Check out these picture quilt patterns and projects from the Bluprint community to inspire you to plan your first picture quilt.
Cheese cloth must have hundreds of uses and many fiber artists use cheese cloth in their work. Debra from Cheese Cloth Fabric.com sent me a sample of their cheese cloth recently to post about. Here…
Contemporary textile artists often seek to challenge traditional values and conventions, and that can make their work unique, aesthetically stimulating and
When I was making my recent series of random strip pieced quilts I had a lot of leftover scraps of fabric. Hand dyed scraps left over fro...
Creating a landscape quilt from a photo my husband sent me from one of his bike rides on Kelly Drive. See the process.
Creative Play Challenge No. 2 – Nature/Organic; Kawandi Style Quilt
Learn how to do Trapunto embroidery and quilting
There are so many great embroidery stitches so why do I use so few of them? The answer is that the ones I do use are so versatile. These are my 5 favourites. 1 • Running Stitch Possibly the m…
How to Design a Simple Art Quilt. Create an image and make it into an Art Quilt. Fabric scrap and fusible web will make it simple and quick
Make a super-simple landscape art quilt with free-motion thread sketched embellishments, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or advanced.
Claire Louise Mather: Springtime, detail Textile artists and nature so often seem to go hand in hand. It is not always the case that textile artists have nature as their primary inspiration, but more often than not you will find the connection there, it is a connection of intent. There is something about the physicality of textile work that seems to draw artists time and again to the natural world as canvas. Sky, earth, ocean, and all the permutations between, have fascinated and continue to fascinate textile artists. There are so many interpretations and projections of the natural world, all of which are valid, intriguing, adding always to the burgeoning vocabulary that is contemporary textile art. Claire Louise Mather Claire Louise Mather: Memories of March One of those contemporary textile artists who have the natural world as a central pillar to their creativity, is Claire Louise Mather. Claire uses a combination of photography, collage, and textiles in her work in order to reflect on her own observations of nature. She is intrigued by all aspects of the natural environment, from the slow cycle of seasons, the constantly changing weather patterns, the slow grinding down of surfaces, all are part of the environment that she wishes to be part of, and in taking part, to also project back through her work, and out into the world of the viewer. Claire Louise Mather: April Dawn Claire often visits and revisits familiar spots in the environment in order to record and enjoy the changes that so often go unnoticed in the natural world. It is these changes that in many respects show us that we are alive, show us that movements are always cyclical, that birth is part of decay, and decay is part of rebirth. This is an artist that has photography as an integral part of her initial work. She uses the camera as an ongoing sketchbook, detailing experiences of surfaces, textures, landscapes both large and small, all of the details that go eventually to make up her compositions. Claire herself says that her work is "an exploration of drawing with stitch," one of constant experiencing of surfaces and textures. Texture, colour, and pattern are always visible in the artists work, and it is a combination that has no real end as each new composition is a new exploration, a new discovery of an always changing landscape. And that of course has to be the most exciting in its appeal to the artist, a landscape that both unfolds and renews within a constant cycle, giving an endless scenario of change and familiarity. Claire Louise Mather Claire Louise Mather: Yorkshire, detail With that in mind, enjoy the work of Claire as she both works through her fascination with, and intrigue over, the natural environments that she so effortlessly makes her own. More of Claire's work can be found at her comprehensive website: http://www.sewsaddleworth.com/ All of the imagery of Claire's work shown in this article were generously supplied by the artist. If you want to use the imagery elsewhere please ask her before doing so. Thanks. Claire Louise Mather: View From Long Lane
My previous post showed how to put together a Poppy Field. Here I want to share with you some ideas for creating a similar background but i...
I have to be honest, I had always looked at beautifully hand-quilted quilts and thought, “Well, that’s just crazy.” Although I loved the look feel and texture that hand quilting added to a project, I never saw myself doing such intricate work. The funny thing is, I love hand embroidery. Ah, the slow pace, the relaxation of having a project to work on at all times (I always have a hand embroidery project in my purse); and the satisfaction of finishing something that only required a simple needle and thread. I don’t know why it took my so long to realize that hand quilting is just one big hand embroidery project and usually using just one stitch, the running stitch! Hand quilting, especially in the modern quilting movement, has made a big resurgence in the last few years. Many quilters have discovered the beauty and added texture this simple stitch can add to a project. My personal favorite is big stitch quilting. This isn’t the hand quilting you would see on a traditional Hawaiian quilt or a hand quilted whole cloth quilt. Those quilts are normally done with a thinner thread and very small stitches so the quilted pattern shows through, not the thread. This style also takes exponentially longer to finish. With big stitch quilting, the thread really is the star, and that is why I like to do my big stitch quilting with Sulky 12 wt. Cotton Threads. Sulky 12 wt. Cotton is equal to about 2 strands of embroidery floss, so it will stand out nicely on the project, and the colors are luscious! Whether I am just doing several lines of big stitch quilting on some white fabric, Or quilting a pieced quilt top, This thread really changes an ordinary project into an extraordinary piece. The beauty of this is I am just doing a standard running stitch! Are you looking to try something new? Then join me in the Slow Stitch Movement. Check out all of Sulky’s 12 Wt. Cotton thread here and let’s start stitching! Happy Sewing.
What do you get when you add art to scrap quilting? Scrap art quilts, of course! These beautiful designs will inspire you to create your own.
How To Make An Easy Baby Quilt | Young House Love
My previous post showed how to put together a Poppy Field. Here I want to share with you some ideas for creating a similar background but i...
Artist, writer, lecturer and author Cas Holmes needs little introduction from us – she's one of our most experienced and popular artists.
Make a super-simple landscape art quilt with free-motion thread sketched embellishments, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or advanced.
My art group met at the first of June and we played with Tyvek. We were inspired by Karen L’s recent post here. We cut up Tyvek envelopes, painted and heated them with a variety of heat tool…
Yesterday, we introduced you to textile artist Lorraine Turner. You got a peek at some of her finished work and learned a bit more about her inspirations and what drives her as a creative artist. I…
Learn how to make a quilt using cheesecloth fabric. Heather Thomas shows you how and gives you tips for finding, preparing and working with this fabric.
It has been a weird week. I am running up against the deadline for finishing the "Elements" pieces and I essentially lost two days this week. Monday morning I woke up with a stiff neck and by bedtime I was in a serious amount of pain. Did not sleep and by morning I was in such pain and fear of what might be causing it that I went straight to the Urgent Care Clinic near us. It was a strained trapezius muscle in my neck, making my neck impossible to move without screaming, hot pain and sending tentacles of pain winding up around my skull. The recommendation was rest and drugs and sleep and a soft cervical collar to support the weight of my head. So I lounged around all day on Tuesday reading and sleeping, felt a little better on Wednesday and much better today. So I was back in the studio this afternoon. "Water" should have been easy (that's why I left it for last), but I had a hard time settling on an idea. Close to my heart is the wetland area where we walk, so that began to take shape in my head. I started with an assortment of blue, gray and tan fabrics and fused some strips to form a base. At the end of today I had this: I think I am nearly there. A few additions, then I will trim it to size and bind it. Speaking of the wetland area, we had a surprise when we walked last week. Sofia was with us, and as we came around the corner near the Fanno Farmhouse, Beth and I were talking away and Sofia piped in "look at the turtle!" There, studiously digging in the dirt at the side of the trail, was a large turtle. I took its picture with my phone. That evening on the local news was a story of another turtle that was captured in a backyard several miles away. They are snapping turtles that have invaded the wetlands and creek. They are not native to the area and are thought to have been pets, originally, that were released into the creek and have bred there for years. This is the season when they come onto land to dig holes and lay eggs. They are quite destructive, eating the native fish, frogs, even baby ducks and can take a finger off if you are dumb enough to offer it to one. We found this one pretty interesting and were happy to have encountered it until we learned later what pests they are. If we see another we are advised to call the Parks department or Fish and Wildlife, who will come and take it away. Wish I had known. Now I am on the lookout when we walk.
As many of you know, I take July and August "off". What that really means is that I do not longarm for customers, but I do other projects. Some of those project include doing summer vacation things with my kid, but others are quilting projects that I don't have time to do during the school
Quilt Sunday the workroom Toronto, ON February 23, 2014
Learn how to utilize several different types of fabric tucks to create texture in your next art quilt as Heather Thomas explains the steps of this technique.
Explore bluepeninsula's 4819 photos on Flickr!
In May 2011 my wonderfully creative mother died at the age of 85. Her death was unexpected but not surprising - nonetheless, it still left a void in my sewing spirit. Several trips, alone, driving back and forth between Michigan and New York gave me a lot of time to process and think. When I returned from the funeral, I also returned to my empty sewing studio. The only problem was that I was not ready to be around a lot of people. I wanted to play. I didn't want to work. I put things on hold and did the bare minimum of business-related tasks. For a while, I mustered up the energy to cut a bunch of quilt blocks, then I decided it was time to laugh. I had ordered a copy of Amy Bradley's Quilters Yearbook and loved the funny caricatures but had never got around to doing anything with it. So I got out the book and started working on moi. I took some liberties with the pattern and directions - OK, I didn't quite fit the templates provided in the book! I had to cut some hair! Plus, I wanted it to be more "pop-arty" and highlighted with free-motion stitching and thread painting. I also wanted to wrap it around an artist canvas rather than bind it. I picked my two favorite colors and got to work, editing and trimming along the way. I laid it out and started fusing. I was totally making it up as I went. I really had no plan. I just cut and cut...and fused. Once I was happy, I accented the design with thread. And added some eyebrows! Then I started working on my mom's caricature. Trademark turtleneck, necklace, big glasses, and monochromatic ...that's my mom...everything matched. When I posted this picture on Facebook, my brother commented, "I knew exactly who that was!" So it's rather appropriate that the necklace I have from my mom's extensive collection is the exact one shown on the portrait! This now hangs in my office at work and reminds me to find my quiet creative spirit!
My previous post showed how to put together a Poppy Field. Here I want to share with you some ideas for creating a similar background but i...
Spend an evening using some simple stitches to embellish a swatch of vintage fabric, or a piece of modern printed fabric. The possibilities are endless for doodling with needle and thread to creat…
Watch the video tutorial below or scroll down for the written instructions What is Couching? Couching is a technique where you lay yarn, thread, ribbon, etc on top of your fabric and stitch them in place with a zigzag or fancy stitch, either in a similar thread or a contrasting thread. Couching adds interest and texture to your projects. I love playing around with different wools, threads, embroidery threads, lace, wool roving, and assorted cords to make my projects pop. Do You Need a Special Couching Foot? A specialized cording foot is a great machine accessory if you love
Here is how I turned a photo into a pattern: Pick a photo of your choice. School photos work very well as the lighting is good and the face is usually without shadows Use any photo editing software of your choice. There are lots of free software available online. I use Picnik. Use the posterize function to get this effect. Play around with the colours until you are happy. I settled on 10 colours. Save the posterized picture and go to the Pencil Sketch function. Without any further editing I got this result. Play around until you are happy with the amount of lines and the clarity of the picture. You can use the picture as is, or further simplify it by hand. I printed the previous picture and traced it against the window (you can use a light table if you are more sophisticated than me!). Here you can make it as simple or as complicated as you wish. I scanned this version into my computer and printed it on to a wash-away stabilizer. And Voila! A perfect embroidery pattern. A friendly request: This is a picture of my son. I used it to demonstrate the process. Please feel free to link to this tutorial, but please do not re-post this whole post with pictures to your blog. If you need one picture to illustrate the post, use one of the sketches. Thank you.
