I spent my afternoon walking through my local conservatory.  It was such a treat to get away from the city for a couple of hours and just enjoy the tropical flowers and lush plants from all over the world.
Of course, I can’t leave my camera at home and so I’ve got dozens of photos of lovely plants to use as inspiration.  I find that the “macro” image is the one that interests me the most, so I rarely seem to end up with the whole flower or plant in the frame.
One game I like to play is imagining how I …read more

Interweave Press is holding a limited-time sale in their Mixed Media and Quilting supplies online shops!
You can save 15% on everything in the shops by entering the code “MM0709 “, but it’s only on until July 30th – so you’d better hurry if you want some cool fiber art goodies.
What kind of yummy supplies can you get?  How about…

100% Alpaca fiber roving pillows (in three different colorways).

Charming yo-yo pincushion patterns by Indygo Junction.

Or how about a 16 piece Shiva Paintsticks sampler?
Yummy yummy yummy…
images: Interweave Press

Free motion quilting is a fantastic tool for fiber artists – it adds dimension, interest and can act like a drawn line on the surface of the fabric.
It can be challenging to get started for some people.  They tense up and get frustrated because the line isn’t flowing as smoothly as they’d like.
Some teachers recommend beginning with drawing simple stipple patterns (like the piece of one of my art quilts shown here) on a piece of paper.

I’ve never had good luck with that though – the movement of drawing on paper is the exact opposite of quilting.  With drawing, you’re …read more

I’m ending our short series on painting fabric surprises with a technique that takes a bit more time.  Although it starts out with unpredictable results, the second half of the process is much more deliberate and controlled.  Double the fun!
For the first two fabric painting techniques, visit these links:
Painting fabric in a bag
Twisted fabric painting

This time, you’ll need the usual ripped or cut piece of plain muslin, acrylic paints, a large soft brush or painting sponge, tape of different widths, and a large stamp or two.
Step by step instructions

Last week we looked at how to paint your fabrics in a plastic bag in order to achieve unplanned but beautiful results.  Well, here is another method that will keep you in suspense until it dries and you unroll it!

Again, you’ll need to rip or cut a piece of plain muslin, gather up the acylic paints that you want to use, and find an old bottle (wine bottles are perfect), some paint brushes, and a rubber band.
Step by step instructions

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to turn our focus to fabric painting. Now that it’s getting warmer, this is a wonderful activity to do, maybe on your picnic table or on a sunny porch table.

Painting your fabric in a plastic bag is a great technique to choose when you want a surprise: you never know what you’re going to end up with when you let everything swirl around together in a bag. So rip off a length of plain muslin and gather up your acrylic paints, small cups, water, and oh yeah…a gallon sized plastic …read more

This complete “painted skies” tutorial can now be found online here – or just click the photo

image: © C Findlay-Harder

This complete “painted skies” tutorial can now be found online here – or just click the photo

image: © C Findlay-Harder

This complete “painted skies” tutorial can now be found online here – or just click the photo

image: © C Findlay-Harder

This complete “painted skies” tutorial can now be found online here – or just click the photo

image: © C Findlay-Harder