SheBANG - cram it all into a single post! (ha!)

O Canada! 

My client requested veins in the leaves and a swirly maple leaf filler in the colourful blocks of this quilt - and the rest was up to me.

Half a plan is better than no plan, so I dove in!

Client Quilt - very Canadian!
FreshofftheFrame.com

First I ditched the white blocks, stitched down the applique, and then added stylized veins to harmonize with the stylized leaves.

. . . well, okay . . . that's not *exactly* how it happened . . .
I ripped out my first attempt at veins because (yup) I hated them. They were too organic, and I didn't think they worked very well in this situation.

After sketching several different options I came up with Plan B.
Much better!

Love the look of Plan B!
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Next, I filled the white background using loopy lines, alternating their direction in each block. I like how they add movement and soften all the straight lines of the design without being too curvy.

Soft and curvy complements strong and straight.
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Meanwhile, I'd been considering the filler design for the coloured blocks.

It would have been tricky to freehand maple leaves that *look* like maple leaves, so I decided to use a pantograph instead. That meant I had to turn the quilt. (I also had to modify the panto to fit the space, but it was worth the time it took!)

Starting with half a plan sometimes means an extra step (or two), but it always leads to a finish - and I think this worked out beautifully!


Swirly (and leafy) adds another complementary texture to the mix.
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BEFORE quilting:

The flimsy
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AFTER quilting:

The quilt!
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What a FUN finish!

Also Fresh off the Frame

Client quilt - Fantasy Flame pantograph
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Client quilt - Hearts in Bloom panto
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And a couple more that will have to wait until their owner sees them first!

Other Artsy Adventures

Adventure ONE:

I spent a whole, delightful weekend in a lino cutting and printmaking workshop with Mary Parslow!

It was my first time using carving tools, so I had much to learn.
I'm happy to report I only suffered one accidental finger jab, and it didn't even bleed all that much!

First up, I carved lines of many thicknesses - willy nilly, with no plan in mind - to try and get used to the tool.

As it turns out, I'm quite happy with this carving - it reminds me of a tree root or a seed pod,
depending on how you look at it!
FreshofftheFrame.com

I also decided to make ghost prints alongside the original - definitely not a printmaking technique, but it made sense to my fabric loving brain!

Other people created masterpieces with their first attempts.
I like to think of my work as "expressive". Ha! ;-)

So then I decided to try a butterfly from one of my photos.
I still couldn't wrap my head around the positive/negative aspect of the lines, but I figured, what the heck. I'll dive in and try stuff! (It's how I roll!)

Gotta start somewhere!
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Still not a masterpiece, but I learned A LOT from making it!

Mary suggested that I could fine tune the wings, but I'd decided not to bother investing more energy into this piece. I had learned, and was ready to move on.


Chine colle technique incorporates thin Chinese or Japanese paper into the print.
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After day one, I came home and browsed my photos from last summer.

My brain had grasped the positive/negative concept and I was eager to find an image that could become a strong composition.

I landed on a photo I'd taken from the back of a horse and knew it would be perfect as a line drawing!

I get it now! I love this image.
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We used baby wipes to clean our lino blocks, and wouldn't you know - - - I couldn't resist lifting a print to see if it would work (and it did!).

Experimental print on a baby wipe - why waste perfectly good ink, right???
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Now I have a little stack of baby wipe prints, too - Oh, my happy, quilty heart!

Once we had mastered the printing aspect of the process (well, practiced it, anyway...), we "graduated" to coloured ink, and learned how to create ombre effects using a single colour (dark to light), or a whole rainbow!

I pulled baby wipe prints every time I cleaned my block - heh, heh!. :-)
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A wooden jig hooked over the edge of the table offered a corner to prevent the lino block from slipping during printing (or carving, for that matter). Very handy.


Curvy carving - trying circles and line variations
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I quite enjoyed the whole process, and am excited to apply what I've learned to my quilted art.

Adventure TWO:

Laina has decided to enter the CQA Youth Challenge again this year. She has a vision involving local landmarks, so we traipsed through the snow for an afternoon so she could take reference photos.

I can't share yet, so I'm not even sure why I brought that up. Oh, wait! It's to provide the link and encourage you (if you're Canadian) to mentor a youth and enter the challenge!

Information for Canadian Quilter's Association YOUTH CHALLENGE

Adventure THREE:

Again, I can't show much - but I've started the "slicing and dicing" part of a big project!

It doesn't look too exciting yet, but it will get better!!!



And, final share of the night (morning?): Two new books that I can't wait to get my nose into!




Try, Learn, & Grow!
Carole

Comments

  1. I really like how you quilted the maple leaf quilt. Even after all the years of quilting it still amazes me how different a top can look after quilting!

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  2. Well you have certainly been busy and adventurous!! I'm not sure I would ever even want to play with the lino thing - my brain is hurting just thinking about trying to figure out the negative/positive, but your blocks and prints look fabulous and your designer baby wipes make me smile :-)
    I am very much looking forward to seeing what that pile of strips turns into, and the books both look wonderful!
    I keep going back to look at the photo captioned 'Chine colle...' ~ so, this is your print, using that technique? Or is it.....? hmmm.... Well - whatever it is, it's mesmerizing.
    happy adventuring ~ Tracy

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  3. I love my Oh Canada quilt, thanks so much!! A whole plan? Where's the fun in that? I always look forward to seeing your added creativity. BTW, no full plan on the next one either!! ��

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  4. Busy...busy...busy....but oh so much fun. Loving the printing blocks.

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  5. Lovely quilting! The block printing looks like it was a fun challenge!

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  6. Such beautiful quilting. I really like the contrast between straight and curvy.

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  7. Your quilting truly transformed this already beautiful quilt! I remember print making in middle school art class!! It IS soooo fun!!

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