it into a lid for a covered basket. So…. Once again, Liezl Maree, Metz Press’s amazing book designer has taken my ramblings and turned them into a masterpiece. Between us all we think that we’ve caught all the errors and typos in the interminable proof reading process (if we haven't, please forgive us - with the best will in the world, it's an impossible task) and it goes off to print this week. The publishers, the printers, the ship that brings it to us from Malaysia, the warehouses, the distributors and any other players that I may not have mentioned, are working to a schedule that will mean that it is available from the 15th of March 2016. And where to get it? If you want to pre-order you can do so at: Amazon; The Book Depository; or Search Press. If you’re in South Africa, or indeed anywhere on the African continent, it’s not up there yet but you will be able to get if from: this website; or Takealot, who have taken over Kalahari.net and really do deliver. I know. I order from them all the time. With this book I set out to show readers and needle artists that they can combine the needle arts. All it takes is imagination and many enjoyable, calming hours. I hope that my intention will be achieved.
The section around M3's dragon on my Dragon Vest chloesplace.blogspot.com/2007/05/dragon-vest-continues.html
Explore coco knits' 1513 photos on Flickr!
detail ~ Stitch Ritual by Jane LaFazio Stitch Ritual by Jane LaFazio (60x24") This quilt truly combines my two artistic loves, dr...
Thearica over at Pigtales and Quilts is having a crazy quilt party and contest. The purpose is to raise awareness of the ART of crazy quilt...
Appliqued crocheted piece by Kate Clayton Donaldson Sold at Case Antiques I've long been intrigued by this photograph in the Li...
We visited this show of beautiful quilts at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. ...
I am happy to announce block 37 is complete! I am doing a happy dance as I feel like I am getting back into the swing of things. As usual if you click on the block you will be taken to larger photograph so you can have a good sticky …
Another block from "Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix & Match" by Susan Briscoe. I used freezer paper templates for the flower shapes and pearle cotton for the embroidery. The flower centers shapes were very difficult to get uniform and smooth. Block measures 9".
Hand knitted felt fields appliquéd onto machine knitted felt and stuffed
Explore Anne Nicolas-Whitney's 109 photos on Flickr!
A true Magnolia Pearl staple, these pants are a true bespoke addition to any bottoms collection. **Fit:** Low-slung, loose harem fit **Features:** Zip fly and button closures, back cinch band for adjustable fit, hand distressing and fading throughout, patchwork appliques **Why We ❤ It:** Just as special as they are unique, each pair may vary slightly in color or design.
It has been a while since I have posted here. We have all been living through turbulent times and many of us have lost loved ones or have not been able, and still are unable, to see loved ones. I have been making work a bit but have had a frozen shoulder which is still ongoing and is preventing me from sewing for very long. I have been working with a darker palette, using Victorian velvet and silk patchwork bits. Usually I keep these as samples for workshops but who knows when i can teach again so am now letting them go and it will spur me on to make more. This coincides with me opening a new online shop with big cartel so if you go to my website and click on shop it will take you there rather than the old etsy shop. Here are some recent pieces, all for sale HERE
Mixed Media Inspiration :: Freckles and Flowers Today's mixed media inspiration comes from Freckles and Flowers. In her post, Paula shares several mixed media images to advertise an Altered Books Mixed Media workshop she was teaching. Be sure to stop by Freckles and Flowers for more mixed media inspiration. A Bit of Imperfection :: Thoughts from …
View the Tom Ford Spring 2014 RTW collection. See photos and video of the S2014RTW runway show. Tom Ford
