I’m in the process of reorganizing my websites and this involves moving my blog here on the Creative Textile and Quilting Arts website to my blog over at Linda-Matthews.com. I’m not sure if I’ll move all the blog posts over there just yet, but that’s where all the action will happen from now on.
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If you’re already subscribed to my newsletter, then you don’t need to update that subscription; nothing has changed. However to catch all the latest from the blog at Linda-Matthews.com please make sure you update your rss subscriptions by signing up for the new rss feed and/or the email feed. The signup form can be found in the sidebar on the new blog and I hope to see you there soon.
Continuing my special presentation of articles submitted by my guest bloggers.
Playing with Spray-On Fabric Dyes
by guest blogger Christine Predd (originally published 15 June 2009)
Several days ago I purchased some spray on fabric dyes at Hobby Lobby . . . I think they were sold for tie-dye projects, althogh I was planning to use them to dye some fabric for my art quilts. I live in a ranch style condo and only have a small patio, not a lot of room for serious fabric dyeing. This sounded perfect for my situation. I only bought the primary colors, hoping to create new colors as I used them.
The sun was shining today so I decided to get started. I cut two pieces of PDF fabric, 22 inches square or so. After laying one piece on a drop cloth on the patio, I proceeded to use some photo matting as my stencil and begin spraying on dyes in different places with the matting in different position. See the photos below.
I’m still finishing off some journals and for this particular journal cover I decided to try something totally out of of my realm of comfort – working with only one color.
Letting go of old ways of doing things and allowing the process to guide you isn’t always easy and working with a simple design and only one color really challenged me to stay focused and allow the color and design to share equal space. It was very tempting to add other elements and colors as I normally would, but I resisted the temptation and I simply love the results!
I used machine embroidered fabric paper for the cover because it’s strong yet flexible, and then painted it with a burgundy red and added some gold highlights. I can’t wait to do some more!
by guest blogger Katherine Sands (originally published 21st April 2009)
For me, the creative life is a journey…and I learn and see so many interesting things along the way!
Some artists are able to plan ahead; I love their work and their process, but that doesn’t seem to be the way I work. I am a fly-by-the-seat-0f-your-pants serendipity kind of gal. Too much planning and I would probably be bored. A case in point…since a larger, new art quilt I had done didn’t fit the size requirements for an upcoming arts council exhibit, I decided to start a new piece of art. I was on a deadline, so I decided to keep it simple. I pieced and quilted it, using simple hand dyed fabrics and one black and white screen printed fabric. I didn’t quilt it all over, but left areas that were not quilted which “poufed” a bit.
I’m sure you’re all feeling Christmas just rushing toward you – where on earth has the year gone? For me it’s time to think of Christmas gifts so I can get them in mail and send them home to Australia and I’ve been making some journals because they make lovely gifts and never go out of style.
I like to use fabric paper for my journal covers because it always has lovely texture and color and makes a strong usable cover, and this month we’ve been making fabric paper over at the Free Lunch Cafe so I used a piece of the fabric paper I made as a sample for this class. The fabric paper itself is kind of ordinary but is a great piece to demonstrate just how you can make something beautiful and extraordinary out of something fairly plain and ordinary.
Please enjoy this short video on the making of “The Fairy Tale Journal”.
Well the answer to that would be … well of course! A few weekends ago I got busy with the sewing machine and whipped up a cute new purse, just big enough to fit the necessities, as well as a great big tote to cart around some quilts.
The purse is a super quick modular pattern I designed some time ago that goes together really quickly and I’ve made a number of these purses over the years in different colors with different inset panels and closures. This one is made using a lovely batik fabric in shades of blue and black; casual and smart.
Please excuse my mess as I do a little housecleaning on the blog.
If you’ve visited here within the last couple of days you’ll notice that I have a brand new home page and a brand new main menu system which I hope will make it easier for you find stuff because … I’ve just relocated all the old posts at Inspire! and included them here at the Creative Textile & Quilting Arts blog.
This means that there are now hundreds of new posts containing a huge range of information from tutorials to free stuff to beautiful images for inspiration … all in one place for your convenience.
It also means that there are a few broken links so please bear with me as I clean house and fix it all up for you.
In the meantime please use the new menu system located on the top green panel of this page, and begin your explorations. Have fun!
In between the upcoming barrage of photos and techniques I’ll be posting soon as I continue with my Digital Grounds experiments, I thought I’d share some of the fun new blogs I’ve been introduced to by some of my lovely students at the Free Lunch Cafe.
Today I’ll start with Priscilla Kibbee who has got just one of the most fascinating blogs I’ve come across. Priscilla shares lots of beautiful photos and details of her textiles, travels and friends, as well as her wry humor.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard about, read about, or been asked about, ways to remove fusible webbing and icky stuff from your the plate on your iron.
I'm Linda Matthews and welcome to the "Creative Textile & Quilting Arts" website where you'll find my online and downloadable classes, as well as my instructions dvds. Also make sure you visit my website and current blog at www.Linda-Matthews.com. More ...
I’m in the process of reorganizing my websites and this involves moving my blog here on the Creative Textile and Quilting Arts website to my blog over at Linda-Matthews.com. I’m not sure if I’ll move all the blog posts over there just yet, but that’s where all the action will happen from now on.
