Delphiniums Inspirations...

Finally.....time to write about my process of finishing a very time consuming piece...

A few days ago, I posted about delphiniums being the inspiration for the quilt that I've just completed....below was the simple drawing that started the idea...

The above drawing started back in April-2012 and over the next few months the idea just grew.....below is a larger sketch....I was playing with the idea of a hummingbird but it didn't make it onto the final quilt.....I'll save the hummingbird idea for a different drawing.....

The above drawing wasn't exactly what I envisioned for a cottage garden....so I kept working on the drawing....by the way, I'm drawing from pictures of delphiniums that I've planted in prior years.......the cottage garden I'm creating exists only in my head....

After working on my drawing a little longer, I got it to a point where I could enlarge it......off to the copy center to have it enlarged.  I just can't bring myself to make smaller wall hangings.  I like my quilts to make an impact and the larger ones seem to turn out better for me........especially if I'm going to hang it on wall space that can handle a big piece....

At this point, I haven't completed my final drawing.  I have to see it in fabric before I continue with any more drawing.  

So next is fabric selection, & below are the fabrics I've used to build the background base....that white piece of paper is there to work out an idea with pencil because I didn't like the dark green fabric as the only background.....

Below I'm trying out a blue & yellow green hand dyed fabric that looks a little better to me.....not quite happy but I'm going to go with it for now.....

I use fusible web to build my delphinium flowers on an applique pressing sheet first...then I take this assembled piece and place it on the background to make sure the colors are working with the fabrics I've selected... 

If I'm happy with the way the color & values are turning out then, I will continue to build up the flower.....so I remove this piece from the background & take back to my applique pressing sheet......I continue building the rest of the delphinium stem of flowers.....there are a lot of petals to delphiniums....

I can hear some of you say, "Those stems are painstaking".  Yes, they were slow to work on but, if you want the effect to be right, you just have to go through the process.......think of when we wear high heels.......if you want to look pretty.....we go through the pain of wearing heels to look pretty.......don't we?  

After working up to this point, I stopped & took a break for a day or two or longer.  Then back to drawing again......my drawing was not completed when I started to work on the delphinium petals......what you see below are random drawings on tracing paper.....these flowers below are nasturtiums & other flower shapes & leaves....

Then I test the nasturtiums in fabric to see how they will look on the background.....

Okay.....I think I'm happy.....I place the quilt top back up on the design wall while I take a step back & look at the whole design.....

I take another break for a few days, come back & I'm not happy with that dark green fabric.... 

So I add another fabric to soften the dark green fabric....I think this is going to work....

Added some pink flowers on that yellow green field....

Whew!!  It is now January-2013 & I'm tired of working on this piece.  I've put it away at this point & I need to clean up my very messy sewing studio....

Fast forward to June-2013,  I've unfolded this quilt & I'm motivated to finish it....I've selected wool batting because the folded creases will flatten out after a finished quilt is unfolded.....

I've pinned the top, batting & backing fabric & I'm ready to begin free motion quilting......but first, I pull out all the rayon threads I'll need....

Pinned all three layers so fabrics do not shift while under my sewing machine....

So many petals to quilt.....what was I thinking?  I say this every time......

One petal completely done.....a lot of hours to go....I try not to think about finishing but, just working on a section at a time.......the best thing to do is to put on some music & just do it.....

Nasturtiums before quilting......

after the quilting.....by the way.....the tiny holes you see do close up....

Lots of jump stitches to trim off....

Thread waste from thread tails & jump stitches that have been trimmed off the back....

Fast forward to July-2013.....my quilt has been blocked, the binding is done, it's hanging, & I'm so happy because I can start another piece.....below is thread work from the backside....

To see the front side of my delphinium garden, scroll to the very top & click on the Gallery-Floral tab to see the quilt...

Thanks for taking time to visit.......hope you enjoyed seeing some of the process of making this cottage garden come to life....

Have a wonderful day!

Delphiniums As Inspiration....

So exciting to be finishing up another floral garden art piece!

I'm in the process of sewing on the binding so that I can post the results in my Floral Gallery.....

For today, I'll begin with what started out as an idea.....I wanted to create a cottage garden of delphiniums but, knew the drawing would take some work, much like growing & caring for real delphiniums.   My process to create the drawn garden took time but in the end, it was worth taking the time & I'm happy with my results.  

Below is my 3" w x 5" l small sketch that I started in April-2012.  A quick drawing of delphiniums from memory. Nothing impressive but, simply an idea to build upon.

This small sketch became a 40" wide by 49" length quilted wall piece.  I didn't plan it to be this large but, I wanted to hang a garden piece in my home.  I quickly realized it would have to be somewhat large for it to make an impact for where I wanted it to hang.  I'll post more about how this small sketch grew in the next few days. 

Stay tuned to see the process of how this garden grew from a small sketch...

Have a wonderful day! 

Artist Trading Cards....

Okay.....it's been about two months since my last post.....so what's going on?  Life happens and creativity sometimes has to take a back seat.

In the meantime....I've had to tend to my garden....both literally and figuratively.....by the way, all these photos are all taken with my camera....

Which brings me to only having time to create ATC's, artist trading cards.  These are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" size quilts or cards.  They look like business cards & may even be used as a business card.  I belong to an ATC group of 10 very creative and talented women.  We exchange these cards with each other every other month.  I won't go into too much detail about how I make these cards at this time.  If you google, "How to create quilted artist trading cards", you'll find tutorials for this.   

I basically use two pieces of 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" white cotton muslin fabric.  You'll need a black & white drawing or image of your choice.  Remember that your drawing/image has to be no larger than the above size. The picture below is a drawing done in pencil first then, darkened by going over it with a sharpie thin marker... 

Take the drawing/image and place under a white cotton muslin fabric & trace the image.  It will look like the next photo where the image has been traced on to fabric...

You will need an assortment of fabric markers if you would like some color in your image.....

How you color your image is left up to your imagination, or you may use a photo as a reference or whatever you would like to do.  This is about creativity & you may express yourself in whatever way you choose....

Continue adding color.....

Once you're satisfied with color, you're ready to embellish with beads, hand or machine stitching.  If you need to stabilize your fabric with interfacing or batting you can do this before add your embellishments....

After I added beads, I fused double sided inner fuse with my iron to the front & back, using the second white piece of muslin fabric that I initially cut out.  Inner fuse is similar to Timtex which is product used in tote bags or purses to give them stability.  Inner fuse is sold at your local fabric & craft stores.  You may just use batting if you like but, I prefer the stability of inner fuse.  After my beading was stitched on the front, I fused both sides together & then satin stitched around the edges of this ATC...

Here's the finished ATC...

I don't have a picture of the back side of this ATC but, you may sign & date the back, along with the title of your card, if you have one.  I made ten of these & traded the other nine with my ATC group.  These are really quick to make once you decide what you want to create.

Thanks for stopping by to visit & I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of the process I use for making artist trading cards. 

Until next time......

Fresh Cut Roses.......

It's been slightly over a month since my last post.....even though there is inspiration everywhere you look.....I have to confess that I too often come to a creative road block.   It doesn't matter the why......we just have to find a way to work through the road block and find our way back to creating again.

While I don't have anything new or ready to post.....I will post pictures of my fresh cut roses from my garden & the roses art quilt that I created a few years ago.....

This one rose had a nice hot pink color....we all feel this strong & vibrant at some point in time during the day.....

This next pic is from the same rose but about two days or so after I cut it.....looking a bit paler.....does it needs vitamins???  

Snapshot below of the roses done with fabric & quilted........

Notice that the fabric, in the quilt, with the hot pink in it was a commercial fabric that was hand dyed with a range of yellows, splatters of orange, and light pink to hot pink color.....all in that one fabric I bought a few years ago......a great piece of fabric that I have now used up........I'll have to dye my own in the future....

After a few days......a rose begins to age......like all living things.....but even though it's aging......there is still beauty showing through......

their lovely petals begin to fall & curl.........and they still look pretty......I usually leave them at the base of the vase.....they have the shape of teardrops....but not in a sad way......

Here's a yellow/orange version for those of you who prefer yellow roses........

If you're a quilter or a painter.....you can make a bouquet of roses last much longer by creating your subject in fabric or painting on a canvas..........below is the quilted version I created a few years ago........all done in fabric, subtle value changes, machine quilted.......no fabric paints....

Not the best picture because it's taken with my IPhone....guess I need to figure out which app will give me the highest resolution for taking great pics with my phone.....I'm open for suggestions...

I've already heard from followers of my blog.....who by the way are not officially registered as followers because your picture would show up under my followers section......

I know....I know....I need to stay on top of updating my blog every two weeks or so.......I will do my best.....sigh!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend......

Until next time..........

Coneflowers...

How do you decide what you'll do next?  

This seems to be the question that I get asked the most.   Always do what you love & you'll enjoy the process.  

First,  I typically hold auditions.......this usually brings in many models as you see below...

Some of the models are vertically challenged, while others are vertically enhanced.  They are all pretty & they all want to be selected...

So begins the process of elimination, much like the auditions held for American Idol...

After a long & tough selection process.....a top model is born....

Now that you have a model to work from, the next step is to decide how you get this picture converted to a pattern you can work with.  The fastest way is to use photo software.  I used Adobe Photo Elements to speed up this step.  Below is the enlarged paper pattern.  

I begin to select fabrics that I see in the original photo.  As is usually the case, I never seem to have all the values I need so, I decided to hand dye some fabrics.  I used RIT Dye below & followed basic formulas with adjustments here & there depending on the values I wanted.   You can find basic formulas for dyeing on www.ritdye.com.  

Fabrics are pressed & ready to be used in the photo below.  I only used the pinks, mauves & greens from this stack in addition to other commercial fabrics which you'll see in a moment.  What did you say?   A lot of work?   Remember I mentioned to do what you love & you'll enjoy the process.  No, this wasn't a lot of work for me.

Fast forwarding to paint touch ups for depth on the stem of this coneflower.

Close up of dense quilting done on the petals.

Below is what the backside of the quilt looks like. By the way, this whole process took several weeks to work on.  I did not magically whip this up in one afternoon....

Guess what?  I found a broken thread that I have to repair.....sigh......just when I thought it was done.

To see the front side of this art quilt, scroll back up to the top, click on the tab....Gallery-Floral to see the completed piece.  

Hope you enjoyed this post & thanks for stopping by to visit.  

 Don't forget to carve out a little time for creativity in your day...