Embellish

embellish

— vb
1. to improve or beautify by adding detail or ornament; adorn
2. to make (a story) more interesting by adding detail
3. See ornament to provide (a melody, part, etc) with ornaments

Impression

This is my impression of Venice based on a photo I took a few years ago. I just got a new book called 'Quilted Symphony' by Gloria Loughman (great book by the way) and wanted to try some of her techniques. I am not one to use a lot of fusible web but tried it on this quilt. Still not sold on too much fusible because I found quilting this seemed a bit more difficult because of the different feel and extra bulk in the fabric. I will post more about this on my blog in a day or two. Off to pick up a used or 'new to me' Bernina for our house in NC.

Impression

With this theme I wanted to see how subtle the symmetry could be. I thought about archaeology and how difficult it must be to find anything while sifting and digging through mounds of dirt. Everything must seem to look the same. I eventually settled on a fossil-like image. You can read a little more about it on my blog.

Impression

My Impression became and Impressionist Landscaper. It's an art style I really like.

Seeing Spots

This is Dot Matrix, wholecloth cotton, printed multiple times.  

The "impression" part of it is that the fabric was impressed variously with acrylic and textile paints.

I've also posted a closeup on my blog, which you can see here.

don't judge a book by it's cover

because you never know what is inside.

This is a two sided quilt.  The front being a weathered book of plants and flowers and the back, a page from inside.

You can see more detail photos of how I created this piece on my blog

Spring Comes Creeping ......

High up on this mountaintop where I live, Spring creeps in very slowly. I go down to the valley and see the trees blooming, leaves popping out everywhere and flowers already showing up in greening lawns. I go home to bare trees and only the hardiest wildflowers starting to show their first shoots above the leaf litter on the cold forest floor. So, this is my impression of the beauty I'm waiting eagerly for. It creeps .....

Impression of Spring

I can't wait for Spring.  I wonder why?  This has been the longest Winter.  The garden is burried under mulched leaves, and drifted snow.  Where the snow has melted, bits and pieces of color are starting to show through, and I can imagine what is happening underneath the mulch and dirt.

This piece was made in a day.  One day of dreaming, imagining, and sewing.  One day of thinking about what it means to uncover the layers beneath the surface, and exploring the theme of "impression".  It is not my favorite quilt, but it was an interesting exercise in working with a theme and a new technique (reverse applique) that I had not yet tried.  The fabrics include silk, velvet, commercial cotttons and upholstery weight.  Quilting is in rayon and cotton.

Forest Floor

I'm in transition between houses, so I'm posting quickly before getting on the road this morning.

My interpretation of "Impression" started with a background I dyed with cobalt blue and deep yellow fiber reactive dyes.

Then I used a simple foam leaf stamp and thickened discharge paste to stamp the leaves all over the background. I them cut out the trees from one of Vicki's hand dyed fabrics and fused them.

Then all was quilted. The edges are not finished...the move got in the way, but I will tend to that and my studio is back together.

First Impression

I used the word impression to interpret a view I see every day in the woods behind my house. I challenged myself to piece every bit of it.

  

I was hoping the finished quilt would give you the impression of the beauty and calm, even in winter.

 

I used a combination of my hand dyed fabrics for the sky, batiks for the trees and a funky commercial fabric for the binding. 

impression

This piece was created by accident.  I had placed this fabric beneath another one that I was painting and the paint had seeped through.  When I pulled the top piece of fabric off, this was left behind.  

"what's your impression?"  

16"x20" cotton, paint, machine stitching

I see a waterfall splashing onto the rocks below surrounded by trees.  What's your impression?  

Impression

I really had fun with this challenge. I just let it flow, & this is what I ended up with. I stamped textile paints on fabrics that I had painted, adding more layers & texture, then layered some of my own hand painted silk organza, & some of the woven grass & floral ribbon that I had also used for the stamping. After my free-motion quilting was done, I put the quilt over a canvas frame to finish it, giving it a very artful finish. For more details see my new blog  http://coldfeetquilter.wordpress.com/

First Impression

I'm really psyched about participating in this challenge. I'm new to the group so I wanted to make a good first impression. This is a sneak peak of my piece First Impression.

As Done as it Gets....

My "Impression" challenge piece is finished except for the edge finishing. Unfortunately, that will not get done until after the reveal. All my stuff is packed for the move, so the edges will have to wait until I get to the new house and unpack my studio stuff.

It will be revealed on March 15th, but here is a small section of the back of the quilt.

That's all you get till the 15th!