Monday, May 28, 2007

Blocks & thread painting



I did accomplish a bit over the long weekend. The flowers are thread painted and will be used as a fund raiser for the NSQG auction in July. I started out with a print from a fabric. Starched the fabric until it was almost like a board!!! Then put a sheet of computer paper under the fabric, dropped the feed dogs and outlined the areas to paint, with black thread. Next started out with the darkest value threads. Moved the fabric to cover the fabric print. I stitch the darkest area on the actual fabric and then worked to the lighter following the values on the base fabric. Used a combination of sulky, polyester, and cotton threads. Cut the whole thing out after pressing it flat. Now its ready to stitch on a background and add border and quilt.

The block is the result of the 9 patches I was cutting a few days ago. First you stitch a nine patch that will finish about 5". The next step is to cut that 9 patch down the center vertically, then across horizontally. This makes 4 small squares that look like a square with rectangle sashing plus a tiny cornerstone, Then these are stitched together to make blocks. I have squares cut for 11 blocks and will need 9 more to make a throw. I pressed the seams open on the nine patches and on all the seams in the blocks. Eliminates bulk at the joinings.

I think this would work on slightly larger 9 patch blocks also. This will be something to try in the future when I can spend more time cutting. Goodness knows I have plenty of scraps.

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