Fabric mosaic

I've been experimenting (playing?!) with this fabric collage/mosaic technique over the last few weeks. I posted earlier the version I made with my children 'Light Through Leaves' where I used rough cut scraps spray basted to a background of wadding then FMQed. Here are some sneaky peeks of a larger work in progress using a similar technique only here I fused Misty Fuse to the wadding and cut the scraps roughly square. I then freemotion quilted pebbles in each square and then stitched heavily over the edges of the squares to hold down the raw edges where they overlap so are not fused. This also makes the pebbles really stand out - a bit like coloured bubble wrap!

Here's how it looks before it's stitched - the fabric squares are around a half inch square. The gold spirals were stencilled on with markal sticks.

Here's another piece already stitched - pink bubble wrap anyone?!

A more usual way of fabric fusing is to apply the fusible to the fabric before cutting the pieces out but as I wanted to use my oodles of tiny scraps, this would have been impossible. The only disadvantage of applying the fusible to the wadding is that the overlaps don't have fusible to hold them in place. This is overcome by the heavy stitching - plus a bit of raw edge showing here and there only adds to the texture and visual interest.

 

I used the same technique to make this little piece only here I stitched cobbles and swirly shapes as well and cut some of the scraps into logs instead of squares. Any shape would work as long as you follow the principle of stitching close to the edges around each scrap then overstitching heavily in between to hold down the unfused edges. This little piece is also embellished with some gorgeous sari silk ribbons I bought at the Festival of Quilts, couched yarns, beads and machine and hand embroidery. I had run out of Misty Fuse so I used Bondaweb instead and it worked just as well - it was very easy to hand stitch through too.

Strata I - 8" x 16"

Close up showing pebbled mosaic and sari silk

Close up showing cobbled mosaic, couched yarn, embroidery and beads



I am starting another piece today for Midsomer Quilting's mini quilt challenge using this same technique so I'll take photos of every stage and then post it later as a step-by-step tutorial. I hope you feel inspired to have a go! It's a great way to use your teeny scraps so watch this space as they say! Happy quilting. k3n x 



Kaleidoscope Workshop

Here are some pictures of my latest kaleidoscope workshop in Whitelackington Village Hall. I never tire of teaching this technique - even when students have a fabric I've seen used before, the quilts come out completely different. And all the ladies' enthusiasm and excitement for the 'magic' way their fabric is transformed is a joy to behold! One lady already had a second fabric to show me to make another quilt on her own and others were talking about buying more fabrics to make more. I did give a health warning that these quilts can be addictive ( I think I've personally made getting on for 30 of them). It's a wonderful way to use those gorgeous large print fabrics that don't really suit traditional patchwork patterns and everyone I've ever taught this to has loved the fact that their quilt is truly unique and that they have designed it themselves. Thanks ladies for a great two days and all your quilts are beautiful. Now go and make more! :-D!

 

 

Happy ladies working away!



Jane's Quilt

Jean's Quilt

Jenny's Quilt

Kim's Quilt

Lisa's Quilt

Liz's Quilt

Maggie's Quilt

Sue's Quilt (and some of her fingers!)

Feather Doodles

This project started with a long, thin strip of Heide Stoll-Weber hand dyed fabric - the piece I cut out from behind the felted section of "The Westering Sun" here. Well it's too beautiful to waste, isn't it? I had it up on my design wall while wondering what to do with it so I decided to quilt a feather on it! Oh, and some pebbles! Then I had the blue/green section of fabric that I'd cut off from the bottom of the background of that same quilt and another piece of Heide Stoll-Weber (pinky purple) that I bought at the Festival of Quilts this year, so I doodled three different feather designs on paper and then freehand machine quilted them onto the three different pieces to be hung as a triptych. I marked the spines on each piece with my flexicurve so they're the same. I have coloured in the raised parts of each feather with a different coloured markal stick. Here's the first one finished - the blue/green - actually the second one to be quilted, hence "Feather Doodle II". The others still need the binding to be hand sewn in place and one still needs colouring with the markal stick. As soon as they're done, I'll post a picture of all three together.

"Feather Doodle II"