Paper-cloth

I went to the Craft Show in Brisbane yesterday which was terrific and very inspiring.
Of course, had to buy some beads, some  packets of luscious fabrics, threads, book.
One book Stitch Alchemy shows a technique to create sheets of paper-cloth.
Basically, you put a piece of fabric on some freezer paper, slap some diluted white glue on it and cover it with strips of paper. The resulting sheet can be used to paint, stitch, embellish, cut..whatever.
I did 3 today.
#1: gold tissue paper and the handmade paper our washing came back in when we were in Bali many years ago plus some junk mail.
#2: a no longer required dressmaking pattern
#3: I used pastels to colour ordinary printing paper and added a paper serviette and some coffee crystals.
The sheets are about A3, but I could only scan part of them.





#3

 


#1







#2



Unfortunately, I cannot seem to control where this pictures go.

What can I do with these sheets?

If I want to add stitching, these are nice and firm and need no further stabilizing.

Maybe I'll make some bookmarks? Some ATCs? acrylic paint? 

Next projects

I was gently pushed into making an entry for the Glen Rock Quilters' Challenge: Wine, Roses and All That Jazz.
I agreed, because I happen to have something already half made!
This
This is a quilt made with gold fabric, music fabric for the binding and for a previous exhibition, I temporarily attached some postcards. They were a gift and I had to give them back, but I still have this quilt.
Unfortunately the gold organza I used cannot stand the heat of the iron necessary to have something fused to it.
But I can make some elements and just hand stitch them on.

The deadline after that is "Down to Earth" I don't want to make anything that takes too long. Painters are lucky in that respect, they seem to be able to do a painting in a week with lots of time to spare.

At the moment, my thoughts are going to a snake. This is an outside exhibition, could I make a fabric snake that curls and that can be hung from a tree?
What if: I cut a wide spiral out of fabric, wide enough to stitch the edges together, stuff it to make it into a kind of spirally sausage??

I can then decorate it with stitching, beads and whatever.

Stitching the gloves on

This is a bit of a boring job, but it does look nice. Better than if I had been able to use a machine stitch, which was my original intention. I couldn't do that, because the foot doesn't move freely over the kid leather. I believe it needs a roller foot, which I don't have and don't want to buy.

What I do like is whipping another yarn through the stitches so, even before I finished the stitching, I am experimenting.

This is a relative fine thread that can be used with an embroidery needle.

This yarn is much thicker and I had to use a big needle with a very big eye.
It hides the original red stitching a bit more, it is marginally harder to use.
What does show well on these photos is that the kid leather is very fine and I am conscious that it really IS skin as I push the needle through.
I think I will be going with the finer thread.
I bought the yarns, threads and some fascinating fabrics at the Textile Art Festival in Brisbane last Friday.
Threads and yarns from The Thread Studio and fabric from  Beautiful Silks.

Also bought a "Studios" Magazine.  Our house is for sale which means that, eventually, we will move into another house and I have an opportunity to redesign my sewing studio. I like the one I have, because although it is only small, we had the house built to our specs, so I have been very happy with my sewing studio, which, in fact, I have always called my sewing "room". As we very likely will move into an existing home, I will have to work with what I get!

Creating background

The quilt sandwich is made and is approx. 32" square.
Layers: Iron on interfacing on the bottom fused to bamboo wadding fused with paper backed fusible to the Dupion Silk.
I made templates of the outline of my hand in 3 sizes. (resized in CorelDraw).
25 Hand outlines are drawn on the back of the quilt sandwich, which is the interfacing.

I went through my threads and yarns and selected 2: an orangy hand spun silk thread, given to me many years ago by an 80 year old lady called Norma, a variegated jeans topstitching thread.
I made a test quilt the same as the main quilt and tried them out.

I liked the orange thread the best, with it slightly lumpy texture.

Deconstruction 1 and 2

What if....
I opened up one glove, so I could applique it and see both sides at once?

This is what it looks like. Because you can't see the thumb, you can't appreciate how unpleasantly organic this object looks!


Next: just cut each glove in half, so I have 2 outside and 2 inside pieces.

OK, this was an experiment and I was very much prepared to sacrifice this pair.
I don't have to sacrifice the 4 pieces, but I learned NOT TO USE STEAM ON KID LEATHER!
It makes it shrink like plastic would.

Next step:
I have a piece of gorgeous magenta Dupion Silk for the background. Thought I could tuck it, but tucking needs more fabric than I have.

More ticky-tocky

 

It is looking good, isn't it!

I love the way the organza mutes the design of the fabric underneath. 

The stars are now defined.

Being able to design on the computer and print has made this element so much easier. especially the numbers on the clock. 

What I like about blogging this project is that, even though I think I am not getting anywhere, I can see progress.

I've ordered the wrought iron quilt hanger, I am committed to enter a new piece in the Musical Gems exhibition at the end of next month. Thank goodness for deadlines!

I am going to start on another element, while I consider how to design the hands of the clock with a sense of movement.  If I can't think of any way to get that effect well, I'll just put 2 hands in.....

Elements

 

Last year, when I was still thinking of doing this in drawing, I made this quick sketch in ink.

The images come from the text of the "Windmills of your mind" song.

"keys that jingle in your pocket"

"words that jangle in your head"

"like an apple, turning silently in space"

"a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face"

"leave their footprints in the sand"

"or a carnival balloon"

"pictures hanging in the hallway"

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thethomascrownaffair/windmillsofyourmind.htm

The additional element is of sheet music, I'll probably do something with the actual sheet music and then manipulate it in Corel PhotoPaint.

  

I played for a few hours with this drawing, trying for an overlapping effect. I am going to print multiple images on organza, then overlap them on the background. Probably.... 

I have done quite a few works based on something musical and find it a never ending source of inspiration..