"What if?"

I am in the process of playing "What if?" When I first came across the simple instructions for thread flowers, I hadn't yet found the instructions for thread leaves. When I did, I thought, "What if I put them together?" 
At first I only had a single layer/flower head. Then I thought, "What if I put on another, and then perhaps a third, as center?"
When I decided to use clothesline cording for the stems I bought what  found. Later I discovered that the cording comes in at least two sizes! Eureka! Great for big flowers and little flowers!
I originally used fabric to wrap the stems, but Sunny Days (below) seemed to call for a little more bling...so, I used satin ribbon.
This week I thought, what if I add beads? Just what sun flowers needed!
Who knows what my next 'what if' will be...but that is how we learn and grow. Try 'what if-fing' your current obsession and see where it leads you!

Sunny Days

Program Prepping

I am scheduled to 'be the program' for the quilt guild I attend each month. I am to tell a little about what an art quilt is, how I got into fiber art, and show-and-tell scads of my work. What's not to have fun with?
So, I have a growing pile of notes and books and online research, but today I finalized a sample sheet to show why I am a fiber artist; no rules, try anything once, endless variety and do I have to say it? FUN!

From top left, clockwise...

1. I colored the flower cartoon, then tried ironing it onto fabric. Not good...
2. Then I colored directly onto fabric and ironed. Oh, yes!
3. Next I used fabric markers. They were okay.
4. Then I tried crayon onto light heat n bond stuff. Hmmm... further research needed.
5. Satin stitched individual cloth petals then joined them into a lily. Not overly impressed.
6. Free motion embroidered on a sparkly nylon fabric. Kinda cool!

Hydrangea Tutorial

You will need;

batting, both cotton and poly, threads, needles, scissors, sewing machine, marking pen/pencil, cotton cording, light or medium weight wire, seed beads and water soluble stabilizer and embroidery hoop.

I started with my hand-dyed fabric.

I drew the circle size  I wanted on the top layer of 4 layers. I used the bottom of a full cone of serger thread as my 'template'.

Cut them out. Repeat with batting.

OR

Draw your circles on the top layer of 2 layers, then insert batting between the layers and cut out individual 'sandwiches'. I tried it both ways. I had no preference.

The first couple dozen blossoms I thought they should be quilted, so that method is shown at left and below.
BUT

The next batch I simply began the running stitch by hand to create the 'scrunchy' blossoms skipping the machine quilting step. Once they are on the flower, no one can tell the difference.

Pre-quilted circles-or not! Ready to paint, then 'scrunch'. Or scrunch, then paint.

I used red, white and blue. I mixed the red and white first with a touch of blue for a light pinky lavender.

I then mixed in the blue for dark purple, eventually adding in more white for strong lavender. Variety of shades adds dimension and depth.

Painting may occur before 'scrunching' or after. I tried it both ways. It didn't seem to make a difference... The scrunching is simply hand stitching a running stitch, from the center out, north, south, east and west. I knotted well in the center, did the running stitch out to the edge, tugged a little until I liked the look of the scrunch and tied it off well. Repeat, repeat, repeat! The choose your seed beads of color choice (I used yellow, peach, pink, blue, lavender and white) and stitch them randomly in the center of each blossom.

Painted, scrunched, beaded.

Completing the hydrangea...

The 'pillow' I sew the blooms onto. (this one was too skinny!)

Stem - Measure off apx. 14 inches of cotton cording. Spiral wrap the same length of light or medium weight wire, starting at one end, from top to bottom. Repeat the spiral wrapping with a half inch wide torn piece of fabric. Glue stick the finishing end down. Fold in half, and twist tightly.

Leaves - Make a 'sandwich' of two layers of fabric and the water soluble stabilizer. You may sketch a leaf shape or free motion it, what ever you are comfortable with. Hoop this sandwich and free motion stitch the veins of the leaves. Cut out 'ziggy' edged leaf shapes.  When completed, rinse lightly, leaving some of the stabilizer as 'stiffener' in the leaves.

Flower Head - I used some more of the lavender fabric and made a small 'pillow', stuffed with poly batting as the base to attach all the blossoms. Leave a small opening at the bottom to insert the completed stem and stitch in place. Hand stitch the blossoms to the head, attach the leaves and you are finished!

There really is no need for the batting, you could simply create the scrunchies in single layer of fabric, but this flower is going to Ireland to be 'planted' in the Quilted Garden of the International Quilt Festival of Ireland 2012, so it needed to be a 'quilt' of 3 layers. The Festival will have an online book showing the entire display and all the quilts. It takes place in June. http://www.iqfoi.com/  Check it out!

2012 International Quilt Festival of Ireland

I had the honor of receiving an email from the above titled quilt festival asking if I would be interested in sending some of my work. You bet! And when I had 'run around' the site advertising all that will be offered the Quilted Garden really caught my imagination! Below is a creation that I will send to be included in the garden, then donated to charity. ANY one that wants to create quilted flora and fauna, according to the info page, may send their donation in. Are you feeling creative? Go for it! I plan to do a demure quilted frog, and an over-the-top huge butterfly. Art quilting is all about no rules, sky's the limit, and it is the venue I thrive in creatively.  Here is the link, if you want to read about all the interesting and unique categories they will feature. www.IQFOI.com

Hydrangea for the Quilted Garden

 I will be placing a tutorial on here tomorrow. Check back if you think you would like to build your own hydrangea!

More and more fluffy flowers!

Here are the latest fluffy flowers, pre-framed.

A Little Rusty

Plethora

Perky!

Poinsettia 'leaf' Applique'

Tree Skirt with poinsettias appliqued.

Here is another 'leaf' you may play with. I used the same basic method covered in my Leaves 101 tutorial ( http://quilts-artfromtheheart.blogspot.com/2012/05/leaves-101-tutorial.html ) and similar to my 'daisy flowers'. http://quilts-artfromtheheart.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-build-flower-101.html
Because you are using the rinse away backing to sew on, you must link the center's yellow portions a little, but the method is great-it allows air space around each one, just like the real plant. This one is rather large as it will be one among many in a larger piece of work, but you could 'whip up' miniatures in no time to mount on pin backs. The Holiday bazaars are coming soon! Get to it! :?}

WILD Flowers completed!

     In an earlier blog I gave a tutorial on making these wild flowers. I have now completed this piece and am madly making tons more flowers, as there seems to be more demands for it! Yeah!
     I am working on more of the wild variety, but have also started a silver gray color scheme, and a naturalistic yellows/browns theme to mimic sunflowers.
An important follow up I am going to add to the tutorial is the 'learned the difficult way' information regarding the background. Choose your background colors and size, piece, quilt and bind it, THEN place your flowers, stems and leaves onto it. I used masking tape to hold all the fluff and stuff aside while I struggled to quilt, which made it doable, but still difficult!
I will post a picture soon of the sunflower or gray theme, as I have come up with a further embellishment-little flower as center of big flower. Way cool!