From Small Block Print to Large Stencil - A How-to Guide

I am presently developing a quilted art work in which I am using one image in a variety of orientations, sizes and colors.  It started with a very large bird image that will appear on the front of the quilt but I also wanted it to appear on the reverse side. 

                                 From this                                  to this...

First I cut a block,

Soft Kut Printing Block

I printed the block in my sketchbook,

I cropped the top image and printed it in 2x2 

poster format and taped the pages together.

Next I cut enough freezer paper to cover the image

 

Here is the freezer paper laid over the image 

with the shiny side down.

 I traced around the image with a 

fine tip permanent marker.

A stencil is now ready to be cut with a craft knife,

BUT,.,

Before beginning to cut, I removed the posterized

 image from under the freezer paper.

Here is the beginning of the stencil cutout.

Here is what the partially cut stencil looked like.  

The remainder of the shapes were ultimately cut out.

I ironed the the fully cut out freezer paper stencil to

 the fabric on which I wanted the image to appear.

I used a plate as a makeshift palette, foam brush

and Setacolor opaque white fabric paint to paint

the stencil.

And here is the finished stenciled image that I believe

 successfully suggests a very large block print.

 

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

 

 © Linda Friedman 2014.  All rights reserved.

Book Light - Another Use for Fiber Artists

When thread matches fabric (especially on black and other deep, dark colors), have you ever found it difficult to see the stitches as you are sewing?  I have a goose-neck lamp that illuminates the back side of the stitching line but I still have trouble seeing where the thread is going with dark colors.

Last week it dawned on me that I might need to light the needle from the front of the sewing machine and came up with an idea that worked quite well.  I taped a book light to the machine with painter's tape and wa-la, I could see my stitching.

Here's what it looks like...

If you ever experience the same kind of problem, you might want to try this "fix" to see if it works for you.

All contents of this blog are Copyright © 2007-2013 Linda Friedman / Linda's Art Quilts  All rights reserved.