Tuesday, 12 December 2017

Fabric SCrap Book 1

I've made three fabric books to use up some of my old samples and I've given them to my arty friends as gifts. So basically they are books of my old crap, which is stuff I didn't want to throw out but I also didn't want to leave in a drawer forever.

The inside cover is a piece of hand painted and stamped fabric. 
On the other side is fabric which was printed on an inkjet. I took the design from a photo of a tile at the Alhambra. I sewed on the metal decoration from my stash.

The next page has been printed with string or cord. I've added stitching to enhance.
Then a page with a background printed from wallpaper rubbing. There is a sample of a flower which was free machine embroidered done on water soluble stabiliser. Also some dyed lace and a small sample of smocking cut from something purchased.

The background fabric [thick coat fabric] behind the stitched  house [aida] has been screen printed plus ribbon and hand decorated fabric.
The circle - I used puff binder [expands when heated/ironed], paints then stitchery.


Different denims - sea, sky, boat. The hills are a handmade fabric -fabric scraps topped with sheer fabric.
Handmade paper with a painted layer of interfacing,then hand embroidered. A strip of fabric made by using transfer paints. Handmade art buttons.

I think I made a stencil for the flowers. Freehand machine stitched. For the strip at the bottom I used a Gelli Plate and stamps.
Machine stitched penguins with black fabric heads and painted feet and beaks. The lower strip is handmade paper - glued strips of paper, then stitched. 

Paper stencils, screen printed, the brighter parts painted by hand, machine stitched

Hand painted fabric plate, machine stitched. Stuffed spatula and egg yolk.
Distressed velvet [bleached and painted] Free machine embroidery. Found metal disc chain from stash.

Handmade fabrics - scraps and sheer, screen printed, devore.
Fabrics using resists, wax with found implements. Small fabric collage. Purchased butterfly.

The leaf is made from layers of sheer fabrics, net etc and machine stitched together. Behind that are  transfer crayon samples, one stitched then slashed.
On the other side there is applique and embroidery.

On the left are samples of embroidery [composite canvas stitches and open filling stitches]
On the right is a sample of rough edged mola

Small pieces of fabric overlapped and joined with decorative machine stitches.
Screen printed background. Freehand machine embroidery with metallic threads. The bird was a fabric gift from Australia.

The background fabric page was marbled.
The flower on the left was digitally printed on fabric made up from an original screen printed patterns, then machine stitched. The other sample is an attempt at machine smocking using decorative stitches on painted fabric.
The black samples on the right are a discharge printed sample and the lacy one is actually melted plastic with a black fabric background. Dyed and stitched leaves with recycled silk flowers.

Screen printed background fabrics.
The pinky sample is layered and distressed fabric [burnt with soldering iron with a net top layer embellished with sequins and stitched. An embroidered sample to the side. Handmade clay button and objects.
Screen printed New York scenes.

Layered squares of various fabrics.
Manipulated fabrics, some with wire.

Layers - Painted and stamped thick Vilene. Layered and distressed fabric [burnt with soldering iron with a net top layer embellished with embroidery.
Painted net from tiles.
Layered sheers and tree bark with embroidery.
Florentine embroidery.
And we are back to the inside cover which is a piece of hand painted and stamped fabric.
I used a book binding technique to join the pages together.


Sunday, 10 December 2017

Year of the Dog Fabric Design

I created the dog below on my Samsung tablet for a Spoonflower fabric design challenge.
I transferred it to my computer, changed colours and added a blocky background.


Monday, 4 December 2017

Sunflower Brooch

I made this brooch in memory of my lovely niece who sadly died recently. Sunflowers were one of her favourite flowers so I'll wear it at her funeral tomorrow. She died after a battle with cancer and had just turned 40 which is way to young to die.
I took all these photos at the same time in the same room, but in different places. I don't like the brooch that much from looking at the photos, I think it looks better in reality. [I hope]

I made it by drawing on Evolon [which does not fray], then painting it with Inktense Blocks and water. I stitched French knots in the middle then surrounded them with beads. I covered a round metal brooch finding [the type that has 2 parts to it -  back with pin and top sieve disc] with painted Evolon so none of the metal would show. I then glued the sunflower to it.


Thursday, 30 November 2017

Young Fox

More watercolour painting practice. This time I used a photo from a magazine to copy.

Monday, 27 November 2017

Furrowed Fields

I bought a 5 minute sketching landscapes book to try to improve my watercolour painting. This is my version of a picture in the book.

Monday, 20 November 2017

More Leaves

More ink and watercolour drawings in my sketchbook

And some real leaves I saw the other day, they were very frosty leaves but it doesn't show up very well on the photo


Friday, 17 November 2017

Tree Decorations

I did some little paintings with baubles in mind

I recycled a wooden curtain ring for the bauble. I applied a circle of card [for stability] either side of the curtain ring then painted the edges with a metallic paint. I printed my little pictures, cut out and applied either side of the ring on top of the card. I used string just because it was handy. I quite like the brown one above but not so much the one below but I do think the baubles are a little bit too small.

Monday, 13 November 2017

Colouring my Drawings

I couldn't get to a new sketch book or the fabric I needed for a project because we are refitting the bathroom and there are things all over the place so I decided to colour in some drawings I did last year. They were ideas for some 3D layered pictures, the results can be found here.
Anyway back to the colouring. The top one I did with brush pens and it looks very messy.

I used watercolours on this one, doing the background last and it also looks messy.

I did the blue background first on this one and it looks better.

Same again, but it does alter the colours that are used on top.


The brown trees and bushes were already done from last year on this one.

I think my painting is getting as bad as my stitching, more untidy the older I get!

Wednesday, 8 November 2017

Cornflower Pods



One of the more interesting things in the garden today were these Cornflower pods. I picked a few to draw but I've not taken photos of the results so I will save them for another time. {also you won't be able to see how bad the drawings are compared to the real thing}




Monday, 6 November 2017

Embroidered Quilting Sample

In May I started doing some quilt samples with a view to making a book but I got bored so didn't continue with it. This is one of the samples that I've been working on and off since then and at last I've finished it. I may put it in a book of fabric pages or perhaps use it in the centre of a cushion.
For the design I chose part of a page from a colouring book and used Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy. {print it then stick it on your fabric, rinse off after sewing}. The thread was Madeira Decor which I found shredded a lot especially with the Fabri-Solvy as it was quite sticky.

I used mainly back stitches in various sizes with some French Knots.




Thursday, 2 November 2017

Inktober 2017 24-31

Here are the rest of the Inktober drawings. I know it is now November but I did do the drawings in October, I've not had access to my computer for a few days.

 
24 . Blind

25. Ship

26. Squeak

27. Climb

28. Fall

29. United

30. Found

31. Mask