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