Thread-painting and dimensional applique

I haven't posted many finishes lately, as I've been working on different components, rather than start to finish. But I have two new finishes to show, both variations on dimensional applique.

Palm rainbow, finished

I've been using dimensional applique, my term for creating and quilting individual components separately, then applying them on the body of the quilt, for a couple of years now. For larger pieces I like to stitch them right sides together, then turn and insert batting. But in making my dogwood pieces I discovered that technique isn't ideal for small pieces. Then I saw in a blog (sorry, I don't remember whose) a post on making leaves by layering several pieces of fabric with fusible interfacing between layers. You quilt the pieces first, then cut out and finish the edges.

Forget-me-not, finished

These are my first two finishes using this technique.

Palm Rainbow, detail

For Rainbow Palm, I used three layers of fabric, as I wanted  the leaves to be stiff. I thread-painted the leaves using my treadle sewing machine, then painted the edges. Then cut them out and painted again so they would be well sealed. I assembled the background, fused on the palm trunk and quilted

thread-painted palm leaves

and painted highlights on the base piece, then added the palm leaves, stitching them along the stem. The beach ball was also thread-painted separately, then stitched onto the base. The seaweed is thread trash, saved when washing new fabric. I stitched it, and the beads, by hand.

The second piece, Forget- Me-Not, also uses dimensional applique. I used only two layers of fabric, the print and a muslin, layered with MistyFuse, then thread-painted the petals, and the leaves. I layered the base and thread-painted all the background flowers and stems, then used a simple spiral to fill in all the background. Then I stitched the petals and leaves on, free-motion, on my machine. For the centers of the flowers I cut small circles of white felt, stitched on the beads by hand, then stitched them to the quilt by  hand.

I started off this year making journal quilts and trying new techniques, to help me find my way as an art quilter. I think it's paying off. I'm really excited about these techniques. They offer so many possibilities, and I feel I am getting closer and closer to creating in fabric the ideas in my head.

More later.

Forget-me-not petals

Forget-me-not detail