Westward Ho, 2012

Last summer for about 30 days, my mother and I drove a 5,500 mile trip out to Yellowstone Park and back to Maryland. We packed the car, said goodbye to my husband (who hates road trips, we picked him up on our way back in MN), and were off laughing with excitement like two school girls.

We love going West.  It is an unexplainable feeling we get, we just have to go West.  This trip left us with many memories of the places we visited and the people we met along the way.  We took hundreds of pictures between the two of us.  I put many of the pictures in a book I made through  My Publisher.com

Mom having fun with a sulpture on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM.

This is a church in New Mexico.  Mom took the picture while we were driving in the car.

We happened to be at the right place at the right time to get this pretty picture of the The Grand Tetons reflecting on a pretty calm lake.

Timing is everything!  What a shot of  Old Faithful with the sun reflecting on the mist to form a rainbow.

One of our favorite things to do was to take pictures of each of the state signs.  It gave us something to look forward to on some of our "long hours on end" drives.  If there was no traffic around, we would slow up considerably to get the picture of the sign.  In  Photoshop Elements, I cut out the backgrounds from the signs and them pasted them onto one of our maps I had scanned showing our route.

We really did drive the whole circle outlined on the map.

The big question was how do I display my pictures to relive that fun summer.  Do I make an art quilt or do I make a scrapbook quilt?  Well the scrapbook quilt idea won.  It allowed me to incorporate the above picture into it as well as another picture collage I had made along with some memorable single photos.  The background is made from fabric I bought from a quilt store in Taos, NM.  The flower button was bought at another  store in Taos.  The bead embellishments, and the bangle necklace, and other charms were chosen from a box of trinkets that belonged to my Aunt whom we had visited in Oklahoma. 

Raw Edges vs. Finished Edges Part 2

As I mentioned last week, I was taught to always finish an edge.   Finishing your edges on an applique for a project that will be washed or used a lot is important so that the edges do not fray.

Here is a link to a video tutorial that demonstrates the satin stitch for finishing an edge: Machine Applique - Satin Stitch

Here is a link that describes different ways on how to finish an edge: How to Applique

With wall hangings, I have more freedom in deciding whether or not finish the edges.  I think the finished edges give the appliqued pieces a heavier look or feel on the wall hanging.

My brother was  deployed overseas for sixteen months, he was very faithful in sending emails sharing his thoughts and experience during that time.  After he arrived home, I wanted to commemorate his service to our country with a special gift utilizing a couple of his emails and some pictures that represented his experience.   Thus, I made my first scrapbook/memory quilt.  So far, it is the only wall hanging I have  finished the edges of the appliqued pictures with a satin stitch.   I liked the heavy look around the edges for this particular quilted wall hanging. 

On some of my wallhangings, I like to enclose the raw edges of the pictures. I especially like to enclose the edges of the larger pictures I put on a wall hanging.

  When I leave the edges raw, I leave a white edge around the pictures so that I can use a straight stitch to sew the picture onto the background material.  I find that white edge can sometimes be distracting on larger pictures.

On my art wall hangings,  I leave the edges raw.  I do not want to draw attention to the edges.  I want the edges to blend together in some instances.  I think finishing the edges would be distracting and would take away from subject portrayed.
As with anything else in life, there is a time and place for everything and that includes raw vs. finished edges.

Raw Edges vs. Finished Edges Part 1

Thinking about edges and whether or not to finish them brought back cherished memories of my Grandmother.  My Grandmother was born and raised in Prague, Czechoslovakia.  She was a very special and talented lady.  She could sew, draw, paint, carve wood, sing opera,  play the piano and speak several languages.  She made bibs as gifts for new babies from hand towels.  The edges of the towel were turned under and stitched by hand.  The bias tape was attached to the terry cloth by machine.  The applique was basted on by hand and the edges were stitched by hand using the blanket stitch.  She taught me how to make the bibs.  My first experience with applique was making those terry cloth baby bibs.  Today,  I went into that famous backroom and took down the precious box containing her hand drawn patterns, material, pieces cut out ready to be appliqued,  and one of the bibs she had made.  It bought back many memories.  I even found a bib I had begun many years ago and never finished.  It may be time to scan those imagines and digitize them to embroider on bibs for future babies. Better yet maybe I will make a couple of bibs by hand to honor my Grandmother for future grandbabies

This is the bib my Grandmother made.   I am not sure which brother or sister used this bib, but after all these years, it looks to be in pretty good condition.

Here is a close up of the stitching she did on the edges of the bib. 

Over the years I have made several projects with applique designs, clothing and crafts, with finished  edges.  It never even entered my mind to leave an edge unfinished.  It just wasn't done in my world.  After I bought my first Viking sewing machine 28 years ago, a whole new world opened up.  I could do the blanket stitch or the satin stitch around the edges of my applique in a matter of  minutes vs. the hours it used to take me.  Next week, I 'll finish my conversation on raw edges vs finished edges.

Scrapbooking Quilts- Sharpening the Photo and Lightening

Before printing my photos on fabric, I take them into Photoshop Elements to enhance the photo.

 I find sharpening the photo helps to bring out the finer details when printed on fabric.  Some finer details will get lost when printed on fabric because of the woven material.

Also, I find my photos will print darker on material, so in turn I will lighten my photos.

Here is a link to Photoshop help:Sharpen an Imagine .

Here is a link to Photoshop help: Correct color in Quick Fix.

Finding Details in a Picture

Looking for details in a picture can be a daunting task, especially when you are looking for the "major" details to put into your pattern.  Blind contour drawing helped me to train my eye to focus in on the details.  I continue to practice to increase my awareness for details.  I always have to remember that contour drawing is to help me, not necessarily something I plan to share.

Here is a link that explains blind contour drawing: Blind Contour Drawing. 

As you can see my contour drawing isn't something I would frame and hang on the wall of my living room.

The Making of Jack- The Pattern

  The pattern for Jack was made very much in the same way you would make any applique pattern. To make an applique pattern you have to flip the picture before you trace the pattern onto fusible web.

Here is a link that explains making applique patterns using fusible web:Fusible Web Products and How to Use Them

The easy thing to do is to flip your picture horizontally in a Photoshop program.  If you don’t have a photo shop program then you can bring it into a Microsoft Word program using the picture tools to flip it.  Also, you  can make your picture larger or smaller before you print it.  Before you begin to flip or move your your picture in Microsoft Word make sure you format your picture.  I usually choose in front of text.  If you don't format the picture first, you will find it harder to manipulate the picture within the Microsoft Word document.

 

Here are  two links to help you invert/flip your pictures:

eHow Tutorial on How to Invert Images in Adobe Photoshop 7
Rotate or flip a picture, shape, or WordArt in Word 2007

  

Of course, I can't do it the easy way; maybe someday my brain will allow it.  I printed the picture as I wanted it to look in the finished product. 

Then, I   placed the tracing paper over the picture . 

Next, the challenging part began; choosing the major shapes that would make Jack.

After I drew the shapes, I numbered them according to the fabric that would be chosen for that shape.  For Jack, I choose black and white, then five gradient shades of gray.   I placed my fabric beside my tracing of Jack beginning with the black material, shades of gray from the darkest to the lightest, to white.  I numbered the shades of gray; 1 being the darkest shade to 5 being the lightest shade.

I turned the tracing of Jack over and traced it onto the fusible web.  I used Pellon Wonder-Under®, because I found it easy to use a pencil to trace and erase the shapes on the backing.   As a novice, I did a lot of erasing.   Before, I began to applique, I found it helpful to trace the outline of Jack and some of the major white and light gray shapes on the background material to help with the placement of the fabric shapes.

Here is a link for Pellon products:  Pellon Fusible Webs & Adhesives

I preferred  to keep my edges raw; I just liked the look without stitching on the edges.  I used the free motion stippling stitch as a filler for my quilt because I wanted to keep the attention on the applique of Jack and not on the stitches.

Here is a link for a free tutorial on free motion stippling: Free Motion Quilting: Stippling and MicroStippling

Looking a Jack with a critical eye, I wished I had put some shading in the areas of where the bottoms of the pillows meet the background and where Jack's legs meet the background.   The shadows would have given his portrait a little more dimension.  Also, I wonder, if I should have done more with the background.  Maybe, making the bottom third a darker shade of blue.  I wanted a simple background, but I think I shouldn't have made  it so plain.

The Making of Jack - The Picture

While  dogsitting my son's dog, Jack,  he decided to take a nap on my settee in our living room.   He looked so royal and elegant in his pose that I decided to take his picture.  I posted the picture on Facebook and received some interesting responses.  The best one was from my son, “What the devil, you never let us sit on that piece of furniture.”  Well, that reaction inspired me to try my hand at art quilting.   I just had to make that picture into a wall hanging to give my son for Christmas.

First step: I threw the picture into Photoshop and manipulated it.  First I converted the picture to black and white, so I could better see the shapes and shades of gray.  .

Next, I posterized it to produce hard lines.    Here is a link to a free tutorial that uses a dog as its demonstration sample Adobe Archive Posterize Tutorial . 

I wanted to see less contrast so I slid the bar to 9.  I printed all 4 pictures so that I could see the shapes and colors from different perspectives.  I enlarged the last picture and printed it as an 11 X 14, so I could use it as my pattern.