Weekend Review: Stitched Textiles - Flowers

 

Stitched Textiles: Flowers / Bobby Britnell
Tunbridge Wells, UK: Search Press, c2013.
 128 p.

Another stitching book for my latest review -- this is one I got via interlibrary loan. I've read other books in this series and find them an interesting overview of one specific area of textile art. This particular one features flowers, and there are a few different ways that the concept is incorporated into this book. 

Flowers are just the theme; the book uses them to illustrate varied techniques and ideas. It's a short book but it is fairly comprehensive as an idea book. There are plentiful colour illustrations to inspire and quick mentions of many different ways to get flowers onto your stitched art. 

The book also has a section at the beginning about design, in which the author discusses and gives examples of keeping a sketchbook and drawing designs before stitching. I actually found this part a bit intimidating, as her sketches are beautifully made pieces of art in themselves, and I could never do anything like that. I don't have art training, can't really draw, and like textiles because I don't draw. My initial sketches for any plans I make are more like stick figure symbols to orient myself to where things should end up, not a piece of art ;) 

In any case, the book then shows one example of each technique - including dyeing, monoprinting, block printing, appliqué, foiling, photo-transfer printing, piecing and stitching. I have seen this all before, so there was not much that was new to me, although she talks about painting right on to Bondaweb before sticking it on to your work, with great step by step illustrations - I feel like I understand this concept now, which I was always pretty vague on. 

There are also five mini-projects shared to use some of these new skills on, things like a pincushion or needlecase. I have no interest in the projects but another reader might! I thought this was a good intro to some ideas for those new to textile arts, but I didn't feel like I got that much out of it. The techniques were interesting but I don't use florals much and also felt that some of the shared images were a bit pedestrian. So, not a big hit for me personally, but this is still a good series to begin with if you're just learning and you love the theme of the book you're reading. Maybe I'll try a couple of ideas out and see how they go. 

Weekend Review: Text in Textile Art

Text in Textile Art / Sara Impey
London: Batsford, c2013.
128 p.

This is a beautifully put together Batsford book, by a textile artist who has been using text and language in her work for a long time. Lots of photos, nice design and that famous fuzzy Batsford cover make this a lovely item in itself. 

But it also has lots of fascinating examples of how Impey quilts with words. The cover shows one of her signature techniques, stitching the background of plain cloth (sometimes pieced, as with the cover image), using threadwork to make letters out of the blank spaces left. She also does the opposite, quilting letters onto a bare background. It's quite graphical and striking. 

There are a lot of techniques and ideas shared here, from both machine and hand-stitching to using computers (or computerized sewing machines with fonts), photo transfer, found objects and printed materials. There are many examples, both of her own work and of other contemporary textile artists, including Tracey Emin for one. This is a great feature, as you can see how a lot of different artists incorporate the use of text, it's not just one style shown. 

There is also a discussion of copyright, which is important for anyone wanting to use words or images coming from elsewhere. She includes prompts and exercises for readers to discover how they might want to use text in their own work, and suggests places to find inspiration. It's a very solid book for anyone wanting to add text to their textile art -- it really is focused on art, which I appreciated and found illuminating. This is solid content by a very experienced artist, and anyone interested in this topic should be sure to read it. 

Mini quilt for a conference auction

Last year when I went to the SAQA Conference in my local area, I made a small quilt for the traditional conference auction. The Spotlight Auction features 6x8 textile art pieces which are auctioned off to benefit the organization. It's quite fun to see all the variations on a small artwork that show up during this display.

This year's conference is a virtual one, but the auction is still happening - it will just be 100% online. I decided I had time to make a small piece before the deadline. I started it last week but it's taken me over a week to finish, as I just couldn't decide on the design. I knew I wanted a labyrinth motif, but I started with an embroidered idea -- nope, didn't work -- then cut shapes out of two different fabrics, neither of which was just right. I finally found the right fabric, applied the motif, had a fusible glue accident that took an evening to fix, then had to decide what stitching to add, and found it needed a little something to finish it up. I have a pile of plastic florets that come off of sewing pins that wear out (yes, I save everything) and found that three white ones worked nicely as stars. 

It's finally finished! I'm calling it Night Walk, and it will be making its way to the SAQA auction shortly. It's nice to have a different kind of sewing challenge sometimes, to give you another sewing experience. I hope someone will end up liking this small piece enough to bid for it. I certainly enjoyed seeing it come together. 

Weekend Review: The Art of Manipulating Fabric

 

The Art of Manipulating Fabric / Colette Wolff
Radnor, PA: Chilton, c1996.
311 p.

Today I'm sharing the classic in the field of Fabric Manipulation! I picked up a copy of this at a quilt show recently, a great deal. And I've really enjoyed going through it, despite it being an older book and thus all in black and white. The images are there more for instruction than glossy inspo, anyhow, and there is a LOT of instruction and technique covered in this very inspiring book. There are over 350 images to study, showing many different dimensional techniques. 

The book is organized into six main categories, with various techniques and examples in each one. They are as follows: 

1. Controlled Crushing (Gathering, Shirring)

2. Supplementary Fullness (Ruffles, Flounces, Godets)

3. Systematic Folding (Pleating, Smocking, Tucking)

4. Filled Reliefs (Cording, Quilting, Stuffing)

5. Structured Surfaces (Darts)

6. Mixed Manipulations

It's a little overwhelming how many ideas are included here. The images are all of Wolff's samples, illustrating the techniques, and the text is also quite clear. Some of the variations can be quite similar, but she explains the details of each one, including both front and back pictures of some of them to make them more understandable. It's precise, with clear instructions and even measurements for some of the examples.

I am most interested in the "Systematic Folding" section at the moment - pleats and tucks are always something I like to see as garment details, and I've been looking at a few resources on smocking lately, as well. I opened the book to the pleating section and saw the solution to a skirt mend I want to get to -- the back slit is too short for comfortable walking right now, but would be too revealing if I just opened up the seam. So I'm going to add a kick pleat using a style she shows in her book (good thing I have extra fabric left...) That's just one quick useful tip I got from this book right away. But all the parts on smocking and tucking, specifically, are inspiring me to think of ways to use them in some artwork. So many ideas! 

I've seen a few of these techniques spread across other books, but it's nice to have them all collated here so efficiently. This book is very comprehensive, well-organized, and thorough on its subject. It's an older book and intended as a reference volume, so it's not flashy inspo pics like in some more recent books. But it is fully descriptive of a vast array of fabric manipulations, which is what it set out to do. Great book to be able to refer to for ideas and as a starting point for many unusual effects. 

Weekend Review: Contemporary Quilts: Design, Surface & Stitch

 

Contemporary Quilts: Design, Surface & Stitch / Sandra Meech
London: Batsford, c2003.
128 p.

Somehow as September approaches, it always feels like Back To School Time no matter how long it's been since school was a part of my life! And so I'm really into learning new things at this time of year, even more so than usual. I've found a few titles that will add to my knowledge of textile arts; this is one that I really enjoyed.

This is a wonderful book about design in art quilts. From painterly approaches to developing your concept, to detailing techniques of surface design and stitching, this book goes over so much that is useful to a textile artist. 

There is also a wealth of big, bright and clear photos of quilts by many different artists with various styles. It's good to see examples of the design concepts, colour theory, techniques and finishing, from many different perspectives. There are over 200 illustrations, so plenty to both inspire and inform you.

There are also 4 "Design Classes", or exercises, for readers to follow to learn how to break out of the basics and add new ideas and practices to their art making. These are straightforward but useful exercises to give a fresh look at how to design your projects. I appreciated the logical layout and clear writing in this book, and found quite a lot to engage me. I learned some new tips through the text, and some new ideas just from looking closely at the examples (many of which also had detail close-ups). 

This is a book to go back to and work through in different areas. Two of the design exercises in particular, on composition and colour, are ones that I'll be trying out as I think they'll really add to my development as a textile artist. I'm glad I came across this book, and have already got my hands on another of Sandra Meech's titles. Looking forward to more by this author. 

Weekend Review: Layered Cloth

 

Layered Cloth / Ann Small
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Search Press, c2017.
144 p.

I've looked at various titles in this "The Textile Artist" series, and they are always very good at including instructions and lots of photos on whichever topic they're covering. This one was no exception; there are many large and clear images illustrating the technique she's sharing. It just depends if it's a technique that catches your interest! 

This book focuses on fabric manipulation, as clearly stated in the title. The first half of the book deals with straightforward layers of fabric, mostly what I'd know as chenille. She also layers by cutting shapes out of the top layers and folding them back -- both of these are illustrated on the cover. Unfortunately for me, I'm not really taken with the frayed and messy look of these styles. Lots of people love it, but I don't think it's something I'd do much of at all (although never say never!) 

The second half of the book has some different kinds of manipulations, not quite a simple layering. There is a section on a trapunto influenced technique - layering fabrics and then stuffing the main motifs from the back in trapunto, which is interesting, especially in the neoclassical images she's using, pillars and such. Then there's a bit on suffolk puffs, done in various sizes and not perfectly circular, some with centre stuffing added. This reminds me a bit of the puffs in Ruth Singer's book on fabric manipulations, and I do like this technique and idea quite a bit. And she also talks about twisting fabrics to create shapes. 

The section of this book which I found the most original was a technique that she created called "Book Stacks" (guess why I like this one!) It's a series of folded squares all sewn closely together to make long columns that are textured and bookish. Hard to explain the technique but the effect is great. 

There are also a couple of quick projects at the end using a few of the techniques - scarves, pins, stuff like that. I'd be more likely to use these ideas in an art piece than in wearables, but I can see other people with a different style who would like the projects. Overall, an interesting read with some new ideas, which is well laid out and comprehensive. Check it out if you can find a copy! 

Weekend Review: Reclaimed Textiles

 

Reclaimed Textiles / Kim Thittichai
London: Batsford, c2014.
128 p.

I'm always interested in upcycling and using unexpected materials in my textile art. So I thought I'd check out this book for some new ideas! It's broken up into chapters on Inspiration, Textiles, Paper, Packaging, Plastics & Mixed Media. Then there is a follow up on some of the featured artists, links and bibliography, etc at the end. 

It's a Batsford book, so it's really beautifully done. Those fuzzy Batsford covers always get me! And there are many glossy photos of lots of projects and ideas inside. 

Somehow I didn't really click with this one, however. The projects felt too random and junky for my preferred style. I do find that British artists seem to like a looser, rougher, or messier aesthetic overall, which doesn't always mesh with my personal tastes. There were still some really interesting ideas, though, especially in the plastics section, that I could use in a different way than the artists featured here did, and still get that upcycled ethos in. There was one artist in particular, Mary Grey, who used plastics to make a water scene, and it was very effective. 

I was most drawn to the reused textiles; there were vintage embroidered dresser cloths and tablecloths that were stitched into to create new messages and artwork on top of the original stitching, and I thought the juxtaposition worked well to emphasize the concepts. And of course upcycling fabric scraps is familiar and something I feel comfortable doing, so those projects felt more approachable. 

This book was well done, in that it delivered what it set out to do. It's put together with variety and lots of colour and imagery, so if you are interested in this topic you might also want to take a look. There may be something in it that will inspire you. 

Stepping Stones: an art quilt

One of my other sewing hobbies is making art quilts, although I really am a beginner in this area. However, I mentioned last month that I'd started a little 12x12 quilt based on the materials I picked up at the SAQA Conference in Toronto. 

And I've finished it! Finished and hung within a month, it's a record for me ;) I wanted to get this done to hang it up in the staff art exhibit at my library, which I've called The Creative Library. I manage the art program so when there was a gap in the schedule I knew it would the perfect time to highlight the many creative coworkers that I have. There are photographs, digital collages, old-school collage, paintings, cross-stitch, and my textile pieces - so far! 

I am really pleased with this little piece, which I'm calling Stepping Stones. It was made with fabric picked up at the Community Stitch table at the Pathways to Possibilities conference, and it looks rather stepping stone-like. Also it's another stepping stone in my learning journey. I put the fabrics together fairly quickly, and added some embellishment, but I was a bit stuck on how to finish it. After looking up varied techniques, I decided to create a binding with butted ends (I can't get the hang of neat mitreing). I used this tutorial almost exactly. I think that it worked very well, and would definitely use this style of binding again on a small quilt.

I used my own fabric for the binding and the backing, but everything else was from the community table.

Backing with a split sleeve and a little hook 
to hang it as well (a pop tab)

 I really enjoyed how this worked out, and it's now up on the wall to share with my own community! And to balance it all out, I hung one of my older small pieces above it. Nice to have them out for viewing. 

Pathways to Possibility: a SAQA conference

 

Last weekend I was at a textile art conference in Toronto, with the wonderful organization SAQA. I've been a member for a couple of years, but am very much a rank beginner in this area. But I couldn't NOT go to a conference so close to me! 

It was an inspiring weekend, where I met so many creative people and learned so much from the speakers, who were all sharing such different elements of creative textile work. I didn't actually take many photos, too busy listening and talking ;) But I did get a nice photo of the small piece I made for the auction that is one of the SAQA fundraisers. 

And with the artist Nancy Turbitt, who bought my piece! 

We had a foggy, windy, rainy weekend so I was glad that much of the conference was in one place. But we also got to visit a couple of museums that were extremely close by -- the Textile Museum and the Campbell House Museum. Both had great exhibits; the Campbell House is showing Colour with a "U", a collection of textile works by Canadian SAQA artists, until June 3. Definitely recommended! 

And the conference had a Community Stitch project, where you could take and exchange bits of fabric, threads and embellishments. I didn't actually get much stitching done during the conference, but this week after coming home I've been working on putting together a little piece using the bits I gathered up from the Community Stitch table! Just testing things out and seeing what happens :) 

It was a really engaging event and I'm so glad I went. I will most definitely be continuing to primarily make and share my garments at this blog, but now and again you might also see a little bit about the artworks I'm making. 

Weekend Review: Small Art Quilts

 

Small Art Quilts: Explorations in Paint & Stitch / Deborah O'Hare
Tunbridge Wells, UK: Search Press, c2018.
144 p. 

I really enjoyed this book on making small art quilts! This one is just the right fit for my style of making and my own art quilt preferences. Deborah O'Hare has the kind of style and technique that appeal to me and so I really loved this book. It's at the right level as well, not quite stark beginner but not expert or full time artist, either. 

I loved the variety of images here; she talks about each one and the different choices she made for each, and then shares many of the techniques she's used, like stenciling and applique (for a gorgeous rabbit and moon piece) or using machine and hand embroidery together. There are also lots of different ways to finish the edges of a project included, and it felt like there was so much I could take away from this one. 

The book starts out with a discussion of basic materials needed, then moves on to a discussion of preparing ground cloth -- a lot of painting, and examples of different ways to paint cloth for different effects. Also some discussion of other surface design ideas like stamping or stencilling. And then a solid look at stitching and the many ways it can be used to add to your design. And she talks about using whole cloth, or strips or patchwork to create the ground, and has examples of each in bright, colourful photos. 

This is a deceptively short book; there is an awful lot in it and a newish beginner might be very inspired by it. But as a, let's say 'advanced beginner' I find it perfect for my needs. Lots of great ideas for every step of an art quilt, in small size so you can try things out quickly and without too much work put in to make you anxious about something working or not. 

The book ends with two projects showing how to incorporate many of the techniques throughout. If you like to follow a pattern then these will be great for you - each step is explained with close details photos as well, and there are templates for the figures in the projects at the end. If you don't want to make the same pattern you will still find the instructions helpful to be able to imagine using these ideas in your own work. This is one of my favourite art quilting books I've picked up through my library this year - it's definitely going on my 'to-buy' list so I can keep it forever ;) 

If this sounds interesting to you, be sure to pop over to the author's blog where she shares more info on what's included inside plus some gorgeous closeups of the interior pictures. I think you'll love it too!

Weekend Review: Art Quilts Made Easy

 

Art Quilts Made Easy / Susan Kruszynski
Mount Joy, PA : Landauer Publishing, ©2022
144 p.

This is a new book by an accomplished art quilter; she states at the beginning of the book that her style is collage landscape quilts, and that's what she is teaching here. This book includes some basic technique intruction, with lots of images to illustrate, and also 12 patterns that you can follow to get the hang of this technique and style for yourself. 

I thought it was nicely put together. Well organized and thorough in its choice of topic. Bright with lots of clear, large photos. If you are interested in this kind of quilting you will be delighted with this book. If your style or interests lie elsewhere, I think you may still be interested in reading through this book, both because it is lovely to look through, and because there is always some new idea that comes from any book - at least I think so! 

I am not a big landscape person, at least in my own designs, but I still found this book a solid read with lots of great technique tips that can be used in your own way. Plus it's full of inspiring images - she makes a lot of small art quilts, which is my own preference, and I found that I was examining all of her images closely to see how she'd finished and edged her pieces. She is down to earth and includes tons of great info on creating your own quilts. She starts with very useful information on how to plan and map out a quilt, shares design rules, guidelines and basic tools, and also includes tips on finishing and framing your work, whether that's just binding or mounting to canvas. 

She is clearly an expert in this area, and she's also a teacher, which comes through in her easily understandable directions and instruction here. Anyone, even if just starting out, would easily be able to follow the steps she lays out. So definitely an interesting one to read through and examine. If your preferences are for landscapes and the collage technique, it's a must have for you. 

Weekend Review: Poetic Cloth

 

Poetic Cloth: Creating Meaning in Textile Art / Hannah Lamb
London: Batsford, c2019.
128 p.

This is another of the textile arts books published by Batsford - I love them, not only because the covers are always flocked and pleasing to the touch! All the books I've read in this series are interesting examinations of modern textile arts from many different angles. 

This one is about creating meaning with your work: there are different artists featured, and great images of exhibitions of their works. There is also discussion of the meaning behind an artist's approach, and guidance on how to incorporate some of these techniques into your own work, with lots of text step-by-steps, and clear photos of examples. I think anyone would come away from this with at least one new idea to try out; there is more stylistic variety to explore than in some of the other titles I've read so far.  

The book is organized into chapters entitled Touch, Stitch, Trace, Fragment, Mend and Lustre. Each of them explore these themes and processes as shown in the author's work, plus featured others. I think this allows for a range of styles and ideas, and found it both illuminating and great fun to browse.

I do find that a lot of British textile artists are very interested in the frayed and decaying, and this book is no exception. There are many examples of swatches, samples, patchwork and the like which are all faded and frayed. It's an aesthetic. 

But there is also some discussion of other interesting techniques and styles, including a patchwork of handkerchiefs by artist Diana Harrison, that is more streamlined than shabby chic. And there is discussion of cyanotypes, which are apparently a big part of the author's work. She goes beyond simple plant silhouettes to create ghostly images using digital negatives, and they are striking. Full instructions on how to do this are shared so you can try too. 

I really enjoyed the breadth of this book, and the thoughtful text about meaning and permanence, interspersed with clear instructional sections. There is a lot to explore here. If you are interested in textile arts, you might also find this an interesting read.  

Textile Side Projects

I took a little detour from my garment sewing this week (even though I have a skirt nearly done...) because I was struck with the desire to work on an art quilt. I have been experimenting with various ideas for the past few years, although I haven't made even a fraction of the ideas I've considered.

But this week I was looking at some of the patchwork circles I made last year, and felt the need to work on them again. This is a project that uses up both scraps of cotton from various sources, and my own dressmaking offcuts. I start by cutting a circle from medium weight fusible interfacing, then lay strips of cotton in one colourway across the circle and fuse down. I then cut the larger circle into rings and shift them around to make various combos.

This week I was playing with spreading out the rings into different arrangements. As I was doing so with a red circle, I realized that a fabric I had sitting on the giveaway pile would make a great background for the red rings. It was a cotton that I picked up somewhere but didn't like the print -- large, irregular profiles of some kind of statue. But the print was widely spaced and the background was great. So I cut up bits of the green and yellow fabric and stitched them into a block that singes the eye when paired with the red fabrics. I really love it.

I've made a few little tester strips and have been trying out different quilting ideas but haven't got any further yet. I'm hoping to have this little one (12x12), tentatively named In Orbit, done this month.

On the weekend, we went down to the 2021 Grand National Fibre Arts show currently exhibited at the Woodstock Museum, and seeing those pieces in such a variety of styles, with so many techniques and ideas on display, has inspired me to finish something instead of stalling and putting projects aside (common for me...) I hope to be able to share more about this one with you all soon! 

Do any of my readers make textile art projects as well as sewing our own garments? Or do you lean toward fibre arts like needle felting or rug hooking, or anything at all like that? I find it really enjoyable to do both and move back and forth between them, although wardrobe projects have really been taking precedence for a while. But variety is creatively satisfying!

Artistically Inspired 80s Dress

Forgetfulness is a strange thing -- I made this New Look 6344 Dress way back in September, and then forgot to blog or review it, and also forgot to wear it all winter once it got tucked away in a corner of my closet. I retrieved it today and wore it again, so thought it was also time to share it!

I found this wonderful vintagey pattern in a local thrift store, and thought that the shorter length would be perfect for a lightweight floral polyknit I found at Fabricland. I originally decided to make this dress as soon as I saw the fabric -- I was planning on going to an artist's talk by Amanda McCavour for her beautiful installation at Gallery Stratford -- thread work poppies, so gorgeous and peaceful.

When I saw this fabric I knew I had to make a matching dress! But there were only 3 days until the talk, so it had to be an easy to make dress. This 80s dress fit the bill.

It was a pretty straightforward sew. Even with the shorter length I had to shorten the skirt some more. Perils of being only 5'2". I left it a bit longer than I would usually though, as I liked the longer, flowier feel of this design. Of course I added pockets, with some seam tape along the edge of the pocket/skirt seam to reduce stretching.

It's then sewn together and an elastic casing formed from the waist seam allowance. Thread through the elastic, turn under & stitch the neckline and sleeve hems, and then leave the hem unfinished -- I couldn't face stabilizing all the very long hem and it looks perfectly fine unfinished. I like the easy way when possible!

Such a full skirt :)

In any case, finding something in your closet after 6 months which you've completely forgotten about means it's like a new dress :) I enjoyed rediscovering this colourful comfy dress today and also realizing that I could share it with you all. I hope you've enjoyed this little visit to a gorgeous art installation from September!