A Bit of This, A Bit of That

In between lengthier projects I often do mini pieces that may not always involve quilting. Sometimes they are inspired by something I saw or read; sometimes by gifts or supplies from my stash that I have rediscovered. Most recently I used a sunny painted ocean scene given to me by Ann Scott to make a more disturbing landscape than the original. I call it “A Cell With A View.”

I cut up the original and combined it with a printed photograph. Then I quilted it to resemble chain link fencing covered with the stems of weeds. The edges are finished with paint and yarn.

A more abstract yet functional project was two fabric bowls made from scraps and canvas I had painted. I was tired of seeing the canvas hanging in my fabric closet. Hilde Morin’s instructions call for covering the canvas with fabric, but I streamlined the process by decorating the canvas directly.

Inside of bowls

Outside of bowls. The fabric strips are to cover the zigzagged seam lines.

Some of my incidental projects are made from paper as well as fabric.

After I rolled off excess paint from printing onto grocery bags I cut up the bags and sewed them to wallpaper samples. The samples are vinyl, and so far have proved impervious to permanent impressions by any paint or marker I own.

More monoprinted papers from Penny got sewn onto a canvas strip that used to be a blank fabric book.

Finally, a photo I took at a local lake was edited in Photoshop, and printed on fabric. I glued it with matte medium to a stretched canvas. The technique is from Lynda Heines.

I painted the canvas edges black before gluing on the photo. The green is my cutting mat.

There are still more little projects on the go in my studio, though a few may be returned to the “someday” drawer. I won’t even begin to talk about the week I spent sewing little scraps into larger scraps by color, though I am using a few in current work.

I’m linking to Off The Wall Friday.