I set out to create an art quilt, designed around a tree I drew, scanned, & cut with my Brother Scan N Cut machine. This project was easily a three week commitment, concluding with a successful result.
If you'd like to give it a home, contact me directly. Free shipping for a limited time.
Hand ice-dyed cottons & batiks, appliquéd motifs,
thread painting, hand embroidery, hand & machine quilting.
Faced edges, fabric hanging sleeve attached.
A fiber group friend asked for my help getting started making landscape art quilts. She's ready to add some handwork so I offered this tip, perhaps it can help you too.
I developed this method years ago to keep hand embroidery, quilting, & beadwork distortion free. I ALWAYS work in a Qsnap frame....(square or rectangle) preferring to secure fabric on-grain rather than using a round hoop which stretches the bias.
The addition of a (homemade) fabric sleeve (or more than one if the project is small) is used to pin and hold the edges secure. This provides stability when your stitching reaches the very outside edge of a piece.
A local friend who doesn't belong to any of my groups has often asked to bounce construction/design ideas off me. Honestly, I'm flattered and happy that all the knowledge I've gathered for so many years can be passed on.
She surprised me with this knit and then felted scissors case.....isn't it terrific?? Thank you Arlene!!
Between head banging trying to figure out my new Brother Cut n Scan machine, time has been spent creating a background for a new project that will feature a machine cut tree.
A few clouds are just the beginning of the many additions I'm planning on adding.....stop back to see how this develops.
My quest to understand this new tool (Brother Cut n Scan) continues. I now know though the machine can see and scan thin channels like branches, that doesn't mean it can cut useable ones.
Yeah!!! So happy to have finished art quilt #2 in 2023....a fun whimsy way to begin the year and ignore the rather wintery January weather we've been having.
Appliquéd cottons, embroidery, & machine quilted.
Bound edges. Fabric hanging sleeve.
Talk about a learning curve.....I'm embarrassed to share just how long it took for me to scan and cut two words of text and 1 skinny tree using my new Brother Scan n' Cut machine. None of the steps are intuitive...at least for me. As the photos indicate - my first cutting was a total failure. Leading me to learn how to mirror image the scanned words, make them larger, & create more space between letters......
It's rare to learn who purchases one of my pieces from the gallery....although sales directly from me fill in those blanks. To actually see where they now reside is a true gift. Learning the story behind the new owner's passion for a specific piece is even better. That an inspiration I had converts to such happiness is a thrill.
"Once I saw that art quilt, I just KNEW it was mine. It was a treat for me to spend 2 weeks in the summer at my grandmother’s farm. If I wanted to play with the tenant’ s daughter, I had to help her with her chores. One of them was plucking the chickens. From that, a collection was born with your art quilt the last addition.
Thought you’d like to see the quilt in its’ new home."Once I got the evergreen boughs cut, I became obsessed and in a finishing mode. So my first art quilt of 2023 is now complete!
26” X 17” © Mary Stori
Artist hand ice-dyed cottons & batiks, appliquéd,
thread stitched, & densely quilted by machine. Edges finished with hand stitched double fold binding. Fabric hanging sleeve attached.
Unlike many quilters, I don't embrace all the new tools that flood the shops & shows. Seems there is a nifty specialty ruler introduced every week.
My Christmas gift from son/family was a Brother Scan n' Cut machine. Our small Fiber Frenzy group was introduced to it in the fall and I could really see how helpful it would be for me.
Now, my head is spinning thanks to my pal Kathie who gave Judy Simmons and me a comprehensive lesson on our new Scan n' Cut Brother machines. WOW....so much to learn. Both of us did videos as we went through the many options of the machine....lots of stops/starts talking over each other & mistakes that helped us learn.
I came home with evergreen boughs to add to my new landscape art quilt. Here's a sneak peak which of course needs to be appliquéd before adding final touches to the art quilt.
