Branching Out

In my last post, I hinted that I'd be returning to the studio this week to begin new art work -- and I've done just that.  😊

Those of you who've followed my work for some time will know how fond I am of the sky and the trees in this part of Alberta.  A couple of years ago I did a piece entitled When I Look Up in the Spring, which was bought by my dear friend Jenny from a SAQA Benefit Auction:

When I Look Up in the Spring (C) 2018

Ever since then, I've wanted to make something else like this...because I keep looking up at the trees around here, tiny top branches silhouetted against the sky.

Like this one (from my last post):

Then there's this one:

Well now...hmmmmmm...

I began with the second photo, sampling with a piece of synthetic fabric that I hand-dyed. Polyester or poly-cottons (this was an old sheet so I suspect it was the latter) dye much lighter than 100% cottons do.

I decided to trace the branches out on Sulky Tear-away interfacing (light, thin), sandwich it and quilt it -- using free-motion, and Superior Thread's King Tut -- colour #979 ("Obsidian") in the needle.  I used a light-weight white backing, with Superior's "So Fine" in the bobbin.

NOTE: The tear-away worked very well...but tearing it away from tiny branches is a bit of a pain!

I was happy with the thread painting...but how to create the hoare frost??  I had 3 choices: two different threads...and paint:

In the end -- as you can probably tell -- I chose the paint (Seta Color 'Opaque' in a lovely opalescent or pearly white).

Lest you wonder, I auditioned the thread with hand-stitching.  For one thing, I don't do bobbin work because I find working upside-down unsettling -- and the thread on the left (YLI's "Candlelight" metallic yarn in "Rainbow") was too thick to go in the top (needle).  The thread in the centre (Sulky Metallic 142-7021) could have done so...but it was too thin to give the effect I wanted.   Using a very fine brush, the paint worked out very well!

Here's how the piece looks with a bit of a "frame" around it:

I've auditioned some very tiny beads -- Mill Hill's Petite Glass Beads -- in a browny-red (colour #42012) to create the berries for the full effect of the photo.

Then I wondered...what if I combined the branches from the second photo with a deeper blue sky (sort of like in the top photo)?

Why not just trace out that top photo and interpret it?   Well...I'm impatient, and the tracing takes work!  😉  Plus I think that top photo would look better as a larger piece and I haven't the fabric on hand for the sky; I'd have to dye it...or see if I could find something commercially that would work.

So I did this -- BUT instead of tracing the design onto tear-away stabilizer (tearing it away was no picnic the first time 'round!), I printed it out directly onto my fabric, using the 'freezer paper method' and my HP inkjet printer.  I stitched it this time with the same thread BUT I used 'regular' stitches with my Pfaff Performance 5.2, which has a built-in walking foot:

And yes...I like it.  Here it is..."framed"...with some "regular-sized" Mill Hill glass beads just resting on the surface for the moment...

Now...the question for you, gentle readers is...to bead or not to bead?

NOTE: the first piece will have beads.  That's a done deal.  But the second piece?  Should it be beaded too?  Or should there simply be hoare frost?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment...recognizing full well that I'll do what the piece wants, one way or the other!

NOTE TOO: Finished size of each piece is 4" x 6" inside the mat -- matted to 6" x 8" by the folks in charge of the SAQA 2020 Spotlight Auction...or by me...whichever one goes and whichever one stays...

And in other news...this week I've...

• Finished the socks commissioned for a gift;
• Signed the contract with the City of Lacombe for "Featured Artist" at the Art Show & Sale in April; and
• Switched out my art exhibit at the Alix Public Library -- installing the six remaining pieces from "Inspired by Scotland".

Dear Nina-Marie is in what she describes as "a mess" this week...so be sure to stop by Off the Wall Friday and give her some love.  I'm linking there now...and wish you all a good week!

(We're in the Deep Freeze up here... minus twenties with wind chills near the minus forties -- and that's Celsius! -- so stay safe, stay cozy, keep calm and craft on!)

Facing Auditions

It's a rainy day here in Central Alberta.  Cool and drippy.  Soup-for-lunch weather.  Indoor Studio weather.

Earlier this week I had a session outdoors with painted used dryer sheets, which I distressed with my heat gun.  Great fun, but very smelly and definitely something to be done out-of-doors.

Yesterday I quilted and trimmed my Texture piece for 15 x 15: "Tree Study I".

This morning, I faced it:

I wasn't sure it needed anything more, but I had these fun pieces of distressed painted dryer sheets...so I've taken a couple of auditioning photos:

Audition #1

Audition #2

The differences are subtle...but I'm leaning toward the second one.  I don't think hand stitch alone would get me the effect I want -- it seems to be all (the dryer sheets) or nothing at all.  Any thoughts?

Auditions...

Yesterday I was auditioning....fabric and placement!

First, materials for a 12" square for an upcoming regional show -- SAQA Western Canada's "Best of the West", opening sometime in June.  As I played with the materials and their placement, I was thinking about the stitching and embellishment I wanted to use.






And second, with pieces for "The Picnic Quilt", made from the 2 1/2" and 4 1/2" squares I created when I recently sorted my scraps.  I still have a stack of 4 1/2" squares to use up, so it's going to be larger than what's on my design wall -- and undoubtedly what you see below will be re-arranged before the top is assembled, but I'd done enough pieces that I wanted to see what sort of combination(s) I could get if I put 'em up there.  I was concerned I had so many 'darks' and 'brights' and not that many 'lights' and 'neutrals', but once I stepped back for a good look, I was pretty happy with how the top was playing out.

I'm thinking ahead to the quilting, too.  If I decide not to tie it, but to quilt it by machine, I'm betting an over-all design would work best -- and I'm going to check out what Ann Petersen, instructor of "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine" over at Craftsy.com, would suggest.  :-)

And Samples...

More and more I'm requiring myself to take those thoughts and put them into samples, rather than going directly to the block itself.  I used to think that the 'direct hit' was a better use of my supply of funky donated fabrics (which cannot be replicated and therefore tend to be thought of as "precious").  However, my recent experience with that three-dimensional windmill has once again reinforced the value of sampling.  In the end, I'll use less fabric making a sample or two than I would if I went barrelling ahead, making the whole piece, only to find it didn't 'work'.

RE: the Windmill -- here are two more samples I made on Friday -- both of which I like better than the first one, and from both of which I learned something about the mathematics in block design and the materials used:

Felt 'sails' with lightweight fabric background

Playing with sheers