WOW: Whipping Up A Winter Collar

 WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays 

Today I'm whipping up a collar to to make this gorgeous pink even better..  and I can't wait to show it to you..

 What's Your WOW? 

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WOW: Random Fun

  WOW = WIPs On Wednesday  

Look what I picked up! I purchased it cut out like this - it's a Kaffe Fassett panel and I'm sure I saw it once for sale by the metre, but I purchased it cut out like this for $8.

It looks so inviting, doesn't it? I'm going to try some new crayons and paint techniques today and basically 'colour it in' just for fun. Before I commit to a project, there are tens of steps like this one where I play around, pick favourites and decide on what works and what to move forward with. 

By the time I recommend anything, I've already experimented for months beforehand in many little steps. This is just another one of those. 

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Stencil This Quilt: Peony Pride

I just love everything about this quilt: it's striking, it's simple and yes.. it's stenciled. When it went on Show, everyone was leaning in as close as possible and debating whether or not it was painted or appliqued. You see, with the right quilting outlining each shape, painted and stenciled shapes really do 'puff' out a bit and look appliqued! Well, I got a real kick out of listening to those conversations, I can tell you.

The reason I decided to exhibit this quilt at all is because I wanted to present an heirloom technique. I felt then - and still feel now, that stenciled quilts are not respected enough in the community. This makes no sense to me. Stenciling is an authentic legacy technique that was practiced by the very first quilters and should be a method as celebrated and common as applique or paper piecing. Yet, we so rarely see this technique championed at all. What a shame.

I made this quilt 11 years ago, yes more than a decade has passed since I felt this way and you know what? Not much has changed. Today, I rarely exhibit my quilts because of the effort, transport theft and costs involved, but whenever I create a stencil quilt, I simply feel that I HAVE to put it out there for others to see. Otherwise, stenciling will never get the love and respect it deserves. And that change will only happen when more and more stencil quilts are actually visible and out there to be seen.

This week I'm promoting stenciling as a technique here on my blog, and I've decided to make all my stencil quilt patterns available to everyone and anyone who's interested in making them. It's the best way I can think of to bring attention to this technique.

So, for the next few days, until the end of the week, the complete digital pattern for this quilt, Peony Pride is available for sale for $4.80 USD. Yes, I'm serious. Let's make some stencil quilts everyone!

I'm really happy to report that I blogged the making process of Peony Pride, so if you'd like to look over those old blog posts, you can find them all in the Peony Pride Archive Page, simply click here to visit that page now!

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Peony Pride

Complete Digital pattern

$4.80 USD

Learn more about this quilt by visiting the Peony Pride archive page: 
simply click here now

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What you need to know:

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If you print it directly from the browser download screen, it will not be backed up to your computer. 

Click here to read my tutorial on printing my PDF patterns at home

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Today's THE Day: Learn How To Stencil!

About every year or so, I get lots of queries about stenciling on fabric for quilts. I don't know what sparks this mostly mid year craving for art, but whatever the trigger is, I wholeheartedly approve!

Stenciling is a real love of mine; I love that it's actually one of the most authentic and historic quilting techniques out there.. even though most quilters think it's a modern thing and mostly ignore it. Nope, it's authentic, timeless and proof that the earliest quilters were innovative, experimental and lovers of adapting techniques. 

So, to honor the early quilters and satisfy all the queries, I've decided to make all this week all about the pleasure and technique of stenciling.  

Are you ready to try something new? 

Today I offer a perfect little taste of what it means to stencil with this simple but effective Tulip Stencil. Print out your free Tulip pattern, follow the instructions below and give stenciling a go. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

Let's Stencil: The Tulip

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Materials:
Cutting matt
Tracing pencil
Permanent fine marker
Craft cutting knife or scalpel
Sharp scissors
Paper towels
Stubby paint brushes for stenciling: I like using round brushes, size 8 & 10
Small containers for mixing up colours
Freezer Paper ( I use Reynolds Brand)
Acrylic or textile paints (textile medium if applicable)
Extra fabric for experimenting
Plain background to be stenciled, approx a 12 ½inch block, however the size isn't as important as this workshop is focusing on technique.
Whichever acrylic paint you choose, ensure that you use Textile Medium unless specified otherwise by the paint manufacturer. 
Textile Medium helps paint adhere to fabric—for better setting, and is always recommended.

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A stencil pattern is what you create when you cut out selected segments (holes) from a design according to a line drawing. Starting with the line drawing that you want to turn into a stencil, trace this line drawing onto freezer paper (use a light box if required)

  

Position freezer paper on cutting mat 

Then carefully cut out the design with a craft knife

It will look like this when complete

When cutting out your design, allow plenty of time. I find working with a scalpel best, however some people prefer sharp thin bladed decoupage scissors—use whatever method you are most comfortable with. You do not want to rush the cutting out as the lines will show up in your stenciling—jagged edging shows. If your work is neat, keep all the ‘cut outs’ separately for use later.

You want to keep the bottom half of the leaves for shading, so don't discard them

Iron your fabric and position your freezer paper stencil. On a mid heat, iron down the freezer paper. Do this carefully and ensure that all the lines are firmly ironed down as you do not want edges coming loose and lifting up when stenciling!

Set up your paints and pre-mix the colours you want to use. For this workshop, I used green and red and to create a darker green for shading, I simply blended the two together. Use a new brush for each color. There will be no need to rinse your brushes during stenciling.

Have plenty of paper toweling ready for blotting off excess paint from your brush. I can't stress this enough. Stenciling is not about 'painting' fabric, it is about building up layers of almost dry paint stippled into position - and these are very different things. 

Apply some paint to your blotting tissue. Now blot off any excess paint. It is important that your brush remain somewhat dry. Remember that you are building up color. When applying paint to your stencil, buff the color in with quick circular movements—with stenciling you are building up color, almost as if you were dry painting. DO NOT SATURATE THE STENCIL.

Colour is blotted into the fabric with a dry brush. This allows you to go over areas and build up stronger color where desired, creating shading effects. If you saturate your brush, or if you did not iron down completely, parts of the freezer paper will lift—and this will lead to color seeping through and smearing. THIS IS TO BE AVOIDED. As below.

When you reach an edge of color, such as red meeting green—use a plastic template as a barrier to keep colors separated. 

The stencil is now stenciled

Lift up your fabric. The painted stencil should be dry to touch and NOT leaking through the fabric. Leaking, seeping & blurriness mean too much wet paint! This image below is how your underside should look - essential dry to touch with no bleed through. 

To create 2 color shading effects on a leaf, return to your earlier cut outs and re-position half of the leaf cut out back onto the flower, as shown below. Iron down the freezer paper piece on top of the paint. Iron down both leaf pieces.

Painting the darker hue: Use the same circular dry method of stenciling. You are only covering half the painted leaf—you are covering the half you do NOT want painted a darker hue. 

Now, using a darker green, paint the top of the leaf

The freezer paper acts as a barrier to protect the color beneath

When dry, peel off the added freezer paper leaf pieces  to reveal two tones of color

Leave the stencil until dry to touch

Then carefully peel back the freezer paper stencil as seen below

Allow stencil to dry

Turn over and iron on wrong side of fabric

Turn to right side and iron over stencil to heat set

Cover ironing board with pressed cloth or paper and heat set the paint by ironing on the back of your stencil with a dry iron set on cotton. Ironing on the back of your stencil sets the paint most successfully (3 -4 minutes). I use fine paper over the stencil to protect my iron against staining when ironing the front. 

Now, what's stopping you from trying your hand at stenciling? 

The Tulip
Free Download
$0.00

Simply click on this image to download your free

The Tulip Stencil Pattern 

Instant PDF Download

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Start Stenciling Today PDF Guide

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Buy the full guide to this tutorial post 
for just $1 USD

Instant PDF download 

WOW: Where Have All The Bloggers Gone?

 WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays 

When I started blogging 10 years ago, I had no idea that I'd still be doing it today.

It takes time, effort and bother - no doubt about it.
But it also gives back so much more than it takes. 

In my life, I've created a lot of things - in many different mediums. Although I 'remember' them, theoretically speaking, I don't have a 'catalog' of them listed anywhere, let alone a dated entry post dedicated to them. And this is where blogging is so valuable for creative people. Believe me when I tell you this; I forget how many quilts I've made. I also forget the order I released my own BOMs in and I forget what I was up to, creatively, this time last year. Let alone what I designed and created in my younger years as a textile designer and before that, a fashion and costume designer. Oh my goodness, what a record that would have been to browse through today! Unfortunately, I've never been a diary keeper and so, many creative pursuits have simply been lost to time. 

Time waits for no person and especially not the creative person. Blogging has allowed me to document and journal my work in way that I had not managed in any other time in my life right up until I sat down to that first and rather brief blog post. It was a very small, very humble beginning. But one I am so glad I started. For now, I have a record, a history and a timeline of exactly what I've been up to these past 10 years and it's a breeze to look things up, share info and sometimes even jog my own memory. Sure, 10 years isn't such a long time, but there are even blog posts I don't remember writing and projects I don't remember starting - all documented here. 

It's certainly proven to be a treasure chest of my time. 

And so, I'm really perplexed and left wondering.. where have all the bloggers gone? 10 years ago you could find a blog on almost any subject and be sure to find someone friendly, knowledgeable and actively blogging - it was such a indulgence. From rose gardening to perfect pancakes, there was a blogger ready and waiting to invite you into their lives. Real experiences, real opinions and no advertising or editorial control over the content - just the real goods, no filler.

Today? So many interesting niche blogs have disappeared. So many interesting spots just disappear into virtual nothingness as the years are ticking by.. and so few are being started. It's such a shame. 

As for me, I'll be blogging as long as I have the internet, which I'm pretty sure will be forever. Or until Google kick me off for using up too much web space..if such a thing even exists. 

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 Have you noticed blogging dropping off? 

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My Favorite Tables

The most absurd thing just happened. I got another table. 

And now my family have revolted; there's a furniture mutiny in the house. They say I have "too many tables". But I ask you, how many is too many..exactly? I mean, for the working life of a designer, I feel like I don't have enough.

This is my latest table, don't you just love those simple legs? It goes up and down, making it perfect for all my applique pinning work. I found this beautiful table whilst I was casually browsing online. I don't go looking for tables, but they do somehow keep finding me. This one appeared in a sidebar and I knew it was what I was missing.

So here it is, being useful. 

I've turned it into a side attraction to my main event - this square table. I don't know why there aren't more square tables in the world, I love them. This is where I go online and share my work with the world. My computer screen is turned to the side in this picture, so you might not be able to see it, but it's there. I might be showing my age now, but I still think it's incredible that I can sit here and connect with thousands of people over in my Group who are also busy creating. I never take it for granted, it's such a special thing. And it's a special thing that takes place on this table.

Both these tables are to the side of my giant dining table. You can just see a peek of it in the corner of the photo. I start most of my projects over there and then 'graduate' them to these two tables here.. it's a creative process and frankly, I feel like I could use a few more tables but we are definitely out of room, which is a real shame;  I need an extra surface to comfortably draw on without taking space away from anything else.

I suppose I could create in 'shifts' if I absolutely had to, but as soon as I pack something up, I usually forget about it, so these tables keep everything at the forefront on my mind - right where I need them to be.

So, just lately there's been talk around the Sunday Lunch table that maybe I have enough tables now (I don't think I do actually) and it's been getting me down. After all, a quilter needs her space.And then some more. And then just a little pinch extra. Isn't that so?

I feel like no one at home understands or has enough vision when it comes to the importance of tables. And if I can't come onto my own blog to defend my collection of tables, then who else could possibly understand my predicament?

Surely someone out there understands?!

WOW: Working On Birdy

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

Today I'm working on my 2019 Applique BOM called Hold Onto Your Heart. I'm making it in 2 colourways - yes, I'm really making such an intense quilt..ah... TWICE. 

No, I don't know what I was thinking. One is a full colour anything goes style quilt and the other is this soft and gentle scheme. I've already completed the Birdscene on my full colour quilt, so today I'm completing it on my gentle quilt.

I love Wednesdays because in my house, it's Applique day. And even now, after several years of WOW, I still look forward to it and and I still love applique too. I do wonder how much more applique I can cram into a day.. I think this year is just about my limit!

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