Category Archives: Art Making

What We’re Stitching

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Would you like to follow along with the class I’m teaching for the Asociación Española de Patchwork called Mi Casa es Su Casa? In this class, students free-cut shapes from felt fabrics and add intense hand embroidery. I’ve made up kits using Commonwealth Felt. They are suppliers of beautiful bright colors. I recommend felt with at least 20% wool content.

The process for creating their little felt casa begins with a background fabric. I picked this wine colored felt as a challenge to myself. It’s so dark and moody!

But I cheered myself up by placing a large billowing cloud on it. The cloud shape is free-cut to shape and held in place with large running stitches. Around the edge, I’m adding blanket stitches using a size 8 Ocean thread.

Although you’ve seen the finished product above, trust me. This design is completely improvised. Which is what I’ll be asking of my students. Improvisation makes the design unique to each person.

Year of the Stitch: A Fast Finish?

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When we last saw our Whimsy Lane quilt the tree bark was barely on the tree. The next step? Dress up the tree top with lots of leaves. I thought this would be a quick task and decided to time myself. And can you guess how long it took me to stitch the tree top leaves? It took 3.5 hours of stitching time.

In timing the next steps, the sidewalk and land stitching, it took another 3 to 4 hours. Lucky I enjoy stitching! Whimsy Lane #11 is finished and it’s time to move on to the next Year of the Stitch project.

And I think you’ll like my next Year of the Stitch project. This time I’m stitching for Spain!

Year of the Stitch: Pattern Building

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One can never have enough pattern in a design. And the easiest way to build pattern when making a fused art quilt is to cut a bunch of small elements (see wacky squares above) and use them to decorate your background fabric.

What Was I Thinking!

I sure loved cutting those blue squares with a pinking blade. And I sure loved building the checkerboard pattern on the pink background fabric. So much fun! And then it came time to stitch it.

What was I thinking! Each little square has to be stitched with fly stitches and straight stitches to outline the edges. Lucky I enjoy stitching with this size 8 Butter thread. Notice how that warm buttery color repeats the color of the house? Yum!