Project hours: About 7 hours
Design and materials: about 1
Execution: 6 hours
This lovely piece was inspired by Quilting Arts TV, episode 304. Pokey Bolton shows how to paint on batting, including screen printing on it and other fun stuff. So off I went to get out my paints and stamps to have some fun.
First, I started with wet batting, so my colors would run together, and diluted Setacolor paints until they were about half paint, half water. I blobbed the colors onto the wet batting and mushed some of the areas to make the colors bleed. I only used yellow and blue, the green you see is mixed in the batting.
So the reason this took so long to do is the drying time. Let this get dry, dry, dry. Then you can stamp over it. I used blue and white, and it looks pretty cool. I quilted this with a variegated thread that has all the same colors. It is backed with fabric. I liked this technique a lot, except for the drying time, because I'm in such a hurry. But I can't wait to try it again with some fuchsia and yellow.
Project hours: About 2 hours
Design and materials: about 1
Execution: 1 hour
I have lots of wool, for some reason. I keep it all in a nice box with no plans to do anything with it, but it's there just in case. Jane LaFazio has a great art quilt DVD out that uses wool, and maybe I thought I would try those techniques out.
Instead, I saw a the wonderful Fashion Week collection of LeeAnn Marshall (of Project Runway fame) and was inspired by the "topography" looks in her Fall 2010 line. So, I made this little island, and it turned out pretty neat!
New techniques will be posted soon, I have had a curve ball thrown in my schedule. Stay tuned!
It's Hina Matsuri, and here is my display! I have a few more things in my Hina collection for this year, including a solar bobble doll set, a beautiful cotton scarf that is hanging as the background, candy from a trip to Mitsuwa in Arlington Heights, and my weekly quilt from my Japanese Doll series. The center item on the platform is sugar candy.
Click here to see my display from last year!
I still have my kimono Hello Kitty doll, but she's not in the picture. I bought some hina-arare but I ate it already. There some more hina snacks in the plastic bag on the left of the picture I saved to the actual day. My DH has become quite enamored with the mochi cakes in the fridge I bought, so let's hope they last until tonight!
The next festival is Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. It's far too cold here yet for that, we still have snow. But it would be a welcome to spring!
Project hours: About 8 hours Design and materials: about 4
Execution: 4 hours
I took a Golden Acrylics paint class with an accredited Golden Acrylics teacher to learn how to use their materials in fabric projects. I was surprised at the variety of the mediums they offer. I have used gel matte and gloss mediums before, but I had never used pastes and some of their other products before.
Our teacher showed us how to use the paints on a wet or dry surface, using GAC-100 as a resist, using moulding pastes through pieces of lace and many many other cool things.
Shown here are two pieces from my class. The background was made by using GAC-100 in dots that acted as a resist when dry. Then the rest of the piece was dry painted using a paper towel and regular fluid paints. They blended nicely in the center. The middle piece, which did not scan well, is a "skin" made from layers of heavy gloss gel medium and some sparkly gauzy scraps in similar colors.
I included my education in the above time-frame, and drying time in the execution hours.
In other news, I'm working on workshop proposals, an article submission proposal, and a lecture to shop around to local guilds. And there's 500 ish flowers to be made for my sister's wedding! Fun year planned ahead!
The technique of the week is on it's way but was delayed by a minor scheduling problem I had from the weekend (read: nap and Olympics watching that dlayed my posting).
It will hopefully be up later tonight! Can't wait for you to see it!
