Learn the fundamentals of using appliqué in creative and artistic ways to enrich your art quilts and wall hangings.
Introducing a video series to make this Applique Poppies Quilt using satin stitch, couching and thread painting for definition and texture.
Explore different approaches to choosing a photo for your fabric art, thread sketching, thread painting, art quilting, and appliqué projects.
It's time to quilt with the masters! Join us as we learn how to make a Starry Night quilt — one of Vincent van Gogh's most memorable works.
It's time to quilt with the masters! Join us as we learn how to make a Starry Night quilt — one of Vincent van Gogh's most memorable works.
It's time to quilt with the masters! Join us as we learn how to make a Starry Night quilt — one of Vincent van Gogh's most memorable works.
The key to successful Thread Painting is Practice, Practice, Practice! Have you been practicing your Thread Painting? Now that we have the...
I belong to a couple Facebook Crazy Quilt Groups (crazy quilt divas and crazy quilt international) and a new member, Marianne Hoeksema, posted her blocks recently and I just love them because of the all over stitching. This style is seldom done by American crazy quilters so I knew she had to be European or Australian.. and sure enough she was from the Netherlands. I am always so caught up with my laces, trims, and other whimsy, I forget just what a wonderful medium that just thread is. When I did my rainbow vest to wear to Houston I only used thread and knew that at some time I wanted to explore this more and maybe the CQJP2017 will be the perfect opportunity. In CQJP2012 a stitcher from Austria used just thread and I kept photos of all her blocks... Her name was Claudia Weinwurm and she used to blog but hasn't for a couple years. She did all types of embroidery but it was these "under the sea" blocks that are my favorites. You can still see more of her work on her blog but don't wait too long because inactive blogs tend to disappear... It was this all-over texture created with just thread that fascinates me and bring me to my favorite thread artist.. an Australian wildlife fiber artist Annemieke Mein... She does lots of butterflies and other insects but it is her birds and frogs that I especially love. Her works are huge and she uses a sewing machine but it is the thread that creates the magic. There is a lot about her on the internet and she does have a gorgeous book if you are interested in seeing more.
Ever since I read Twyla Tharp's book on building the creative habit, early every morning I sit at the sewing machine and practice freemotion quilting, even if only for a few minutes. More often than not I do not have a predetermined idea of what I will make, but today it was different. The fabric that Deborah Stanley gave to me last Saturday was calling for something more than random freemotion stitching. I began with a 7" x 8" fabric sandwich of commercially printed fabric . It was very light and had tiny little blue and green dots on it. Because it was so light, it was almost invisible here so I didn't post a picture but you will see it as you see the process develops. T I also had some left over water thinned Setacolor fabric paints that I had used in another project and wanted to see if drawing with it might produce a painterly effect.. Thinned Setacolor Fabric Paints Stiff Fabric Painting Brush First Application of Thinned Fabric Paints After the fabric paint dried, I used an Ultra Thin Retractable Sharpie pen to do a loose floral sketch. Loose Sketch with Sharpie Pen I then dropped the feedogs on my sewing machine and set about freemotion sketching a more detailed floral image. Thread Sketching Sharpie now has a product called "Stained" markers for use on fabrics and I deepened each of the floral units near their centers with the pink marker. The red was much too dark and would have made for a contrast that was too stark. Here is the unbound finished practice piece. Close-up of Stitching and Highlighting. Until I have used all the fabric swatches that Deborah gave me, I just may continue to create freemotion sketched practice pieces that have a semblance to something that is recognizable, even if nature may never produce anything akin to my loose application of color and line.
Journal quilt using all raw edge applique, and free motion thread painting and quilting.
It's time to quilt with the masters! Join us as we learn how to make a Starry Night quilt — one of Vincent van Gogh's most memorable works.
Last week we learned how to implement a basic Thread Painting stitch with the Zigzag Meander. I hope you did your homework and played with ...
Get awesome tips in this tutorial on how to thread paint this beautiful tulip! It doesn't hurt to play with inspiring thread either!!!
I've been working on this one for quite a while. I've shared a lot of the process since I've done little else besides working on our gigantic home improvement project. I am satisfied with the final result, and the deadline has arrived. My 4 year old grandson, Airus has repeatedly asked if he could have this quilt. He has probably brought it up at least a dozen times.
Hawthorns 2 - stitched and painted cotton
Directory of TSIA Resources Complete list of all tutorials, online courses, videos, articles, and other resources at TSIA Want to find out more about thread sketching, thread painting, free machine embroidery, art quilting, or artful appliqué? Regardless of whether you're just looking for awesome, useful information, or are interested in taking a class, or purchasing
Next year I will be teaching at Studio Preniac in France for the first time. For those of you who live much further away here is your chance to join me in a beautiful location. Here is the description and contact Studio Preniac to book HERE. The course is more than half full already even though it is a year away so get on with it if you fancy it! Mandy Pattullo: 12th - 19th September 2020: Textile Collage with Many Pattullo. Again, one of the UK’s most popular textile artists and tutors, Mandy Pattullo will bring a series of her most popular courses to Studio Preniac in September 2020 which combine her love of vintage fabrics with observations of the natural world. You will start the week with an introduction to the basic techniques of textile collage before starting a more structured approach with a focus on building up a bird portrait on to a fragment of antique quilt. . We then turn a bit botanical using the seed heads that are around the Preniac as an inspiration for a Seed Heads piece. You will learn to layer up and appliqué backgrounds for your compositions and will use embroidery stitches imaginatively to describe the structure and silhouette of these remains of the summer. Mandy will do many demonstrations through out the week and bring inspirational samples, clear instructions and templates for those who can not draw (!) but she will also remain flexible And if you choose to just remain with one style of working rather than having a go at everything that is fine with her. You can see more of Mandy's work, just follow the link below: See Mandy's Website. This will be Mandy's first to Studio Préniac. Course Cost Ensuite - £1,295 Private bedroom sharing bathroom with one other - £1,195 Sharing a twin ensuite bedroom - £1,095 Non Participating Partner - £ 795 Gites £100 Extra for Single Supplement
Introduction to Thread Painting
Przydomowy karmnik jest znaną i lubianą formą pomocy ptakom. Pozwala na obcowanie z dziką przyrodą bez wychodzenia z domu.Niewłaściwe dokarmianie może jednak przynieść więcej szkody niż pożytku. Dlaczego? Do karmników przylatują zwykle przedstawiciele gatunków pospolitych i niezagrożonych – sikory: bogatka i modraszka, dzwońce, wróble, gile . Dokarmianie nie uchroni natomiast gatunków ptaków, których egzystencja jest na prawdę zagrożona. Karmniki mogą stwarzać zagrożenie dla korzystających z
We have learned about the proper tools and correct supplies, how to Thread Paint using a basic meander zigzag, add detail with a basic strai...
Crazypatch background, appliqué, free-motion, couching. This piece was displayed at the Seymour Art Gallery gift shop. 3” x 4 ¼” 7.5 x 10.5 cm 9" x 11" framed 23 x 28cm framed SOLD www.chursinoff.com/kirsten/
It's time to quilt with the masters! Join us as we learn how to make a Starry Night quilt — one of Vincent van Gogh's most memorable works.
Shredding thread when free motion stitching is frustrating, so in this comprehensive guide we explore 16 reasons why thread shreds when thread painting, and the steps you can take to prevent it.
(c) In Quito's Market (Detail) I enjoy getting questions where I have at least some partial answer that might help someone in their journey. Following is a recent question from a fellow portrait quilter having just seen a photo of one of my portrait quilts... From a frustrated quilter: I just saw a photo of your quilt "In Quito's Market". I do figural quilts and I have a question that nobody has been able to answer for me. My problem is that I take a wonderful top, that I have spent hundreds of hours on and can't seem to understand how to quilt it.My quilts faces get puffy because of the quilting around the figure. I have tried quilting them minimally and it doesn't help at all.There must be a secret My response... A face is usually a more central part of the quilt... anytime one quilts all around it first, there will be trouble such as you have experienced. I suggest one never create an unquilted island of anything before quilting the 'island' of as yet unquilted fabric. With art quilts where there is generally more quilting than maybe a bed quilt, it is actually pretty important to work from the central area outward... and that often means the face first... which is what I generally do. The rule of thumb with quilting faces is ... make a choice up front.... either minimal quilting or alot.... anything else doesn't seem to work well, and ofcourse the same rules of thumb about even quilting distribution across the whole surface of the piece holds true. If you do heavy quilting(almost thread painting as I often do) on the face, pretty much the same level of quilting density is called for across the rest of the quilt. One doesn't have to go the heavy thread painting approach.... so if doing minimal quilting on the face use minimal quilting elsewhere. Failure to evenly distribute quilting density is a call for ripples/ puffs. Hope that helps. Good Luck! Patt
What an exciting adventure this has been! I have had so much fun sharing with all of you, and reading the feedback from emails and comments sent. This has hopefully given you the tools needed to begin your own Thread Painting journey. My hope is that by taking things one baby step at a time, Thread Painting would be less of a scary mystery that only 'advanced sewers' can do, and more of a fun learning experience that anyone can participate in and grow from. This has been a learning experience for me as well! In the past I have had a blog and posted to it maybe twice a year... maybe. Blogs have come a long way since then and when I started this one I had to essentially re-learn it all. I am glad I did though, this has really been a rewarding experience for me! Combining Stitches Before we end this series, I wanted to show you some examples of combining the stitches we have learned. While many of the pieces I have done use only one type of stitch, Thread Painting is extremely effective when the different stitch techniques are combined. In the Hummingbird and Fuchsias quilt, the leaves and parts of the flowers use a directional zigzag stitch, while other parts of the flower and the buds use a directional straight stitch in order to emphasize the shape. The Sunflowers detail shown below uses a combination of the directional straight stitch, directional zigzag, and zigzag meander on the petals, as well as zigzag meander and straight stitch detailing on the leaves. In this detail shot of a vest I made years ago, the pansy flowers use both the meander zigzag and the directional zigzag stitching. Notice the leaves use the directional zigzag to applique them, giving them a more feathery look. And finally, this Lily was done using fabric paint and then Thread Painted. A directional straight stitch and a directional zigzag were used. The stamen details were also added using a very dense directional zigzag stitch. Calling for Your Input Have you been practicing your Thread Painting? I'd love to see what you've been working on and I am sure everyone else would too! If you have played with the Thread Painting techniques on a project or practice piece, I'd like to post some photos right here on the blog. So finish up those projects, or even a Work In Progress and send a .jpg file along with what you used and where and we will get it up on the blog. Do you have questions or need advice or clarification on something? Send those too and I will try to answer as best as possible. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so try to send a picture ( in a .jpg format please) along with your questions, comments, or success stories. How to get in touch with me? Click here to Email me. Whats next?? That is my question... I plan on sharing what I am doing in the studio, whether it is a pattern or project in progress (I have several of those going!) or just Fun Stuff that I come across or am playing with or learn about. But what I'd like to know is what do you want to see? Let me know! A Great Big Thank You! I want to tell you all Thank You for all the support, the encouraging words, for sharing the link here and for just plain reading and learning from this series. I can't tell you how much fun I have had interacting with all of you! Angela R McIntyre Laughing Cat Designs
I haven’t had much of a chance to make art quilts recently..I’ve been trying to put more bags and journals into my madeit store. I decided that I just had to do one today. It is named &…
Deciding whether to add backing fabric to art quilts and thread paintings is a dilemma faced by many textile artists. In this article, we explore some of the reasons for and against backing art quilts and thread paintings. Sometimes I get asked for tips for backing art quilts and thread paintings, especially when you don’t
Get awesome tips in this tutorial on how to thread paint this beautiful tulip! It doesn't hurt to play with inspiring thread either!!!
I had both of my Grandson's for the weekend. After they left today I went back to the studio to keep working on my pine needles. I fused the larger part of the each branch, quilt it, outline it and then stitch in the smaller branches in a variegated thread. When I have all the branches in I begin adding the needles with thread. It is a tedious process but the results are worth it. I keep my sketch of the short needle pine close by so I remember the layout of its branches. It is below zero today and colder weather is coming tomorrow. Good weather to stay put in the studio that is for sure!
There was (another) workshop in the STITCH CLUB by Emily Tull After observing and stitching the eye in April, it was the turn of the mouth now. - Taking pictures - making sketches on paper - sketches on fabric - observing - stitching. Again it was asked to use a minimal colour range. Black, two grays and white, or two medium colours instead of the grays. I opted for very dark red (no black) raspberry, a dirty pink and a lighter one and a very pale pink/beige (no white) When I was taking the pictures I was tempted to picture this widespread bad habit of needlewomen to put pins in their mouth (for later, for safekeeping ???) Making sketches on fabric isn't easy ... so I taped both paper and fabric to the window and traced the sketches. Sewing thread is used for the stitching or just one strand of embroidery floss. (I like floss best) Mission completed It was really FUN ! * Remember that Hippeastrum in the garden ? six flowers on one stalk !!! And it will take only a week or so and the Allium sphaerocephalon will be purple all over
The key to successful Thread Painting is Practice, Practice, Practice! Have you been practicing your Thread Painting? Now that we have the basics covered, it is time to expand on the stitches we have covered. In the first Thread Painting stitch, zigzag meander, we used a zigzag stitch to apply thread color to where we wanted it. With this new stitch we will be a bit more deliberate about where we apply our color. In the quilt below, Hummingbirds and Fuchsias, much of the Thread Painting done on the applique pieces was a directional zigzag stitch. Hummingbirds and Fuchsias Directional Zigzag The reason I call this a 'directional' stitch is because we are not just meandering but rather stitching in a specific direction to get a specific result. The stitch is done by setting your machine to a medium width zigzag, feed dogs lowered of course, and stitching from side to side. No moving all around, we always move side to side with only a very slight forward or backward motion in order to stitch the areas we need to cover. This stitching can be done very lightly for touches of color, on up to very heavily stitched pieces that look almost machine embroidered. This is in fact the stitch we use for Free Motion Embroidery. When we stitch heavier we need a bit of extra stabilizer, as this stitch tends to pucker a bit more than the meander or simple straight stitch detailing. On the 'Hummingbirds and Fuchsias' quilt above, I used two layers of Stitch n Tear, and left the stabilizer under my applique pieces while I Thread Painted. Once I was done I removed it from around the pieces, and ironed with steam using a pressing cloth. Practice Lets practice the stitch. Layer a practice piece of fabric onto a stabilizer. You can use two layers of stitch n tear or a piece of the Decor Bond. Since we are just practicing, it is nice to have the extra stabilization to make it easier to stitch. This can always be adjusted depending on the project you are working on. Place your hands on either side of the fabric and begin stitching. Slowly move side to side, a few inches at a time. Try a a bit of a meander in your side to side stitching by moving slightly forward and backwards and back and forth as you create a line of side to side stitching. Play with the stitch, moving slower while your machine stitches faster, and then switch to moving a bit faster with a slower stitch speed. Pay attention to your results. Now cover a smaller area, concentrating on building color. Alternate the length of your side to side stitch; this will be essential to blending and a more natural look. Rotating and Pivoting Sometimes we need to rotate or pivot when we apply color with the directional zigzag. This is done by always returning to our 'center point' before pivoting to a new direction. In the Pansy below, the center point of the flower pieces is at the base of each petal. Along the leaves the center is the vein line. Building Color Now that you have the feel of the stitch, lets Thread Paint a basic leaf shape using the Directional Zigzag stitch. As with the basic Meander Zigzag, we stitch our colors in order starting with shadow and cool tones, then the mid range colors, and finally highlights and warmth. Each of these can have as many colors as it takes to get the effect desired. There are always exceptions to the 'rules' however. In the Pansy above I was concentrating more on adding color to the flower than adding the basic shadow/mid range/highlight. Those basics are in there, but in order to get the coloration I wanted I 'broke the rules' so to speak. To keep this simple we will use just three colors. One shadow, one mid range, and one highlight. Remember that these three basic colors can also be variegated. This will give the look of having added much more thread color than we actually did! I chose a very muted green fabric so that you could see the thread work a bit easier as well. Start Stitching Machine applique a basic leaf shape to a background fabric, using two layers of stitch n tear or a piece of decor bond as your stabilizer. Try to make a slightly larger leaf, so that you have room to actually practice. On the leaf, trace a line for the center vein using a chalk marking pencil. Now mark directional lines as shown. These lines will give you a guide as you begin stitching so that you will know both where to stitch and what direction. Shadows/Cool Begin stitching along one side of the vein with your cool color. On my leaf I am using my favorite muted dusty purple to add cool. Stitch side to side, always stopping along the center vein line but varying the length of the stitch line on the other side. Pivot as needed along the vein line to keep your stitching fairly parallel to your guide lines. Mid-range Now switch to a medium tone, I used a nice green that went well with my leaf color. Stitch around the cool tone on the one side, carefully pivoting at the tip of the leaf, and then stitch along the vein line down the other side. Remember to blend into the shadow/cool area. Highlight For my highlight color I am using a warm variegated yellows/oranges thread. This will do two things, it adds warmth and highlight at the same time, and it will help you to see the difference in the stitching for our example photo. Stitch along the edges of the leaf as shown, and then add just a bit to the middle of the mid range area. This creates kind of a visual 'bend' in the leaf by bringing that portion a bit more forward. I use this same basic method for the flowers and birds in the Hummingbirds and Fuchsias quilt, and for the pansy applique. In the photo below, the Leaf Bowls used the directional zigzag stitch over the entire leaf and many more colors are used. You can see how building up your colors really makes a difference in the overall look of the finished piece. *Note - the Leaf Bowls (and the Flower Bowls) use a much heavier stabilizer called Fast2Fuse Heavyweight in order to give them the heft they need to become 'bowls'. Homework: Practice, Practice, Practice! Play with different shapes, leaves and flowers and such, and use the Directional Zigzag stitch. Build multiple colors up to achieve a painterly effect. And absolutely have FUN with it! Next Week: Straight Stitch II - Thread Painting with a straight stitch. Revisit this basic technique and play with more directional stitching in Straight Stitch Thread Painting. Achieve a completely different look to your thread painted pieces. Oh the things you can do with a straight stitch!
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
