Inspiration by accident

I usually work in bright colors, but the piece I'm finishing right now is a little different, soft and monochrome, all because of some leftover paint.

Underwater piece in progress

A couple of weeks ago I was painting some fabric, using Setacolor and Dye-na-flo paints, and decided to try a version of snow dyeing, using the Dye-na-flo. Since we don't get snow here, I used a blender to chop ice for the "snow." I'd prepared a bucket with a couple of spacers and a can lid to leave room for the melting ice, then put in my fabric and the snow, then sprinkled with paint.

The melting colors looked beautiful, but when dry, the fabric turned out to be very light colored. Pretty, but not what I've seen from snow-dyeing with regular dye. It was an experiment, so no great concern.

I would probably have set the fabric aside with my other painted fabrics, if it hadn't been for the leftover paint/water mixture. It was a very pretty teal color and I hated to just dump it down the sink, so I grabbed some scraps of cotton quilt batting, and some cotton yarn and crochet thread, and dropped them in to soak for a while.

"snow" with paint

after the snow melted

The result was a very light green or blue green, depending on the material, and made me think of underwater scenes. They combined really well with the light blue fabric from the original snow painting experiment, for a couple of dreamy underwater scenes. They are not quite finished, so it's time for me to get off the computer and back into the studio to finish up. We have an art show next weekend and I have a couple of pieces to finish and frame.

And for my friends looking for more art quilt inspiration, check out this blog.

http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

More later!

finished piece of fabric

leftover paint/water with cotton batting

dyed batting and yarn

New Year, new art

Dye-na-flo

My New Year's resolution is to take advantage of the time I have available for my art, and do more art. For the past year, work has dominated my time, and it looks like the upcoming year will be similar. But, I have some time, I just have to plan and use it for my art.

I've gotten started on that effort over the past few days by spending some time rearranging and organizing my sewing and art supplies. It's not beautiful, but now I have a better idea of where to find things.

So, today I decided to do something I haven't done in ages, and paint some fabric. Some day I'll have a space for real fabric dyeing, but for now, I'm happy with fabric painting using Setacolor and Dye-na-flo. So, I cleared off the kitchen table, set up a work area with a trash bag over a big piece of cardboard, and cut some fabric into fat quarters. I could only paint one at a time, but as each was fairly dry, I hung it up and moved on to another piece.

I finished up with five fat quarters and a few smaller pieces. Now I get the fun of coming up with a plan to use them.

Setacolor

 More later!

Setacolor

A Treadle On quilt gallery

A few days ago, on the Treadle On list, we were talking about how long we've been members of the group, and I mentioned that it was thanks to Treadle On that I began quilting. I found my first vintage sewing machine, a Singer 15-91, in 2000, and found the group in researching. With their help, I found my first treadle, and began my sewing machine collection. In early 2001, I participated in the first of many quilt block exchanges, and in 2002, I began a Treadle On Block of the Month.

Precise Piecing Block Exchange. The blocks are
3.5 inches

By 2004, I had a bunch of blocks from the exchanges, but hadn't quilted anything, so decided it was time. I had begun the Block of the Month using Christmas fabrics, and the holidays were on their way, so I set a goal of finishing the Block of the Month in time for Christmas. I finished the last few blocks, put the top together and quilted it on my Singer 66 Redeye. 

From there I moved on to other block exchange quilts, making quilts that were not from exchanges, and art quilts. And I moved from quilting on the 66 to a Davis Vertical Feed, then to free motion on a Singer 15-30.

Since I don't have a photo site any more, I thought I'd share the completed Treadle On quilts, and my two Treadle On mascots, which are called dremls. We won't talk about the sets of exchange blocks that are still waiting to be assembled and quilted.

Treadle On Block of the Month from 2002.
Completed in 2004, my first completed quilt.

My dremls, they travel with me to every TOGA

Red and White Block Exchange, from 2001. My first
block exchange, though not completed until much
later.

Treadle On Triple Star. Quilt completed in 2010.
Queen-size, free-motion quilted on my Singer 15-30.

Detail from the Triple Star

Winter Holiday Block Exchange.

Boat Shuttle Block Exchange quilt.
All the block in this quilt were made with a very
early style of machine

Captain's Courtyard,  made with
blocks from the 10th anniversary
Treadle On block exchange

Add caption

Black and Batik exchange quilt

Davis Exchange, all block made on machines made by Davis sewing machine company.

A quilt finds a home

Fantasy Flowers II, sold

One of my favorite newer quilts went to a new home after last weekend's Tybee Arts Association show and sale. Fantasy Flowers II, which was sold, and Fantasy Flowers I, it's companion piece, were made this summer, using some wonderful scrap-bag fabric.

For both, the backgrounds were made with strings of fabric, cut a little longer than I wanted the piece wide, then stitched together. Since the pieces were uneven, I picked one seam to square from, then trimmed the piece to an even rectangle. For Fantasy Flowers I, I then fused fabric for the vase to Misty-Fuse, cut it out and fused to the background. Then for both, I layered with batting and backing, and quilted in the stems and background designs. Later, I painted the flower stems and designs on the vase, using Jacquard Lumiere paints.

For the flowers, I fused fabric to a similar colored felt, using Misty-Fuse, then free-motion stitched the outlines and details of the flower petals. After stitching, I painted around the outline of the petals, and some accents, using the Jacquard paints again, then cut out the petals.

Next step was stitching the petals, using the sewing machine, to a background piece of felt, then trimming the felt so it wouldn't show. Finally, I hand-stitched beads to another piece of felt, then attached it for the centers of the flowers.

Fantasy Flowers I

I had a couple of extra flowers and made one into a pin, which I wore at the September art show, and got such a great response I decided to make more as pins. The flowers are a lot of fun, since I use crazy colors and shapes, but time-consuming. They made a great display on a green pillow at the art show.

I spent yesterday afternoon rearranging and organizing my sewing room/guest room. I finally got it to the point where I have room to work again, so that's where I'm heading.

A flower in progress

Flower pins on display at the show

More later.

Look what followed me home

A few scratches on the bed and handwheel.

 I really haven't been looking for new sewing machines for a while. No time, no space. But sometimes they find me anyway. A couple of months ago my sister was at an estate sale and found a Singer 403, in the bottom of a case – no top, unfortunately, and a box of cams and a buttonholer. The price was right, so I asked her to buy them for me – then forgot all about them.

So a few days ago when I mentioned we were coming to visit for the weekend she reminded me that I needed to get the machine. I couldn't even remember what machine she'd bought for me!

A box with a few attachments and eight cams, and a
buttonholer were found with the machine.

Eight cams, plus one in the machine.

My cat, Pepper, has to check it out.

The Singer 401 series and the 500 series that followed it were probably some of the best machines ever made by Singer, and they still stack up with the best machines around. The 401 came with built-in decorative stitches, and used the black "top hat" cams to make additional stitches. The 403 doesn't have built-in stitches, but uses the cams – there are 20 or more of them – for decorative stitches. And the 404 was straight stitch only.

I have a couple of 401s that need some work, and a 500 in a cabinet that I love, but I thought a portable 403 would be a nice addition to my herd.

It's perfect timing, too, as I'm in the middle of making a batch of fabric postcards, and I love using the decorative cams for stitching on the cards.

These pictures are as I brought it home. So now I'm off to dust, oil and try it out.

More later!

A little catching up

Since it had been so long since I'd posted, here's a little catch up on what I've been doing.

The publicity card for the show

We expanded our business at the beginning of the year, which pretty much absorbed all my time for the first half of the year. I don't think I touched my sewing machines from January to June, except to do a little mending.

By June things had settled a bit and I started carving out a little time for my art, just in time, as I had been invited to do my first show at a local arts center in July

"A Quilted Surface," was a two-woman show at the Averitt Center for the Arts in Statesboro, Ga. The second artist was a painter who includes quilts in many of her paintings. It was a thrill, of course, to have my first show, and very special to have it at the Averitt Center, as I had served on the board for six years during the planning and opening of the center.

For the show, I included a mix of pieces I had done in the past year or so, with a few new pieces I managed to finish just in time for the show.

Some of my work at the show

More work

A piece I finished for the show,

Other than that, I've participated in a couple of the local art shows, and finished a few new pieces over the past few months. I'll be back with more on that later.

A treadle transformation

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted. My life has taken off in some unexpected directions this year, pushing my art to the sidelines, but I'm slowly getting back to creating.

Rusty, but solid

One of the things I enjoy when participating in art shows and festivals is doing demonstrations on my treadle. Until recently, I've juggled machines around to take for demos, but I really wanted a dedicated setup that would be easy to transport. Over time I've acquired a Singer 15-30 machine that is a duplicate of my favorite for free-motion quilting, an ugly, but functional treadle top without any drawers and a rather rusty treadle base.

Here's how I transformed the base:

you can see the rust flakes

Working outdoors, I brushed all the loose dirt from the treadle. Then, using two different sizes of wire brushes, I brushed every area, removing all the loose rust. Then I rinsed it completely with water to remove the residue.

As soon as it dried (an hour or so) I began coating the entire base with a rust converter (sold under different brand names in the automotive department). The rust converter chemically converts any remaining rust into a matte black primer. It also goes on as a milky liquid, making it easier to see where you apply it.

after wire brushing

After making sure the base was completely coated, I let it dry overnight. Usually, I leave it at this, the primer makes a good looking finish for a treadle and holds up well. But because the treadle will play double duty as a vanity in my bedroom when not on the road, I decided to dress it up a little more.

I covered the Singer name and logos with paper, then set the base upside down. Using a good quality spray paint appropriate for metal, I gave it a first coat of spray paint. After it completely dried, I turned the base right side up and sprayed everywhere that needed additional coverage. I should have covered moving joints, but just avoided spraying directly on them, then made sure to move the treadle and wheel after painting.

applying the rust converter

After letting it dry overnight, I brought it indoors, then let it sit a couple more days before tackling the logos. Using a gold hobby paint, I painted the letters of Singer and the logos on each side.

One note on this, please don't take it as an endorsement to take the first treadle machine you find and start painting it up. Good quality, intact, treadle machines are getting harder to find. My philosophy is that the older and rarer the machine, the less I do with it, and I never do anything that can't be reversed to the condition I find a machine. 

after spray painting

with painted logo

Finished!

I'll try to be back soon with some art!