Eco Printing Workshop

Recently, I had the great fun of taking an eco printing workshop from Vickie Bennett. I've known Vickie for a while and have always been a big fan of her work...so finally it worked out where I could sign up for her 1 day workshop.... packed full of information and fun!

 One of the techniques we used was layering leaves and plant material on top of silk noil or a scarf blank.

 Everyone brought lots of things to share...a great variety of plants and all were anxious to see how each one would print.

 We had pvc pipe or copper tubing for wrapping our fabric/leaves. I chose the copper to see if the metal would have any effect on the fabric...it didn't seem to.

 This scarf turned out lovely and picked up a lot of the color from the plant material.

 This is my scarf...I like the results but would have liked more color. The lack of color is a result of  spritzing iron water to the piece before steaming. The "ferny" type leaves are Sumac...the good kind that doesn't make you itch.

 I think the Sumac had a powerful presence...

 and another pretty scarf with good color.

 And our instructor's beautiful scarf in which she also used a "color carrier" to get more color on her fabric.

 and a detail....

Another fun technique we learned was the use of color carriers to create more color on the piece. 

 For this exercise we used silk noil which takes any kind of color beautifully

 with great results.

 and my piece...a little more subtle than some of the others. I can't say I'm in love with it...maybe in like with it but more important I'm happy to know how to do this...will be doing lots of practicing in the future.

 and another very successful piece..

 Our class with Vickie in the middle.

What a fun day and we learned so much in such a short time. Out of respect for Vickie and all the hard work she did in creating this workshop, I shared mostly results...which hopefully will wet your appetite into taking a workshop from her...You will be happy you did.....til next time.

Bragging Rights

 I taught a workshop for the Asheville Quilt Guild a couple of weeks back. It's one of my favorite workshops; it involves working with layers - a top layer of sheer organza and bottom layer of cotton also silk screens, paint, appliques etc.  The best part for me is working with students while they design their pieces, sometimes a little hesitant working outside of their comfort zone but always with the best results.

This wonderful piece was created by Meredith Brooks and titled "Sunshine on the Forest Floor". She wanted to create a look that suggested leaves scattered in the forest, some leaves more prominent and some hidden.  Using the sheer layer helps to achieve that effect with leaves on top and underneath the sheer. I think she did a wonderful job and I love her piece.

Marene Parsons created this next piece, equally as wonderful and very different.  She calls it "Golden Woodlands".  There is a really nice balance between the elements she used on top (mushrooms, acorns and some ferns) and the big tree and pine boughs underneath. Marene used some of her couching skills to create a forest floor with couching threads - a nice touch and a lovely piece. 

This next piece is from Mona who took my workshop in Charlottesville, VA last fall.  It's called Misty Morning. She uses some beautiful colors in her background and very lively colors on top of the organza. She finished her piece early on and sent me a picture. I waited to group it with other works from this workshop.  In the workshop we did with Mona's guild, we painted the organza but also added another step of sprinkling salt on top.  Salt draws the liquid towards itself to create movement lines - a great effect. But it does add another step as you have to heat set, rinse off the salt and let dry again. I was helping a lot of students with the process, brushing off salt, heat setting but for whatever reason overlooked rinsing this particular piece.  Mona emailed me to say there were droplets of water on top of her finished piece...wow...where did that come from...and finally realized it was the residue of salt - very undetectable, that created the moisture. A good hint to pass on, if working with salt, to make sure and rinse.
   As I mentioned before, this is at the top of my list of favorite workshops to teach: I'll be teaching this at the NC Symposium in May and the Quilt Symposium of Alabama in June. Check out my blog for my schedule..

Asheville Quilt Guild Workshop

I taught one of my favorite workshops to the Asheville Quilt Guild this week; it is such a fun workshop as you see so many different pieces and directions from students. It was a design workshop using a base fabric, creating nature type motifs for that layer, and painting a sheer layer to place on top using more design elements. You get a great feeling of depth to the piece. There is a lot more to it but this is the starting point.

 The workshop was full and we had a huge, well lit room for working, this is only half the room, the other half had as many tables and people. It was a teacher's dream for teaching.

 I went around snapping pictures and unfortunately wasn't able to get everyones. Their piece wasn't up to the point of being photographed, or design elements were still being placed. Each piece was so individual and interesting, beautiful, restful - the list goes on to describe the works of this very talented group of ladies. This first piece did not have the sheer layer as yet. It was to represent a forest floor with leaves laying where they fall.  It was lovely and I can't wait to see it finished.

 This gal only had the bottom layer finished when I snapped the picture.  Before she left, the sheer layer was ready to place on top. The "weed" like imagery in the background was done with silkscreen - another skill learned in the workshop.  This was the start of a beautiful piece and I remember her telling me, she had only been quilting for a year. I think we have a star in the making.

 Betty created this piece which was her design. She wanted to use lunes and cattails. The sheer is already in place and you can see the dimension it creates. Some of the cattails are on top and some beneath the sheer. She plans to go and add more elements in the foreground along the bottom. It's wonderful!

 I absolutely loved this piece. The mushrooms were hand painted after being silk screened on - what a clever idea. The dragonfly was a screen also.

 The sheer layer add more dimension and the mushroom screened on organza was also painted.

 This piece started with a very lively background which worked beautifully in the design. The tree and "brush" was screened on the background and more design elements added to the organza in front. The butterfly (which still needs to be cut out) was one she also hand painted before coming to class.

 We all fell in love with the background fabric in this piece - it's a Hoffman and I looked it up on line, still available but finding the store that carries it is another issue. The fabric was placed with stripes going vertical to give the illusion of trees - how clever is that. The elements on the organza really made the piece pop.

This was Peggy's piece. She worked with squares  and silk screen and smaller squares in the upper right corner to balance it out.  She also screened lots of Hydrangeas onto the background which show through and are very effective.

This was Chris's piece - she started with a medium value batik as the background and screened a tree off to the side. She added ferns to the background and still in the process of added more to the organza. ..another great piece.

I have to say, my one regret is not being able to photograph all of them - there were twice as many as you see here and all so unique.  I promise my ladies if they send me a picture, I will put it on my blog. I am so proud of this wonderfully talented group and want some bragging rights for them. This workshop is a delight to teach, I come home on such a high after seeing the art people are able to create.

Wonderful Students!

A while back, I posted pictures of a workshop I recently taught in Charlottesville, VA. I had some wonderful ladies, all very enthused and talented. Each created very different pieces; it was interesting to see the different approach each person took in using this new technique. Two of my gals finished their pieces and were kind enough to share them with me, so now for bragging rights.

Ann Robertson was working in silk; she did a lot of overlapping with a fairly thin silk which allowed for some unexpected and welcomed shading along the mountain top. She also used screen printing to create the forest in the foreground. The whole piece would be covered with painted silk organza so the different design elements would be muted.

I think it's great fun when you're lucky enough to see the "before and after" of a piece and here is the "after".  Ann told me she was very excited about her piece and had to finish it that same weekend, well...understandably....it's a beautiful piece. I love the tree on the left which draws the eye upward. It's been screened on the top layer of organza to make it more prominent. I can see other trees in the foreground also. She really nailed it with her proportions.

Look closely at that little touch of bright blue. Ann calls her piece "Blue Hills Home" and it does remind me of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's truly a wonderful piece and I'm so pleased for her.

Mona Houle started this wonderful piece in class.  I was very taken with her choice of background  fabric; when she painted the organza to use as an overlay, I was thinking she had a winner. She used some great design elements underneath the organza like the caterpillar and the dragonfly which she silkscreened. Next a bluebird was added to the top of the tree.

On the top layer of painted organza, she incorporated the brighter elements but just enough. It's hard to know when to stop but I think Mona has the perfect amount. The piece is busy in the background but the organza softens it and allows you to see the brighter elements in front. It's a wonderful piece and I'm so happy to see these wonderful finished pieces. I'm proud as a peacock to meet and have the opportunity to work with these wonderfully, talented and incredibly nice ladies. The best part of teaching....
Congratulations Ann and Mona on a job well done - VERY well done!
Til next time...

Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival

I've been home from Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival for a week and have been anxious to share my adventure.  

Our trip up to Hampton was crazy, crowded and lots of fun with plenty of food including homemade cookies to munch along the way.

We got in earlier than most folks as we were judging the next day, allowing us to pick rooms next to each other and also finding time for a little silliness.

We unpacked and everyone had to try on Linda's funny slippers - we all wanted "duck feet".

Being there early was great for seeing the quilts up close and personal. This was one of my favorites -  Green Miles by Peggy Kragnes.  It was truly breathtaking in person.

Euphoria by Marilyn Badger was a beauty also.

Being a nature lover, I fell in love with Coleus up Close by Sue Colozzi. It felt like you were looking at the real thing.

My Layered Nature-scapes was a new workshop;  I was anxious to see what everyone did as well as share it with you. It was amazing to see the great things these gals came up with, such an incredibly creative group.  They started with a base piece and painted silk organza to layer on top, something subtle so the base would show through.  Most of the following are the base pieces before the top layer.

They silk screened as well as created images out of fabric for the base.

This gal wanted a spooky moon which she created by adding paint to the fabric on left.

I was pleased to see how everyone painted their organza very lightly and subtle so their background would show through.

Jeni layered hers early on so you can get an idea of how the finished piece will look.  She was adding more images to the sheer layer.

I think it's going to be a wonderful piece.

Denise did an underwater theme with Humpback whales; this is just the base. Her top layer added so much depth and she actually finished it in time to bring to Show and Tell on Saturday night.  Show and Tell is the closing event for workshops at Mancuso shows. Students have the opportunity to show what that did and give others a chance to see what they might like to take in the future. It's great fun and always inspiring.
I must say I was prouder than a Peacock to see what all my students in all 3 classes came up with, such wonderful skills and creativity. I think every one of them stepped outside the box and I couldn't be happier. They made my week so special...so my ladies....if you are reading this - Thank You! You are all amazing and I hope to see and work with you again.

Heading Out

I'm all packed and ready to go, off to Hampton, VA to teach at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. It's always a favorite conference of mine and I know it will be great fun.  I finished another sample in bright colors for my Layered Nature-scapes workshop.  It's an Under the Sea theme - something that lends itself to lots of color.  

My underneath fabric was a hand-dyed cotton.  I silkscreened the lacy looking images with textile paint and also a discharge paste to give both a dark and light version.

 I machine quilted parts with a glitzy thread.

 and added a not so cute fish (doesn't even have an eye)  to give some interest in the top part of the piece.

 The sheer - top layer was painted with Dye-na-Flow and had lots of foliage added to it...

 and then laid over the bottom piece.

I purposely left the piece unfinished so the top could be peeled back to see what was going on underneath.
Will be gone until Sunday - have a great week and "see" you when I get back.