Going GREEN At the Oscars - 2013

Skyfall actress, Naomie Harris, wore a stunning dress to the Oscars last Sunday night. It was hand embroidered by embroiderers based at Hampton Court Palace, London, England. According to the news from the embroidery guild, more than 600 hours were spent making this dress. Read more about it here and here.

This dress won the Red Carpet Green Dress contest .

'The dress was made of a Global Organic Textile Standard certified organic silk crepe de chine, embroidered with vintage glass beads and chocolate candy wrappers, and dyed with golden rod and humble camomile, a renewable and biodegradable plant source. No water pollutants or chemicals were used, and the Royal School of Needlework in the UK spent a total of 680 hours hand-embroidering the gown with organic cotton thread. Not using machine-embroidery significantly reduced the dress’ carbon footprint, which is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during its production.'

Rather stunning, wouldn't you say!

Guild Presentation - Voyage of Discovery

The Cabot Quilt Guild has a committee of talented ladies who look after the guild program for the year. They may introduce a new technique, have a slide show, a book talk, a guest presenter . . . the list goes on. This month, I was the 'program'! The committee felt it was time for me to do my 'stuff'. Since we have had quite a few new members over the last several years, it was decided that I should give a general talk about my art work.

I had no difficulty with a title as my first piece of original art was called "Voyage of Discovery" - very fitting, as it was completed the year I retired from teaching. Since then, I have been on my own voyage of discovery into all things related to textile art and embroidery. I love to experiment / play with new materials. However these days, I find it difficult to get much time to do that and I miss it. Note to self: make time!

I am not a quilter of quilts like most of the guild members. However, here's a couple I have done: Sheep at Stonehenge, and Quiltennium Dreams. Photos of some more of my work can be viewed HERE.

I decided to do a power point presentation of my art as well as have some actual pieces on hand. One thing I did discover while searching through my photographs to prepare for this presentation, was the importance of taking good photos! In the beginning, I was learning (still am really) and the images were not always taken in good light or were a bit fuzzy. I was told over and over to use the RAW mode on my camera as the images can sometimes be 'fixed'. You can't do much fixing if they are jpgs. I am now using the raw mode on my camera - live and learn. There are a few pieces of art that are sold and I wish I had better photos of them! Oh, well . . .

I do have to 'tag' all of my photos as it makes it easier to find certain ones. Some of them are done but not all.

The presentation went well and I was asked to do a workshop on some of the techniques I use. I am teaching Fantastic Fabrics (surface embellishment on fabric) next month. I have taught that one before and it tends to be lots of fun for participants as it is completely stress free! I also have to prepare a project for another workshop in the works, on making fabric clapboard. That was the topic for a presentation I did a few months ago for the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild ! Now, to get back to work!



Cod Fish - the fish are in 3-D. This is in a private collection.

More Show & Tell

Here are a few more of the quilts shown at the Cabot Quilt Guild on Tuesday evening. The first three small quilts are for the children's hospital. Enjoy!

February Show & Tell at Cabot Quilt Guild

Here are some of the quilted items shown last evening at the Cabot Quilt Guild. Enjoy!

Inspiration

Sometimes it's just nice to sit back and view something a bit different. I like to work on small projects. Here's two examples of my 3-D art pieces: Garden Sewing Box and Treasure's of the Sea.

Below you will also find links to some wonderful 3 - D art work by other textile artists. Enjoy!

Links for some 3-D projects

Jackie's Art Quilts
Erratic Needle
Kathy York's Central Park (amazing video scroll down to the end)
Mad Tea Party
3 Dimensional Flowers by Barb Forrister
Fiber Art by Nancy Schlegel
Textile Artist Village, Lisa Call
Artisun
Evolution of a Teacup
Quilted Vessels of Kay Khan
Fabric Vessel

Books to Inspire

Exploring Dimensional Quilt Art (book review)
Fantastic Fabric Folding by Rebecca Wat
Three Dimensional Applique by Jodie Davis
More Fabulous Flowers by Sharon K. Barker
Fabled Flowers by Kumiko Sudo
The Art of Manipulating Fabric

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day. Don't forget to check out Day 4 of the Hugs and Kisses blog hop. One of the nice things about blog hops is the opportunity to see the work of quilters who are participating in the hop! Sometimes there are even free draws for prizes for those who leave comments. Check out all the blogs from the last three days too.

You might also like these links. Most of them have free tutorials.

Happy Quilting (lots of tutorials)
Quilt Story
Diary of a Quilter

Piece and Quilt
Twin Fibers
Swim Bike Quilt
Quilt Jane
Little Miss Shabby

Enjoy!
 
 

More Show & Tell

Here are a few more pieces from the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild Show & Tell.
The first piece is done with Shiva Paint Sticks, hand embroidery and beads. It is mounted on a canvas form - quite a nice piece!

 

February Show & Tell

This month, the Eastern Edge Quilters had another wonder bunch of quilted projects to share. Here are some of them. Enjoy!

 

Mo'Man

NO, I didn't misspell the title! My little granddaughter can say 'snow' and 'man' but when she puts them together, it turns out mo'man. She is totally into the snow thing so I decided to make one for her.

I sketched out several images and decided on a front facing one. The black hat is cut from a piece of my 'fantastic' fabric. I used a black base and layered it with different yarns and fibres. Then it was stitched with black Sulky Sliver thread. I also used white felt and scraps of batiks.

Enjoy the links to other snowmen!
Free snowmen patterns from With Heart and Hands
Snowman
Seasonal Series
Quilt Inspiration - lots of snowmen
Snowmen Ornaments
Holiday Patterns for Embroidery - some snowmen
Ho Ho Snow

Before stitching

After stitching

Mo'man

Gelatin Printing

I've been printing on fabric using various techniques for years. However, I've never tried gelatin printing. I've thought about making the gelatin base but didn't find the time to make one. However, I was fortunate enough to find a commercial one while on a recent trip to Chicago. Now I have to find some time to try it out. If you would like to experiment with this technique, check out the links below.
Enjoy!
Print Making Without a Press  Linda Germaine has a lot of information on her blog
Gelli Plate Tutorial Lisa is using the same plate that I have.
Gelatin Plate Printing Making the plate
Gelatin Printing with Stencils
Another Tutorial from Penny Dog Patchworks
Mono Printing on Gelatin

 

Experimenting . . .

While visiting Chicago, I paid a visit to Joanne's Fabrics to have a look around. Some of the fabrics '\ and books were 50% off. I purchased two yards of glittery fabric, a couple of batiks, black and red linen and a ball of yarn. The orange batik has gold designs on one side so is reversible.

The glittery fabric is like a mesh. It can also be ripped into smaller pieces. I always experiment to see if the fabric and yarns can be manipulated into something else. For example, with yarns, I pick the strands apart (especially if there are different weights twisted together) to see what I can do with them. The Angel Hair below, is an excellent example of this. As you can see, the two different yarns can be pulled them apart. The heavier strand can also be separated like wool roving. These fibres will probably find their way into felted pieces or as part of the fantasy fabrics I make.

Quiltology

On my recent trip to Chicago, I visited Quiltology.  I received a gift certificate for Christmas from that quilt shop, so I just had to go there! They have moved since my last visit but it was still easy to find and not far from my daughter's home.

I bought all batiks as I use them more than any other kinds of cottons. It is a nice shop with lots of quilts on display as well as patterns and fabrics. Here's my selection:

by the yard!

fat quarters!

From My Bookshelf

I just added a couple of new books to my collection. They were purchased on my recent trip to Chicago.

Stitch, Cloth, Paper & Paint by Angie Hughes, is a mixed media book with lots of inspiration for the adventurous quilter and stitcher. She guides the reader through several techniques (preparing the surface; machine stitching; hand stitching; and making your own embellishments) and then supplies three projects to try. The photographs and instructions are well done. Each step is explained so that you can create your own special works of art. Also check out her blog.

The second book is Reflections of Nature: The Art and Embroidery of Jane Hall. This is not a 'how to' book but one that lets you into her artistic world. It explores her passion for embroidery, the materials and various techniques she uses. It is also an ideal source of inspiration for textile artists and embroiderers of all skill levels. You can watch a short video of Jane at work.