Daisy a Day

This is a little art quilt that I created as a sample for a class I will be teaching at Pleasant Valley Quilt Shop in Armstrong, BC in April. The main focus of the class will be creating a piece of unique fabric from bits and pieces of fabric, thread, glittery bits and organza and then the participants will use that piece of unique fabric to embellish an art quilt, a purse or a greeting card. It is such a fun "play day" and I thought you might like to see how I translated it into an art quilt.

The centres of the flowers are heavily beaded with additional bead dangles and the dragonfly is adorned with a few tiny seed beads and black sequins for his big eyes ... the wings have been made from Angelina that has been stitched with silver thread.

The grasses blowing in the breeze have been created from organza that has been stitched and then the edges have been left to fray in order to create more wisps.

The stem of the plant has been created by layering two decorative ribbons and yarn and then free motion stitching to give even more texture. The leaves on the plant are made from another piece of unique fabric that I created in green tones.

The background has been stitched in midnight blue thread. The outer edge of the art quilt has been couched with shiny black cord.

This art quilt measures approximately 12" x 20"

Silk Fusion "Turmoil"

This is a piece of silk fusion that I made from gorgeous silk fibres in orange and fuschia. The fibres are used to create a "paper" that can be stitched and embellished just like fabric . . . and in this case I have quilted it onto a base of black cotton so that the free motion stitching creates added texture. It has been further embellished by hand embroidery in some of the sections of the stitching and a drift of clear tangerine beads drifting across the surface.

It is mounted on a 16" x 20" canvas with the edges wrapped with the black cotton so that it will hang like a painting on your wall.

This piece will be entered in the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts next month.

Be sure to click on the photos to see more of the details.  SOLD

From Fallen Oak Leaves to Art Quilts

Last fall I spent some time picking up fallen oak leaves and acorns in Salmon Arm and I had a great time experimenting with the various ways these could be incorporated into art quilts.

I love working with hand-dyed fabrics and this beautiful light sage green piece is one that I'd saved for quite a while before the right project came along for it. I love the way that I was able to create a circle of oak leaves by rubbing the real leaves with dye sticks and then creating organza leaves from the same shapes and layering them in the centre of the quilt.

The stitching is a combination of hand embroidered seed stitches, with varying combinations of brown and green in the threads, and free motion machine quilting. The finishing touch is some beautiful hand-dyed and hand-spun yarn from a friend . . . with some of the acorns threaded onto the yarn. There are just a few clear beads stitched onto the quilt. Approximately 18" square.

Click on the images to enlarge them to see more detail.


The photo of the second quilt made in this manner is actually done on a piece of commercial batik and the leaves are arranged in such a way that the stitching around them created a bit of a heart shape . . . the pale gold colours have just a touch of rust and they swirl with a bit of bluish-grey to create a beautiful backdrop for the leaves. Approximately 16" x 20".

I will be teaching this as a workshop at Sun Peaks Resort in July 2011. www.sunpeaksresort.com

Two new silk bags and a special sunflower purse

I have been replenishing my stock of fibre art purses this week as I sold a good number of them over the past month or two. Two of the purses that I am showing today are constructed of silk and each has an area with free-motion quilting. The first purse is made of dupioni silk that is chartreuse in colour with just a little hint of magenta. The area that was quilted in black thread was then lightly brushed with charcoal textile paint to highlight the stitching. They are delightfully simple and elegant and will be appealing to someone who is going on a cruise or needs a bag to accent a special outfit.

I think that one of the delightful features of the yellow silk noile bag is that it could also be worn with casual attire as the soft nubbly silk will lend itself to being paired with denims as well. The stitching on this bag has been done in a beautiful variegated thread and the beads weigh the deep flaps closed for security.



The third purse is constructed of linen blend fabric that is a light putty colour. The big sunflower gives it a playful feel but it is still a purse that could be used in dressy situations as well. The lining fabric matches the sunflower on the flap.

There are further photos of these purses in my Etsy shop ... kathykinsella.etsy.com.