Art Quilt: "French Country Cottage Window Box"

This is a new art quilt for my friend Linda in Australia. She requested a quilt to hang in her guest bedroom, which is decorated in stylish black and red with scrollwork linens and "French" accessories. When she mentioned that she'd love it to have a "French" feel, I knew this was a project I'd love to work on! I've always been drawn to the language and imagery of France, for both its natural beauty and the connection it has to my own heritage. Linda helped push me artistically with this piece, encouraging me to try a new style and feel, and to use an image which featured an angled background. I hadn't incorporated any architectural elements into my landscape quilts before this piece, and it was a delightful challenge! It is always a GOOD thing to try new things and expand my repertoire of fiber art skills : )

"French Country Cottage Window"

Imagery selected by: Linda Ellis

Constructed & Quilted by: Heather J. Reid

June, 2011

The finished piece measures 31" tall by 27" wide, and features a "French Country Cottage Window" filled with red flowers and trailing foliage. Fussy-cut leaves, flowers, and birds, all cut individually from commercially printed fabrics, are layered to create the scene. I selected Stonehenge "Cement" for the background wall, as it seemed perfect for the pale gray bricks in the background. I also used other Stonehenge fabrics for window, as the texture of these prints reminded me of distressed, peeling paint. Once the composition was complete, I outline stitched every single piece in place, then embellished with additional thread-sketching and decorative embroidery. I particularly loved stitching the little curly green tendrils of the trailing vines! Fabric dye markers and fabric paints were used to add highlights and shadows. Also, I used additional layers of batting to help create a very three-dimensional effect with the window and shutters, so these are raised on the surface of the quilt.

Last, I tried a new construction element - a double border edging. I read some tutorials and looked at several books to learn how to create this type of edging, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I would have thought! I guess the words "Mitered Corners" sound more scary than they really are! : ) The effect it gives is definitely worth the trouble - the ivy overlapping the bottom and side inner borders creates a new level of depth in this piece. I'm very pleased with how it turned out!! : )

Foliage overlaps the bottom inner borders of the quilt, creating new dimension:

Fussy-cut leaves and flowers, all cut out by hand and stitched individually onto the surface of the quilt, then embellished with additional overstitching.

Also, you can see the stippling work on the inner border of the quilt, in variegated thread:

Lantern cut from a black batik, then masked and painted with luminous white fabric paint for a "shimmering" glass effect:

Little feathered friends come to visit the cottage! : )

Betsy Tacy Tib - Childrens' Books as Inspiration

Art Quilt inspired by "Betsy-Tacy and Tib"
Children's Book by Maud Hart Lovelace

I'm finding more and more that childrens' books offer the BEST inspiration - don't we all have those few special books which hold a huge amount of sentimental value?  We can remember snuggling up with someone we love, spending hours listening and gazing, being captivated and mesmerized by the possibilities of imagination...having different worlds revealed to us with the simple opening of a book - enveloping us more and more with the turn of each page - teaching us morals, culture, history, and so much more... ("Read to your children or grandchildren!!!")

I have recently discovered "Betsy-Tacy and Tib," after receiving a request via etsy to create a custom art quilt featuring an illustration from one of the books in the series. The woman who requested this piece has a particular fondess for these sweet stories. : )  They were published between 1940 and 1955, and were written by Maud Hart Lovelace. They follow the adventures of Betsy Ray (a character based on the author herself) and her friends and family, and they take place in the very late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the incidents in the books actually happened to Lovelace, and the other characters are based on the author's actual friends and family. The illustrations in the book are absolutely charming!!

Here is the illustration which my artwork was based on:

I was particularly inspired by this illustration for a couple of reasons. First, because the image of three little girls reminded me of my own three daughters - and second, because I love to include large trees in my "illustrated" type art quilts - somehow trees often make their way into childrens' stories (The Little Prince's Baobab trees, for example) and sometimes are even the *center* of the story...ie "The Giving Tree."

As additional inspiration, the owner of this piece also provided me with a quote she chose from one of the books when she originally asked me to create this piece:

"It was June, and the world smelled of roses.

The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside."

Here are some photos of how the project turned out - it was delightful to get to work on!! : )

I chose a frame for this piece that looked both "vintage" and "girly" - and which complements the color of the tree. I left the glass off of the frame, so that the detailed texture can be seen more clearly.

Here is one close-up shot - I added some lace to the bodice of one's dress, and did a lot of overstitching - plus added a few more flowers and ground foliage

than shown in the original illustration.

Here is a closeup shot of the foliage at the bottom of the tree -

it is difficult to tell from the above photos,

but each individual fern was cut out and placed with tweezers!! : )

This piece, measuring only 8" x 10", was created using 35+ different fabrics and fibers, either chopped up or fussy cut - plus at least 15 different colors of thread. It was really fun to get to choose the fabrics for their dresses - I shopped at several places to find some "period" style fabrics, with prints in a small enough scale. I found some "reproduction vintage prints" which I really think added to the overall feel of the scene - I think these prints give it a sense of time. 

(Plus, it was just plain fun for me to get to shop around and pick them out ; )

In researching the Betsy-Tacy books for this piece, I found out that there is an active "Betsy-Tacy Society!"  They were so helpful and gracious, and replied immediately to my questions via email from their website:

http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org/

~~~~~~~

 

Here is a link to view another Betsy-Tacy quilt, with really awesome work!

by "The Curious Quilter":

 

http://thecuriousquilter.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/gretchens-other-quilt-the-betsy-tacy-quilt/

~~~~~~~

Here is a link to my etsy store, in case someone

would like for me to create a similar piece,

or a piece inspired by a different children's book:

www.etsy.com/shop/StitchyTreasures

If you're unable to view that link, please feel free to email me at:  heather3stars@yahoo.com

I'm always delighted to create custom items - especially those which will be treasured for sentimental reasons - it's my favorite sort of project to get to work on : )

~ Thank you for looking! ~

California Mountain Garden Art Quilt

This last weekend I completed a project I've been working on for MONTHS!

This is a 32" tall x 60" wide piece called "California Mountain Garden Art Quilt."

This piece is based on a photograph of a woman's personal garden - with gorgeous apple trees, ferns, lush foliage and flower gardens - and an amazing stone path trailing through it all. I fell in love with the original photograph, and was so pleased to get to work on a piece of this size - created all in one huge piece!

This qult features a combination of pieced together fabrics, fussy cut commercial print fabrics, and some of my own floral designs printed on fabric - plus "confetti fabric." I built this quilt up in layers by section, and did lots of stitching and overstitching - and used several different fibers for the background trees, plus some Angelia fibers for sparkle and a "sunlit" effect over the entire quilt that is not really captured by these photographs.

Here is one of the original photograph from which I worked - taken by Lynn Shannon of her personal garden. Additional photographs of the garden areas in full bloom were also supplied by Lynn; I superimposed and combined several images to create the final piece.

It was an absolute delight to get to translate her photograph into a huge fiber arts piece - it is my hope that every time she looks at this art quilt, it "feels" like looking at her own garden in full bloom! 

Also - I hope my respect for all of her hard work and artistic vision to create such an amazing garden is conveyed in this art quilt. : )

California Mountain Garden Art Quilt

by Heather J. Reid

32" tall x 60" wide

Original Photography & Inspiration by Lynn Shannon

May, 2011

Ground cover & florals with overstitching:

Pieced together floral fabrics & fussy cut fabrics with quilting and thread painting:

Apple tree with white fussy cut blossoms (all cut individually) with confetti background:

Ground Cover at the base of the Apple Trees - fussy cut ferns:

A snapshot of the back of the quilt on the lower left corner - lots of stitching!!

~ ENJOY!! ~

Hydrangea Pillow - version 2

The other day I finished up an art pillow, using the "confetti" technique - this one features hydrangeas which is similar to one I created before, with a new twist: FOLIAGE!!
I decided that hydrangeas really do have leaves, contrary to MOST depictions -
and it was really fun to see the colors come alive when the green was added!

Before: (version 1)

After: (version 2!)

Closeup of one of the leaves:

Also on this version #2, I added a little flower adornment - it features a vintage-style metal and rhinestone bloom-shaped center, with layers of the different fabrics I used in the actual pillow cover - plus, a very special hand-dyed vintage lace piece (variegated greens).

I kind of like the green! That could be because the warmer weather is finally coming - I think I have "Spring Fever!" We just moved to a new house (after living in a 3rd floor apartment for years and years!), and there are baby sprouts of green coming up everywhere in the gardens - I'm so excited to see them popping out of the ground!!  I can't wait to see what kind of plants they really are!! I feel a bit like the "Little Prince" waiting for his rose to be revealed - I'm so lucky to have plants and flowers again - it's great, great fun : )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, my "tip of the day" is:  

Add a little bit of GREEN to your next project!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silk Sari Ribbon Owl Pillow

Tonight I finished up a previous project - a little Owl, which I made into a pillow tonight. I made the owl using silk sari ribbon textile art, leftover from creating pillows, along with bits of colorful fabric, vintage lace, and vintage jewelry pieces.
I layered the owl on a broze hand-dyed fabric, trimmed the edges with brown velvety ric-rac style trim, and made an overlapping style back for ease of putting in a pillow form.
I'm really happy with this little pillow! Maybe I should make one for myself!! : )

"The Little Prince" Customized Art Quilt

I have been in communication with a new friend via etsy - and all I can say is that it has been SO fun and inspiring!! I was asked to create a special, large wall-hanging style art quilt featuring "The Little Prince" and his Rose, in a similar style to the quilt I had published in Quilting Arts Magazine - except much, much larger! Whimsical images paired with textured fabrics and an "Impressionistic" style background make this piece unique and delightful - reminiscent of the original book's illustrations (the inspiration for this piece).
On this piece I experimented with some new background surface design - building up layers of fibers and stitching mixed with Shiva paintsticks and hand-stitching. The combination of even machine stitching against the scattered, uneven hand stitching creates even more surface interest than in some of my previous pieces.
I also played with some hand-dyed lace, used as appliqued leaves for the Rose - which is also extra-special, created from special silk ribbon in variegated reds using ribbon-embroidery (classic spider-web rose).
I pulled out "all the stops" on this piece, because I knew it would be a treasured keepsake - a very special gift - and I wanted it to be worthy of the occasion it commemorates for its new owner.
In the photos you'll see so many different techniques - those mentioned above, plus many more embellishment and surface design and art quilting techniques - this was truly one of those pieces for me that was difficult to stop - as I realllly enjoyed this theme and the creative freedom I was given - this is truly "my style" art quilting : )

Finished piece measures aprox 30" wide:

The Little Prince is tending to his Rose....

Ribbon-Embroidered Rose with hand-dyed lace leaf applqiues:

"Falling Star" - Fairy Frost Fabric appliqued and surface-embellished with Shiva Paintstiks, with trailing tendrils of metallic mesh - outline stitched by machine and by hand,

with hand-sewn twisted gold bugle beads:

Left:  Extensive overstitching on sunrays, in variegated threads, then overpainted with fabric dye.

Right:  "Orbits" and background planets created using fussy-cut swirly motifs from Van Gogh's "Starry Nights" commercially printed cotton fabric (purchased at Field's Fabrics!):

"Impressionistic" style background in variegated blues created

a perfect "Celestial" background for this "Little Prince" planet scene:

~ Thank you for veiwing my latest project!! ~

Latest etsy project - French/Parisian Inspired Journal Cover

Recently I got an order for a custom journal cover which was so fun, I just had to share.
It is "French Inspired" - and I was given a specific color palette to work with: pale pink, black, and silver.
It was a LOT of fun to work in this range! And I love how "Diva" the results are - which is exactly the kind of effect she was going for!
(Here is a link to her website - where you can see her GORGEOUS hand-painted furniture - it's amazing!)
http://www.trulyscrumptiouss.com/

This customized cover is made to cover a 12"x12" journal/photo album, and features layered/textured sari ribbon fiber art for the main background. In the center a wavy-edged inner "frame" is created using pink textured silk, with glitzy silver metallic ric rac edging - all around the central embroidery, which is "The Family Of" - then the family's name - all free-motion embroidered in a fancy swirling script text. The cover is also adorned with large, trailing black rose appliques, which have satin-stitched vines/leaves, and large organza petals with ribbon-embroidered centers for the roses. It is all topped off with small pink swavorski hot-fix crystals to add some sparkle and glitz, and a dozen different coordinating ribbons adorn the spine to add a romantic feminine touch as well as tactile interaction.
The result is a truly gorgeous, one-of-a-kind, completely customized piece of art to grace the cover of a very special photograph album, art journal, or book.

Here are a few photos of the finished cover:

I am happy to create another custom art journal cover,

either in a similar theme/color selection, or in your own colors!

Please email me at heather3stars@yahoo.com for details,

or visit my etsy store at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/heathers3stars.

Color Palette Challenge - Cream, Olive, and Rust

My friend Rosanna asked me to create a special art journal for her friend's birthday. Rosanna already had an art journal I had made using the silk sari ribbon, frayed and sewn in rows in layers with beading - for her friend she wanted something similar but with a completely different color scheme. I gravitate towards bright colors - and a lot of them! - so it was a real creative challenge for me to use a specified set of colors, but it really inspired me to begin thinking more about the colors I don't normally use. The more I worked with this color set, the more I liked it! Plus, it feels very "fall" - and fall is definitely here in Michigan. I'm happy with how this turned out - and I'm already thinking of ways to incorporate these colors into my other pieces - I love the sophisticated effect they have!

I rummaged through my fabrics and supplies, and discovered that I didn't really have very many materials to work with in this color range - I had a LOT of of fun shopping and picking up some fresh new fabrics and beads - here are the supplies I ended up working from. I share these photos because maybe now this color palette will inspire someone else as well! : )

Last but not least, the silk sari ribbons! : )

Here is the finished art journal:

Front Cover - Layered Silk Sari Ribbon stitched in rows, embellished with beading, along with black stamped letters on canvas - all layered onto a colorful batik, then candlelight silk dupioni, and an olive/cream foliage themed batik background.

Ribbons on spine laced through grommets inset in the spine, which not only looks pretty but is functional too as it anchors the inner rings which hold the inside pages.



Close-up view of the silk sari ribbon panel - it was difficult to choose which beads to use, because I love them all! : )

Inside front cover - customized label.

Inside pages - a "variety pack" of special papers, including handmade, vellum, metallic inclusion, botanical inclusion, foiled, stamped, glassine envelopes, and handmade paper.

My art journals are available for custom order at:

Heathers3stars shop on etsy

~ Embrace the colors of fall! ~

Final Photographs - "Enchanted Forest"

My past few posts have been about an art quilt I have been making for the past couple of months. It is a HUGE triptych form art quilt, with a midnight blue swirly tree (silhouette effect), a sunrise sky, and lots of little "characters" including birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, and even a little frog. It has been an absolute joy to work on this quilt, for my friend in Australia. She is so wonderful - and I wanted this quilt to be amazing for her. A couple of months in the making - this quilt has evolved from a rough crayon sketch to my best piece of work ever - I'm so proud!!
My whole family got involved in the final photography of this quilt - we wanted to capture it fully before I sent it overseas. (Thank you to everyone who helped!!)

Here are the final photographs:

First, here is a photo of the piece hanging above a queen-sized bed, to help see the scale of this quilt - it is very large, measuring a total of 58" wide by 30" tall (divided into two smaller outside pieces and one larger middle piece).

Here is a view of the entire quilt, with a black background:

Last, here are a few detail shots:

(see my previous postings to see how I created the birds!)

(I love how the bottom bird seems to be looking up at the bird on the top branch - reminds me of my daughters somehow ; )

Ground cluster work - created with bits and pieces of green variegated boucle yarn, confetti fabric, fussy-cut commercially printed fabrics (VanGogh's Iris Flowers), all stitched beneath water soluble stabilizer. Once the stabilizer was washed away, I did additional stitching and overstitching, and also used fabric dye pens to highlight and shade areas of color. Very fun technique!!

I'm really pleased with how this turned out - and I'm so happy this piece is going to someone as delightful as my friend in Australia. This project really stretched me creatively and provided a wonderful challenge - I learned a LOT and I just can't wait for her to receive her package in the mail!! : )