Category: photographic quilt

Jewel Boxes

A recently completed quilt has been on a photo shoot. We took this big baby (it measures 80″ square) with us to Zebulon last week when we went to see Slow Exposures (the photo exhibit described in my last post). The quilt posed on a bench, in a gazebo, and in front of a brick wall.

I called this one Jewel Boxes.  The traditional tumbling block pattern, one of my favorites, has been surrounded by a vine of colorful foliage.

Inspired by a magazine cover with a similar quilt many years ago, I cut many rhombuses with a 60º angle and hand stitched them together to make the tumbling block.  Then I assembled the blocks into rows and added a black border.  

Here, I’m having a Vivian Maier moment including my reflection in the photo. I’ll share my love of Vivian Maier in an upcoming post.

I planned the applique on the border in a free-form manner.  After positioning the border vines, I cut leaves and flowers from assorted fabrics, laid them in place until I liked the color placement, and began stitching.  

Dewey Godwin did the longarm quilting.  He did a great job!

Dewey used a dark gray thread for the quilting on the border, prompting me to select a little gray dot on black for the binding.

Going in Circles

We left home to run a few errands and I grabbed some quilts.  The day wasn’t especially light filled, but I’ve learned that if I don’t have a camera and quilts, the perfect stage presents itself.  

We visited Seventh Street Salvage in their downtown location…and what did we see but a cart sitting in front of circles?  Well, well, well….I just happened to have a few circles in the car.

Even though I had written about 108, I wanted a photo of it in an outdoor setting.  I had grabbed it and a couple of other quilts with circles and thrown them in the car.  

After we did our shopping inside (the garlic/olive artisan bread is delicious, by the way), we got permission to snap some photos and brought out the quilts.

I love the stars in the circles, the repetition of them in mass (like quilt blocks that way), and I am descended from Wheelers, so there’s that, too.  The stars in the circles are impressive, as well.  I may need to find some quilts with stars to bring back to this spot.  And, make a quilt with stars inside circles???? oh, my, the ideas just won’t stop!

The lone magenta quilt is one I haven’t written about before, Going in Circles.  In 2018, our guild’s challenge was “2”.  We were challenged to make a quilt using only 2 fabrics.  As always, I explored several options, experimented with a couple, but decided to do something totally out of my normal “look”. 

I spliced thin strips of a multicolored batik in a modern sort of piecing layout with a Cherrywood solid fabric.  I drew intersecting circles all over, planning to quilt each defined area with a different motif.  But when I got the circles stitched, I liked the clean look of it, so decided just to add some pearls at the intersections.

To continue the clean modern look, I didn’t bind the quilt, instead faced it with more of the graphic batik.  The backing is a hand-dyed fabric in soft muted colors.  

This quilt hangs on a rack in my sewing room and I see it every day.  But writing about it makes me realize that I need to do more of this kind of piecing.  It was fun – and I love the graphic result!  

I’ve written about the quilt in the center, Dots and Vines, before, and linked to it recently.  But in case you missed it, its story is here.

And, the blue dots on brown is my previous post, 108.

Seventh Street Salvage has appeared before in photo shoots, too.  Here, and here.

A note about the photos. My signature appears on most of these photos, but it is a collaborative effort at our house. I have learned to take photos and do a bit of post processing. But sometimes Jim and I swap cameras depending on where we are standing and which lens we need….and sometimes we forget who took what. And now there’s the issue of a new camera whose photos won’t import on his older computer. But I don’t have some of the processing software he has …so on this shoot more than ever, we’ve passed digital images back and forth to make this wall and the quilts impressive! His masterful touch in the digital darkroom makes everything look good!

Painting on Fabric

As promised in the last post, I have outlined the processes I use to paint and write on fabric. 

In the many examples you’ve seen with blue overalls painted on a black and white photo, I’ve used various products and processes.  Depending on the size of the project, the fabrics being used, the paints and markers at hand (perhaps in a specific color I need), and the mood I’m in, the process changes.  Also, as time goes on, I learn of new products and incorporate them into my repertoire.

For the photos on art quilts:  once the image is printed on the fabric, I leave the fabric adhered to the freezer paper to act as a stabilizer.  In the photo above, I’m using Neocolor II  water soluble crayons and a paintbrush.  I make a puddle of the crayon on a corner of parchment paper, then apply the paint with a small brush.  I use a very small amount of water if I want the color to “stay within the lines”.  

In the case of the oceans on the map in the photo above, I used the same watercolors, but used more water so the color flowed.  Note:  this is on a fairly rough linen fabric with a loose weave – it behaves oh so differently from quilting cottons. As always, testing first is very important.

In Walker’s Pasture, I don’t even recall what paint product I used, but I’m including it to show why I sometimes paint.  My original intent here was to appliqué the windmill’s framework – but the scale was so small that I looked for another way.  So I used the freezer paper template I had created to mark its outline, then inked it in with something…

An example of painting on an otherwise traditional quilt is in the Christmas Garden quilt above.  I wanted my initials and date on the front, and the phrase Mistletoe and Holly, to be relatively small.  A result of painting gave a transparency to the letters, letting the details of the background fabric show through.  You don’t get that with appliqué.

The selection of markers for the Christmas quilt was quite complex.  I went to a local art supply store and bought one of every type of “fabric-safe” marker available in red.  I came home and tested each, recording the results in my sketchbook; before and after washing.  I ended up using a Prismacolor marker.  You can zoom in on the photos above to see my notes about each.

Since that experience, I’ve learned about Fabrico markers by Tsukineko and now have them in multiple colors.  Their fine tip is great for outlining the shape…the thicker one fills in nicely.  

To transfer words to fabric, I sometimes just write freehand.  I did that on A Tree Grows in Gondor – using a mixture of Sharpies and Pigma Micron Pens.  I wanted different weights and thicknesses, hoping to convey the idea that different hands wrote the quotes.

Lettering in a large format is not my forte…so when I want larger words or numerals, I print them first on paper, then trace them to the fabric using my lightbox.  I outline the figures with a fine paintbrush or marker, then fill them with a larger brush or tip.  Above is a photo of the Christmas quilt on the lightbox.  

When filling in such a design, I use sandpaper, freezer paper, or a silicon baking sheet as stabilizer. Above, you see that I used the margins of the photo on fabric to test the colors I was contemplating.

Though it isn’t necessary with all markers and paints, I usually set the color using a dry iron and pressing cloths after the paint has dried.  For one thing, I can’t remember which products instruct me to do that and which ones don’t.  Safe is better than sorry.

Note:  I have not yet written about the Christmas quilt or the journal quilt (the one with the Gulf and Atlantic painted).  

Some of these markers are available locally, others from online vendors.  I don’t know where I bought some of them; it’s been so long since I’ve been shopping, things have changed…Google is your friend to locate sources for these.

Ben’s Cow

Ben and friends went on a birding adventure.  As is often the case, they ended up in the countryside.  Ben is not a stranger to pastures and their inhabitants, but he was glad he had his camera to take this photo – this cow was not a breed he recognized.

When I saw the photo, I was entranced, too.  Ben gave me permission to play with his image on fabric.  At my request, he sent me a current self portrait to use, too.

When I’m working on art quilts, I try to channel my inner child – to remember that “it’s supposed to be fun.”  I think I nailed it this time!

I printed the photo on fabric and added batting and stitching to give the cow dimension.  I  pieced sky (a bit of some old linen I had overdyed with indigo) and ground fabric.  On a recent antiquing tirp (probably the day Ben was finding the cow) I had found an old pin shaped like a windmill.  So I added a windmill, quilted some clouds, and had an art quilt.

I ended up with a new quilt attached to a bit of an old quilt.  That’s not new for me.  But this time I added pages between those two layers.  This little girl had a blast!

I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but Ben uses words to tell really fun stories; so I thought words were important, too.  The cow’s quote is from Ben.

The piece is layered in more ways than just the physical, which is obvious.  Ben and I first met as math colleagues.  When I needed a back for the cow in pasture layer, the numbers fabric jumped off the shelf and said, “use me!”.  

The outer dimensions of the whole assembly are 14” x 20” .

To read about another cow quilt, check out Government Bird Going for a Ride.  Or Walker’s Pasture.

Military Memories

I’ve recently been exploring stitch with paper and cloth again. The photo above is an early effort.

Yes, the label says really early – 15 years ago.

 This scrapbook quilt, Military Memories, seemed the prefect way to store and display some of Jim’s paraphernalia from his days in uniform. 

I chose some patriotic fabric as the background, pieced a border inducing some military motifs from a novelty fabric or two, and added ribbons, pins, buttons, and patches.

The black and white photograph is printed on paper and sewn on, while the map is printed on fabric. I used a wiggly stitch of some sort to secure it to paper

The back is camo fabric, but the paper envelope holding the label is easy to see. The quilt measures 11″ x 16″.

Yes, this is an early effort of mine, and the sparsely spaced quilting reveals that I’ve changed my ways – now I usually quilt things until they are bulletproof. But it’s interesting to me that I continue to find some of my earliest quilts were exploring techniques I still embrace. Fabric and paper stitched together – it never gets old.

Ollie Jane Goes for a Ride

I don’t always color coordinate my “ride along” quilts with our destination, but today I did.  I love these old greenish blue doors we discovered in a little out-of-the-way town on one of our rambles.  Today we were headed in that direction, the sun was shining, and quilts were going along for the ride.

Ollie Jane’s Flower Garden usually stays home.  Her permanent place in the world is hanging in our stairwell of our house and moving her is no minor event.  But, she’s been resting on a bed since Christmas, having given that spot of honor to a more wintry quilt, Miss Nellie’s Country Garden, for a few months.

I knew our travel plans would take us near the town with the green doors, and Ollie Jane needed to be photographed outdoors, so this seemed perfect.  Some of the hexagons in that quilt would coordinate with the color of the doors – so fabulous, aren’t they?

So, it happened!  The sun was not in a photographer’s favorite position as we passed through the little community when going or coming.  But since the desirable face of this building would not see direct sunlight for a few more months, we made the best of the opportunity at hand.

As we headed out the door, I grabbed another couple of quilts that I thought would look good in front of these turquoise doors, Sea Squared, and Annie Mae’s Lace.  I have written about these quilts before, but they haven’t been on a photo shoot.

Each of these quilts was very cooperative, as was OJ.  And, the gray doors and shuttered windows were rather showy themselves, giving the doors some competition as backgrounds.

Details of the construction of these quilts and other stories about them can be found by clicking on the links within the story above, or following them here:

Ollie Jane’s Flower Garden is here.

Annie Mae’s Lace is here.

Sea Squared is here.

I’ve already realized that Fairhope Feedsacks and another couple of quilts have fabrics that would coordinate with these doors. We will visit them again!

Christmas Quilts on the Farm

We left home on a recent glorious fall day with a camera and some quilts in the car.  We ended up with boxes of notecards showing Jim’s photos of quilts in unexpected places.

The most stunning image to me is this one of Miss Lily’s Baskets on a hayrake.  It was a sunny day, but the magician’s hand in the digital darkroom transformed it into something ethereal.

The same little quilt posed on the mantel in a rustic living room,

and on a chair at an outdoor banquet table.

Another seasonal quilt, Pomegranates and Poinsettias, lounged on a chair in front of poinsettias and a Christmas tree.  A fire in the fireplace was welcome on this cool day.

Small Tree Farm became part of a vignette of tools on the side of a building.  

I love the contradictions in texture:  soft quilted textiles against hard rusty tools.

I love the contradictions in value:  brilliant colors of fabric against old wood faded to gray.


In case you missed them, earlier posts give details of these quilts.  Miss Lily’s Baskets is here.

Pomegranates and Poinsettias is here, and Small Tree Farm hasn’t really been described except on the page of patterns I’ve designed.  Another post about it and its larger companion piece will be forthcoming.

Last year’s post about Christmas quilts is here.  Details of some of these same quilts are included in that post, with photos in different surroundings.  If you are wondering, Mistletoe and Holly, mentioned in last year’s post, isn’t finished, but I’m working on it now – repeating my love of stitching on red and green during this season.

While browsing my photo files for Christmas quilts, I found this image of a commissioned piece I did a few years ago.  I think its colors are well suited for this season, too.

Fairhope Feedsacks

It was a gray day when we recently visited Fairhope, Alabama, but I had a bit of color in my purse.  Early in my quilting adventures (2003, I think), we visited Fairhope and I saw a log cabin quilt made from reproduction feedsack fabrics.  I came home and started sewing.

When we headed to Fairhope last week, I rolled the little quilt and tucked it into my purse just in case there were any photo ops.

The skies were heavy, so I stopped at the first picket fence with a color-coordinated house behind it, and snapped this view.

In a couple of shops, I saw welcoming vignettes and store owners graciously let me drape the fabric about their merchandise.  It’s amazing what a crazy old woman can get away with if she bothers to ask.

In a tee-shirt shop, I was amazed that they had laid out a display of shirts in just these feedsack colors!

And then, Sailor sauntered by and plopped down for a nap.  He was kind enough to model the quilt, creating a unique spot for Fairhope Feedsacks to rest.

At the pier, pilings and tree roots served as quilt racks.

And, at a candy store, more fences, porch railings, an old dresser, and even a baby carriage, a blue baby carriage, gave the little bit of a quilt a place to perch.

Now I’m looking for places to take some other small quilts.  I love making the little ones.  And since I”m doing it for fun, who cares what size it is?  I know a lot of people think a quilt has to cover a bed.  I’m so glad they are wrong!  

Fairhope Feedsacks measures 19” x 24” .  The logs finish at  3/4” wide.  I probably used Dream cotton request batting and cotton thread.  

Lessons learned from this quilt:  

Washing a quilt gives it a softened aged look instantly.  

I personally don’t like the same fabrics used in the same position in a log cabin (that’s what I did here, giving the double dose of turquoise every time the blocks meet).  I like the colors to be more random, scrappier.

The result, this little piece, was one of my first attempts at free motion quilting.  I used a variegated thread and a simple meandering stitched path.  It’s not complicated, It’s not a competitive piece, but the little quilt is pleasing to hang about the house…or on fence posts, or at the beach, or on a cooperative doggie.

Here is a photo of Fairhope Feedsacks at home, atop the clock in the breakfast room where it hung out all summer with a compatibly colored rooster.  

Quilts at Step Back

This is a preview post of several quilt stories to come.  As you know, I love to photograph my quilts in unusual settings and sometimes leave home with one or two, then blog about the quilt in detail.

Today we had the opportunity to revisit Step Back, a privately owned rural community with twenty 1900-era buildings.  An earlier post with details about this place is here.

When our camera club was invited to come stroll about the grounds with cameras, I asked if I might bring some quilts.  When the answer was “yes,” I gathered a few pieces whose stories are waiting to be part of a blog post.  So today you see some glamour shots – later more complete stories.

The silvery gray buildings were a wonderful backdrop for quilts to shine.  Sometimes the contrast was minimal, other times it was strong, but always, the old buildings brought new character to fabric and stitches. As always, you can click on any image to enlarge and see details.

Miss Nellie’s Country Garden posed near the waterwheel.  This 12 foot wheel is perfectly balanced and turns with just the tiniest trickle of water as its power source.

Miss Emily’s Baskets rested in some cotton baskets inside the mill house.

This is the cabin where local ladies pretend to be floozies at the Christmas open house every December.  I thought my wool quilt, A Flock of Feathered Floozies, needed to pose here.

Here, Where the Soul says Ahhh is hanging inside the entry of the schoolhouse.  

And here you see why I chose this quilt for the schoolhouse.

A little goat quilt rides on a tricycle.  This quilt has been the subject of an earlier blog post here , but it seemed that a goat quilt needed to visit Step Back.  

Guineas visited Step Back, too.  Guineas on Parade posed at the base of the windmill and on the floozies’ porch. 

And, a man in overalls was visiting today. Of course he was.  A trip back in time to a rural setting would not be complete without that image!

For more details about the Step Back village, visit http://seniornewsga.com/NewspapersSN/Atlanta/2015/AtlantaSeniorNewspdfdec15.pdf or like the Step Back page on Facebook.

Linen Baskets

We headed out the door on a “Saturday ride-about”, bringing cameras and a quilt.  This depot was abandoned at the moment, so we posed the quilt and snapped a few shutters.  

This little quilt, Linen Baskets, is a sample I made a couple of years ago when my favorite quilt shop had a fat quarter bundle of linen fabrics.  The polka dots are all linen, the white background is a Kona cotton solid.  Finished, it measures 35” x 43”, a nice size to drape over a chair or hang on the wall. 

I love the little baskets.  They are adapted from a pattern called Big Bloomers from QuiltSoup.  I added wool appliqué in the border with some beading and embellishments.

 

 

 

We live near Zebulon Road, but it doesn’t lead to the town of Zebulon.  That fact amuses us.  We have noticed many Zebulon Roads in the middle GA area which, when studying a map, do not lead to Zebulon either.  So for this little quilt to get to pose on benches and doors and roof brackets of the depot in Zebulon was a fun note to add to our day. 

The quilting is a quick loopy meandering trail done with cotton thread and using thin cotton batting.  The backing is a bright fun Jane Sassaman design.  Many people like basket quilts as much as I do, but when I take this to groups, there are always gasps of delight when they see the back of this one.

 

I liked the contrast of the soft quilt with the hard lines of the doors and the weathered wood of the floor boards.  Jim did some of his darkroom magic on some of his shots, intermingling color and black and white.  I never get tired of that!