Textile Postcard Project Week #66

December 30th 2018 - January 5th 2019

Today we have a 'bran new day' as well as a 'bran new year'. I am celebrating the privilege of living in these times or air conditioning and refrigeration. The sun has been hot and storms have come through regularly. The family home I grew up in did have a kerosene refrigerator but definitely no air conditioning. We survived hot summers and I even played tennis each week. I cannot think of this now.

The thunder rolls on a 'bran new day'

 My postcard depicts the hot sun and red sky around some storm clouds. The background is a piece of commercial cotton but I made the sun shape and machine appliqued it in position.

Aclose up view of machine stitching on applique

 

Textile Postcard Project Week #65

December 23rd -29th 2018

Christmas Eve is with us. Here at Milawa it is a typically warm summer day. I feel I have already celebrated after the lovely family party we had here on Saturday. Those members of the Ellis and Brown families enjoyed a wonderful few hours together. Not everyone could be here of course!...but we thought of absent family members.

 Now for the Christmas postcard I have made

A bright greeting for all who read this blog!

Of course the background is hand dyed red in colour with a faint discharged pattern.
The Christmas fabric was given to me by my Swedish penfriend Gunilla Borjesson.  
This was machined appliqued over the red
 background with a Christmas ribbon 
added over it all..

I hope you can see the sparkly stitching  in this view.

 

Textile Postcard Project Week #64

December 16th - 22nd 2018

'Christmas is nigh!'

Yes, it is the week before Christmas. I have chosen red for this postcard because red is rather symbolic of the Christmas Season. I wonder why? Red as a colour represents warmth. People who live in the Northern Hemisphere need warm clothes and warm fires at Christmas time. Australians, who live in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy and sometimes only just tolerate the warmth of our Summer Christmas Season.
The made fabric sample on shown has been dyed red with Procian Dyes. The decoration on this base colour was firstly screen printed,
then machine stitched with a variegated thread.
 Finally a 'Shiva Stick' was added to give to
 give an irregular sheen to the fabric. It was great
fun developing the finished impression.

A detailed view of the resulting fabric

Textile Postcard Project Week #63

December 9th - 15th 2018

 Another postcard featuring SLOW STITCH, but with another pattern. It has been fun deciding how I will stitch each card. Of course some patterns are more effective than others. The Eco leaf images can seen on the soft cotton fabric as if in the background!

Variegated thread adds to the interest in this piece of work. 
The photo below shows a much closer view.

Textile Postcard Project Week #62

December 2nd - 8th 2018 

Raw edge sampler

 
I have made a number of samples demonstrating the art of the
       SLOW STITCH.
Experimentation with different dyed fabric and a variety of thread offer another appearance. It has been fun to see the resulting patterns which are achieved by small differences.
This sample was stitched on pre-loved and echo dyed cotton fabric using a hand dyed cotton thread. The result is interesting especially if you squint your eyes and peer at it. Rows of alternate stitching give quite a raised look and the eucalypt leaf shapes can be seen behind the stitching.

This detail of my postcard clearly shows the ragged and torn edges.

Textile Postcard Project Week #61

November 24th - December 1st 2018

 

My first sampler of SLOW STITCH

A new inspiration! I acquired a beautiful new book called SLOW STITCH by Claire Wellesley Smith. It was actually first published in 2015. Slow Stitch is a new name for a simple running stitch. It is a stitch that one does carefully and with time for contemplation. Our busy lives enjoy a break of time for thought and concentration so this is an ideal way to stitch for anyone who loves fabric and cloth and needs a break from a hectic program. 


There  are many trails you can follow with Slow Stitch. It lends itself to a large variety of ideas. The introduction of various coloured threads adds a great deal to the finished result. This is one of the first samplers I tried. The cotton fabric has a very faint print of eucalypt leaves on it. Squinting your eyes will make them become more obvious.

Slow Stitch in a curved design - close up view

Textile Postcard Project Week # 60

November 18th - 24th 2018

Completed wall-hanging 'Drought Mud'

Post card # 60

 Most everyone have seen dried and cracked mud in the summer or especially during a drought period when rain has not fallen to keep the earth in a moist condition. 
 Eventually the technique was used as a small quilt which was part of a series of quilts I did called 'Back of Beyond'. This experimental  sample began as a mono print. The fabric paint  was firstly painted onto a sheet of glass. The crack marks were drawn into the paint. While still wet the fabric was pressed and rolled onto this single pattern. After the printing process, the fabric was machine stitched and burnished  with Treasure Gold with a touch of a blue Shiva Stick. It gave a great impression of 'Drought Mud' which was the name I chose for this small wall hanging.

Close up view of 'cracked mud' impression.

Textile Postard Project Week # 59

November 11th - 17th 2018

Whole postcard shows the spirals working their way across the rocks.

 This is a third postcard made from a small section of the quilt Ancient Art. I just loved the fabrics I have used. It serves as a great recognition of Aboriginal Art of the Outback. 

The reverse side of this postcard shows rusted paper. It is fun to rust paper using chemicals and the results are generally very successful  (not sure where the blue colour comes from on this piece. I suspect the paper may have been over-dyed after another experiment.) The chemicals are Ferris Sulfate, Caustic Soda and T Bags.
If you are interested in learning more about rusting paper please leave a message or get in contact with me.

Textile Postcard Project Week #58

November 4th - 10th 2018

A chain of spirals on rock

This card is very closely related to the one I posted last week. I really love the 2 cotton fabrics together.They certainly suit the image I was trying to portray.
From memory both fabrics were Batik style fabric. Traditionally the patterns on Batik fabrics were drawn in place with wax, then the fabric itself was dyed. The wax acted as a resist to the dye. Some wonderful designs have been printed this way.

Two images of the quilt 'Ancient Art'

Textile Postcard Project Week #57

October 28th -November 3rd 2018

Hand dyed cotton forms the backing to this postcard

Detailed view of symbols

This week  I have used a snippet from a small quilt called 'Ancient Art' which was made as part of the Tripartite Exhibition by the Zig Zag artists. 
It is not appropriate to imitate the ancient art of this country. Many such art works are hidden away on rocky surfaces of Inland Australia. Most rock galleries clearly show the symbolism that has been used for generations of Australian Aborigines. The drawings are sacred to these early people.
The first challenge when making the quilt was to find a commercial cotton fabric which appeared as a 'rock' surface. The spiral symbol has been used within many cultures since the beginning of time, so I used these spirals cut from another cotton commercial fabric. They give an impression of rock art.

'Ancient Art' Spiral symbols that blend into the rock surface

Textile Postcard Project Week #56

October 21st -27th 2018

Week #56 --whole postcard

Desert Dynamics quilt 'Dynamics M'

I made this small quilt in 2008. It was part of a series called 'Desert Dynamics'. The postcard this week is a small section of the whole. The inspiration was taken from the beautiful flowers of the deserts of Western Australia. I used cotton fabric which I had dyed with Procian dyes. The variety of colour was most applicable to a desert scene. A variety of threads were sewn by machine and by hand. The background fabric is cotton appropriately dyed a desert/ sand colour.

Close up view of French Knots and Fly Stitch

Textile Postcard Project Week # 55

October 14th - 20th 2018

Stitching denoted the irregular shapes of the fields.

This piece of work was taken from a small quilt which I was totally dissatisfied with. However it is quite attractive as a postcard. 
The inspiration came from an area of farmlands that we visited in China.

Whole quilt 'Ken Kou Farmlands

 The patterns of the land and agriculture were amazing. The quilt was stamped and heavily stitched and finished with a bound edging.

Textile Postcard Project Week #54

October 7th -13th 2018

Burnished strips

Another postcard with examples of the possibilities for the use of strips of a variety of fabrics, layered and stitched over each other then burnished with Treasure Gold  This is a non- tarnishing gilt or wax, that gives a soft sheen to the item. It is fun to use and very effective.

Close up view of stitching and use of Treasure Gold

Textile Postcard Project Week #53

September 30th 2018

This is the first week of the second year of this project. Hopefully I will be able to complete the year. There are certainly enough scraps of stitching and 'arty stuff' in my studio.
Wish me Luck!!

First week of the second year!

This piece of work has been made from torn
 strips of cotton fabric, stitched and layered 
on each other. Finally I have burnished them with a wax similar to Treasure Pewter or Treasure Gold. Both products give an  attractive lustre to the finished piece.
The background piece is Eco dyed cotton fabric.

Reverse of postcard Week # 53

Textile Postcard Week #52

September 23rd - 29th 2018

Complete quilt called 'Pressure Waves'

Postcard using a small section of Pressure Waves

Close up view of rubbings and stitching

This is a tiny section of the small Quilt called 'Pressure Waves' It was part of the A3 Quilt Series developed in 2004 by the ZigZag group of artists which I was part of. We made an A3 sized quilt each week for a whole year. I absolutely loved doing these 52 quilts. It was such fun developing ideas to suit the weekly themes.
This quilt was inspired by the rock formations in the Kurrijini Gorge in the Hammersley Ranges.





Rock patterns were made by rubbing oil crayon onto fabric which was stretched over cracked plaster. It seemed to look like the colourful rocks of the Kurrijini Gorge.
I hand dyed the cotton fabrics used and made the edging braid myself and stitched it in place with cotton threads.

It is an exciting week, because now I have posted a textile postcard each week for 52 weeks..a whole year. I have never once imagined that I would not find a scrap in my stash which could be made into a postcard. Some are more interesting than others, some are stitched and dyed in a very inspirational manner while  others are more structured examples of stitching. I have been through many stages during my quilting years since 1984. Actually it has been quite amazing to find all the pieces that I have saved, some are treasured more that others, while some have been saved 'just in case' they can be used.
Next week I will launch into my second year of Textile Postcards. I maybe away from my computer from time to time during 2019, and this will make posting a regular blog a little more challenging.

Textile Postcard Project Week #51

September 16th - 22nd 2018

'Green River Patterns' A whole quilt view

This postcard is very attractive but unfortunately the photograph does not show the sophistication of the colours.
It was part of a small quilt made for inclusion in the ZigZag Tripartite Exhibition in 2005. The inspiration came from the aerial sight of the northern rivers flowing after rains. The land along the rivers is, of course, green. Hence, the name 'Green River Patterns'
The detailed view shows the Twin Needle stitching. The cording, which was twisted by hand from various threads, is couched, by machine, onto the background vivid green fabric.

Detailed view of stitching

            

Textile Postcard Project Week #50

September 9th - 15th 2018

 A second example of the same experimental work using variegated synthetic ribbons, vlisofix and fabric.The base fabric is hand dyed pink cotton which blends with the main piece of work.

Close up view of stitching and ribbon.

Textile Postcard Project Week# 49

September 2nd -8th 2018

This week I have chosen an example  of a technique where I have used a variety of ribbons, gold paper, paint, sheer fabric and vlisofix. The background of the postcard is hand dyed 'pink' cotton fabric which tones with the featured sample.

It was a fun and interesting challenge. I hope readers enjoy this experiment which I will use a sample of, for a couple of weeks. The photo below shows a detail of the stitching.

Detailed photo of stitching and fabrics

Textile Postcard Project Week #48

August 26th - September 1st

 

The piece of textile work on this postcard  was a segment
of a small quilt called 'Snake Track' which was part of my Tripartite series of Quilts exhibited with the 'ZigZag' Art Group.
Commercial cotton fabric forms the background with an applique of hand dyed cotton fabric and hand stitched synthetic ribbon. 

Below is a photo of the whole quilt 'Snake Track'
It was about one meter long and fifteen cms deep.

 

Detailed view of the work

Textile Postcard Project Week # 47

August 19th-25th

Off cut of a small quilt

 The feature of this postcard is an 'off-cut' from a small quilt called 'Wind Waves' which was part of the 'bTripartite' series of quilts made by the art quilt group known as 'ZigZag'. This small quilt was approximately a meter across and 15cms deep, quite long and narrow.
The cotton base of the card and the sample have been 'eco' dyed with rust. This has been hand embroidered, stenciled, stitched with cotton thread and finally accented with Treasure Gold Wax. This sounds like a tedious procedure but in actual fact it is exciting as each layer is added and the visuals are gradually developed. The inspiration for this work was the view of the dunes of the Simpson Desert which appear to go as far as the eye can see. The sands are wind blown into the 'dune' shapes.

View of whole quilt 'Wind Waves'

The comments I wrote about my inspirations at the time I made the quilt were as follows:
"For millions of years wind and water have caused wave marks on beach, river and desert sands. The repetition of these same lines since the beginning of time cause a feeling of wonder in my heart. Wonder at the perpetuity and beauty of nature. Not only are the sand lines in a pattern but the dunes themselves, when seen from the air, are in the same pattern. ... What fun I had building this impression of sand dunes."

Surface details of 'Wind Waves'

Textile Postcard Week # 46

August 12th -18th 2018

This is a postcard with a difference! It is an 'off-cut' from a small quilt. The backing fabric is hand dyed fine cotton. The image (the off-cut) is made from brown paper which was dampened and scrunched, followed by a light ironing. I then painted it in a red rust colour. After the paint dried I embossed it by using a variegated cotton thread in my sewing machine. Finally the piece was rubbed and polished with Treasure Pewter. I was aiming to make the piece look like pressed steel which early last century was used to line the walls in homes.

The image below is the original small quilt, sized 40cm x 40cm, from which the off-cuts were taken. It was made in 2014 and entered and accepted in Ozquilt 'Australia Wide 4'. I think the technique was unusual and very effective.

'Memories in Metal'

Textile Postcard Project Week # 45

August 5th - 11th 2018

'Daisy' postcard

A second stitch sampler postcard. The lime green cotton fabric pictured here was hand dyed, then stamped with a wooden daisy stamp. Finally I have over stitched, by machine and using a variegated rayon thread and 2 different daisy patterns. It was an experimental piece which looks effective mounted on hand dyed brown cotton to make a postcard.

Detail view of daisy patterns