Thread Drawing - Wading Bird

Today I just couldn't bring myself to toss a remnant of painter's drop cloth so I thought It might be a good pallet on which to practice some improvisational, free motion thread drawing.  Since the remnant was long and narrow, whatever I drew seemed to beg to be elongated.  What better than a long legged wading bird?  This is what emerged.

Here are a few close-ups to show the stitching.

Even though I used two layers of stabilizer under the canvas, the dense, free motion thread drawing tended to make fabric outside of the edges of the bird image become somewhat "rumpled".  To salvage the thread drawing, I cut around it and then zigzag stitched it onto another canvas remnant.  That did the trick.  Because canvas tends to fray terribly, I applied a thin layer of Weldbond glue around the edges and spread it thinly with a soft bristle paint brush.  The glue dries clear and is no problem to stitch through. 

And, once again, here is the finished bird.  I used a silver Sharpie pen to color in the bill.  When completed, I hemmed both the top and bottom edges and left the ends open so that those spaces would accept a small dowel rod.  In my stash of laces and pipings, etc., I found a length of braided cotton cording that seemed to work perfectly for hanging.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2017.  All rights reserved

Cut Stencils from Overhead Projector Sheets

This morning as I was tidying up the studio that had become a total wreck after working 3 weeks on the peacock work (which is FINISHED :-), I ran across a partial overhead projector sheet.  The choice was to either throw it away or use it.  Guess what I chose to do?  Relegating things to the trash is like pulling teeth for me, especially if they might have a future use.  I wondered if the sheet would make a good and permanent surface for cutting stencils, so I started somewhat small.  After all, it was an experiment, I told myself.

Here's how the process developed.

1.  Tools used.

2.  I used a painter's tape roll to draw a circle onto the transparency sheet.

3.  I then drew a pattern onto the sheet and cut out the stencil shapes with a craft knife.  When drawing the pattern, I made sure to leave uncut "bridge" spaces so that the stencil would not fall apart.

 4.  Since I was low on white fabric paint I mixed textile medium with craft paint in a small roller pan.

5.  I then laid the stencil onto black fabric and used the sponge roller pictured above to apply paint.

6.  The stenciled image was very crisp.

7.  I was so pleased with the result that I continued using the stencil to make multiple images.

7.  My only limitation was the length of the black fabric remnant.

I'm quite excited that the transparency sheet was so easy to cut--much easier than anything else I have used in the past and will definitely use this process again in the future.  I liked the outcome so much that I wish I had printed on a few yards of fabric so that I could make a garment out of it.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved