my creative week fast stitching, slow stitching drawing , painting and some learning too

 

it's been a week of learning (Zen Stitch workshop online) and making

Drawing faces and flowers, painting on paper and fabric, designing an Autumn quilt, trying techniques new to me like setting shisha mirrors and stacking straight stitches in embroidery. Trying some stitches in a slightly different way than I've done them before, using my supplies, getting new supplies... 

Toward the end of the week I just watched the lessons and stored up plans to try them later because my mind was full. (plus the occular migraines take a lot out of me) 

I often try out ideas on scraps of weird fabric, or oddly shaped scraps of paper. These are contained in a box of parts... bits and pieces of lovely components waiting to be turned into something new. 

One of the lessons was reverse applique in a bold primitive fashion. I've done it in heirloom style where you don't see stitches so this idea was bold. One lesson was painting fabric by squishing it in your hands, no thanks, but I reached into the magic parts box and pulled out these three painted pieces  to try the embroidery method. 

The fabric is apparently poly so it frayed like crazy, and I was too lazy to find a hoop to control it, so I just stitched the stamped bit with a big perle cotton in turquoise, cut out the center, pulled it back and tacked it down with coral perle cotton colonial stitches. I do french knots but now have this knot in my arsenal to use and I like it! 

I expect this to turn into a sketchbook cover soon, after more construction! 

I am learning Shisha techniques for fabric, and by learning I mean I made a dogs dinner of the whole thing...

The instructor had us make a pin cushion... (an ENORMOUS one) I had to use a button instead of mirror for my experiment, and never quite got the concept down but finished the pin cushion.

I liked the shape, the colors of felt and thread I chose, I liked adding a tiny circle and stitching to make little flowers, the colonial knots are very cute. I'll tune in to learn shisha from Sarah Humphrey instead of this teacher I think. 

the trimmed bits of felt caught my eye, and I arranged them into a dragon fly... I like the idea of adding this to something, with beads of course and pretty threads

While watching the videos I sketched two teachers, while having my morning coffee...

of course on scraps of paper from cutting out the pin cushion template... using just pencil

I kind of like the triangle shape of the paper!! When doing a portrait from a photo I look to see what makes that person different from other people... tiny angles of an eyebrow, shape of a nostril, lips... etc

it is training my eye to see... to draw what I see not what I think I see

speaking of which one very talented artist who does thread sculptures decided to teach instead, how to notice lines in organic matter to be stitched later (here is an example video of hers )

these were drawn with my new birthday pressie from dh... which I'm finding very useful for lots of things... calligraphy as well as sketch. One of them is gray, the others black different shaped nibs

I would use the leaf drawings to do this with thread onto solvy,  then dissolve that to have the lines left to use in art. whee! 

I discovered this person because amazon sent me an email that I might like her... and I do!

 I did another exercise by creativecove on drawing iris

and I loved it, but I also love iris' colors so I added in a bit of paint

Koi watercolors, small round brush

over the pencil and shading, pretty effect. Then adding a few black inked lines and white gel pen

I dug into my orange scrap bin this week to work on the blocks for my "portal" quilt... a walk in an autumn forest 

cut 2.5" X 10.5" rectangles, pair them up,  both face up, cut on diagonal....

pairs ready to cut on diagonal

sew two colors together into two blocks, retrim to 2" X 10" and go to the design wall to start that process

I love using fabric like paint, taking it down to color with the added excitement of the prints! All from scraps and now becoming a beautiful whole piece because they are all working together, cooperating to make something greater than any one of them. 

In my heart this is the way humans should be... each unique, each bringing beauty to the whole, working together to make life better for all.

It's a dream, but it keeps me going in these days of insecurity

 I am holding on emotionally by a thread of hope

As artists we are people, we are influenced by what goes on around us, our thoughts and feelings, and as artists we seek to interpret what we see, hear and feel. 

To keep sanity I use art to escape and since autumn colors make me feel peaceful, that's where I'll be...

immersing myself in color, in slow stitching and fast stitching like these blocks, in color and letting it soothe my spirit 

can you relate? 

find your creative happy place y'all

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patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

slow stitching Sundays

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

 link party

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/ 

https://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/ 

off the wall Fridays 

face off 

peacock party

tgiffriday

finished or not

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