After my last show and sale, I committed myself to spending time developing my artistic chops in fibre art. I have some, but not enough to give the confidence I want/need in my art making. This hurdle, and getting over it is my focus for the year...and maybe many more to come.
I probably own most of the tools known to fibre-art making man....or at least, A LOT....now to USE them! And, I do, but not as much as I want to. I need to make them have a bigger impact in my life other than the credit card receipts proving I've acquired them.
True to my intent, I set about 'playing' early in the new year. I dug out some of my hand-dyed fabric, a contrasting solid, thread.....and, oh yah, fabric threads I'd cut off of some fat quarters that I washed and couldn't part with. I also rooted through my stash of Sulky water soluble stabilizer, which is handy when free-motioning over junk.
This sulky is self adhesive and will stick the stuff you are sewing down onto your background. I used a pin or two to help it stick since the threads on top of my quilt background were bulky. I did not take a picture of the threads before I sewed them down, but here is an 'after'.
It took a bit of gentle rubbing to loosen the bits right around the stitch lines, but it worked well. After the stabilizer was gone, I blotted the extra water between two towels and let the piece dry. I then began the work of embellishing it.
You'll notice the shape of the piece as it dries. The free motion stitching pulled the piece in a bit. Even though I had washed the fabric before construction, I hadn't counted on the stitching changing the size. I was intending to stretch the finished piece over a small canvas, but will not have enough room for this. I am going to try facing it....a process also new to me.
Once it was dry I began to embellish it with beads and embroidery. I watched it become a tree shape of sorts.
Now the trick is to know when to stop.....I'll let you know when I decide.
Let the play continue.
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