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Another month that passed too quickly!  It’s time to recap this month’s goals.

I had two for September, to finish Mosaic and sew a pair of yoga pants.

I didn’t have much left to do on Mosaic.  That was a fairly quick finish. 

The quilt was made for a Paint Chip Challenge for Guild.  I dyed the yellow fabric years ago.  Each tile is a different pattern using a surface design technique.

I also finished the pants, using Simplicity 8030 (1992) and fleece I bought at a Crafter’s Garage Sale.

This is the first pair of ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished Mosaic (the paint chip challenge) for .75 yards out.  The paint chip is at the top right corner of the photo.  I dyed the background fabric years ago.

Each square is a different design using various surface design techniques and materials, including:

Embroidery with DMC floss and pearl cotton

Paintstiks over rubbing plates

Crayons over rubbing plates

Oil pastels over rubbing plates

Stamping

Stenciling

Some stencils I created myself.  I used various materials to stamp, along with commercial stamps.  I quilted the grid using a decorative stitch on my machine.

The project turned ...

No change in the numbers.

Life got in the way this week, and I didn’t finish Mosaic.  I did finish quilting it though.

I’ve also worked on Christmas Cottage.  It’s tiny – maybe 2.5 x 3 inches here. The fabric is 18 count.

The goal this week is to finish Mosaic for the Guild meeting Saturday.  I also want to start the pants.  I washed the fabric, but I still need to buy elastic.

Fabric Added: 17.875

Fabric Used:  6.625 yards

Net Fabric Added:  11.25 yards

How did you do this week?

I’m still wrapping my head around the fact it’s September, and we’re already a week in.  Time flies.

Working on a focus project makes choosing my OMG simple.  My goal is to finish Mosaic.

I started quilting it today, and it’s going fast.  I think I’ll finish it this week.

I feel a bit like a slacker with such an easy goal.  I also plan to start the yoga pants using the fabric I bought a couple weeks ago.  I pulled two pant patterns from my stash.  The one with leggings is quite old, the ...

No change in the numbers.  Maybe next week.

Because it goes better for me, I’ve switched to working on fewer projects at once.  The paint chip challenge, which I’ve named Mosaic, is the new focus.  I finished adding designs to all the squares.

I’ve also pulled batting and backing fabric.  I have a general idea of how I want to quilt it.  The goal is to get it done before the Guild meeting on the 19th.

Fabric Added: 17.875

Fabric Used:  6.625 yards

Net Fabric Added:  11.25 yards

How did you do this week ...

These embroidered silk pieces are only pinned at the moment.

They will be fixed to the lace cloth base with lots of white French knots and bullion knots.

I'm excited to see how these pieces come together, to see if I can add the colour to the very white base in a way that is seamless, as if they have always lived there.

       

Comments

• I really need to get out my cheesecloth and play w... by Magpie's Mumblings https://www.blogger.com/profile/09852241848575954128
• I always love to look at your blog and see lace cl... by Jillayne ...

No fabric in this week.

The sewing room declutter continues. Last year I let go of lots of fabric scraps, but this year I’m ready to part with some yardage. I’ve only gone through one drawer so far. There are several more drawers to go.

I spent most of this week working on a second heart block. The three hearts are an adaption of a motif in a book. It isn’t clear in the picture, but there is a design under the hearts that I plan to embroider.

Here’s a picture of the first block.

I ...

No change in the numbers.

For something different, I experimented with Sharpies and alcohol. I saw someone on YouTube do this to decorate clothing. That didn’t appeal, but I wanted to try it.

I started with the moth, using blue, magenta and black fine point Sharpies and rubbing alcohol.

Such a hot mess. The blue was out of control. I learned you can take a paintbrush and move the color around when the fabric is wet. Then I tried again with the flower shape (upper right) and the blob (lower right). I used a lot less alcohol on the ...

No fabric in this week.

Some fabric out as part of the ongoing sewing room declutter. I haven’t finished going through my fabric, and I still have to go through my scraps. I expect more will go before I’m done.

I’m working on the next challenge quilt. I wanted a background of either aqua or aqua green, but had neither in my stash. Hard to believe any color is missing, but there it is. Instead of shopping to find something, I decided to paint white fabric.

I layered turquoise paint over green airbrush ink because I didn ...

My September OMG was to finish the challenge quilt, which I called Still Life. The photo doesn’t do justice to the background fabric.

Except for the veins in the leaves, I either dyed or painted all the fabrics. I learned the free form piecing technique at a class I took at Guild several years ago. The quilt is the size of a cutting mat.

The inspiration for the next challenge is hanging on my design wall, where I can listen to what it has to say.

Visit Stories From the Sewing Room for all the other OMG finishes.

No change in the numbers.

I spent most the week painting interfacing and tablecloth lace. I can go far down the rabbit hole when I paint, layering colors and using different brushes for different effects. Then I remembered I had a deadline and picked up the pace.

I apologize for how distracting my paint board is with all the old dried paint on it. The current pieces are red, orange, pink and green.

I started with these three.

Then I picked up the pace and painted all the rest at the same time.

Here they are on the background fabric ...

June was a productive month. I finished two stitches, Floral Butterfly and the star ornament. The ornament wasn’t on my June list.

I started The Short List many years ago to create goals to work toward and a way to focus. I change things up as my goals and interests change.

Project 1 (stitching): Words of Joy Tree, pattern by Ursula Michael. I’m stitching this on red 14 count aida with DMC white, all from stash.

Project 2 (UFO): The membership quilt. The two sections are complete and ready to quilt.

Project 3 (original): The challenge due in ...

When painting fabric, I gravitate toward blues and purples because they are my faves. I know those paints, how they mix and play with each other. We are besties.

The inspiration for the challenge quilt due in July has a much warmer palette, filled with yellow, pink and orange. I am less familiar with those paints, although the stash contains many of them. The deadline doesn’t leave time for a lot of trial and error. I needed to understand the warmer paint colors.

The solution was creating a paint chip palette in my sketchbook.

In hindsight, I wish I ...

This week I have some usage because I finished Shikishi. The quilt measures about 23 x 24.

The design came from a sketch I did probably 15 years ago that has hung on my inspiration board ever since. No good reason exists for waiting so long to create it.

I painted the cheesecloth for the background squares. The leaves are reversible and positionable. I used two layers of fabric right side out with wire and fleece between them. They are sewn around the edges to hold everything together. The leaves are tacked to the quilt only near the stem to ...

For the project inspired by another quilt, I decided to revisit a weaving technique I tried several years ago. This is the small project I made with that technique.

Here is the book with the idea.

The first time I used rug canvas as the base for the weaving. It was way too hard on my sewing machine, and I had to finish the stitching by hand. This time I used this canvas I picked up at the thrift. It’s much softer and more pliable.

Last time I left the canvas white, but for this project I wanted it ...

No change in the numbers.

All the borders are on Remember Me and it patiently awaits quilting.

I shifted back to the quilt meant to get passed as part of the Art2Quilt challenge. Since I ended up passing a different quilt, I’m OK with showing it here.

The idea came from a sketch I drew a long time ago. If I had to guess I’d say 10 to 15 years ago.

I used the cheesecloth I painted for the squares. I wanted those squares to have texture and an organic feel to them. Fusing fabric squares would have ...

It’s been all about cheesecloth this week.

I added dark blue and purple paint to the blue cheesecloth from last week. I’m much happier with it now.

I also cut up the rust cheesecloth and did some experimental stitching.

I liked the zigzag stitch (top), but it wasn’t the look I wanted. Below that I tried a straight stitch. The thread matches the fabric making it hard to see.

I ended up using the straight stitch for the current project. I expect the zigzag to make an appearance in the future.

I’ve decided not to show ...

No change in the numbers.

Yesterday I painted cheesecloth because sometimes a girl just has to paint fabric.

The rust version was intentional, the pink an unexpected result of color mixing and the blue both intentional and unexpected. That one will get additional colors added so that it fits where I plan to use it.

I am still behind on responding to comments and viewing links. I often do that very early in the morning and had another day of Blogger refusing to post comments. I am amazed at how much fabric some of you have used this year. You ...

So I haven’t painted or drawn on fabric for quite awhile now. And with the snow falling outside, I declare an official “Snow Day” … a day to relax, stay cozy indoors, and “play”.

I’ve got my Derwent Inktense 24 box of pencils, a few stiff brushes, some plain white fabric (PTD prepared for dying), freezer paper, and water/aloe vera gel/textile medium and I’m ready to play.

For those of you not familiar with these color pencils, once they’re activated with liquid and dry they become permanent. Unlike watercolor or regular color pencils, these pencils ...

My OMG for September was to complete my Art quilt Group’s improv challenge.

I started with white fabric and added glue as a resist.

Then I painted it.

Then I washed out the glue and added texture with paintstik over a rubbing plate.

Then I added more paint.

To make it useful, I turned it into a project bag.

I had a lot of fun returning to my surface design roots. The challenge is to do something with the fabrics. This time around I’m committed to using it as I create it.

Visit Elm ...