CLAIRE PASSMORE textile artist

Free motion quilting samples - practice makes perfect, but what to do with all those samples?

28/9/2015

 
In a few weeks time I will be teaching my free motion quilting workshop at Midsomer Quilting not far away in Somerset. 
I haven't taught this workshop in the UK before, so to celebrate I have made some new samples of my favourite birds and created some nice things with them.

As you may know, I always like to make samples of things before I start a bigger project. I like to see how new fabrics or paints behave before I launch into a big piece and become familiar with how they behave. It may seem like an extra step in an already long process, but time and again I have been glad I did spend the time exploring and experimenting. I personally find it saves a lot of time and frustration in the long run!


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The (old) view from my window
As you may also know, I just love flamingos. Those feathery, powder-pink balls on such skinny legs always make me smile.  I have fond memories of watching them from my window when I lived in CapeTown. This is a close up of the quilt I made several years ago. 
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Close up of my Flamingo quilt
Using some of the sketches I made of the flamingos as a starting point, I drew a new, quirky flamingo and filled it with some doodled patterns. I then transferred it onto a piece of plain white poplin  fabric and free motion stitched the whole thing. Once it was finished I had fun using my newly mixed fabric paints (using acrylic paint and fabric medium, as I explained last week) to finish the quirky doodled flamingo.
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Start with a little purple acrylic paint
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Add some pink close to the head
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Shade by adding fabric medium and spreading the paint more thinly
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Start in the centre with a tiny amount of paint mixed with lots of fabric medium
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Then gradually add more pink paint to achieve a darker value
The paint and fabric medium mix worked very well. As well as making the paint soft, buttery and easy to work with, it also extends the drying time of the paint too, meaning I have more time to blend colours together to get that nice graduated look. This is how the new flamingo turned out. 
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The finished flamingo Doodle Bird


Which brings me on to the next point..... what do I with all these samples? 
It is an important thing to consider.  I live in a fairly small house, and space to store things is at a premium. I would love to have the equivalent of a walk in wardrobe of fabrics, equipment, sketchbooks and samples - but until I win the lottery and buy the old textile mill that is in my town, and convert it into a home and studio (pipe dream!!) I need a better plan. So, what I try and do is convert them into something both pretty and useful. Cushions, sketchbook covers, bags, storage pouches and so on. You get the idea.

And this is what the little flamingo has been converted into. I am planning on storing my samples for the doodle bird workshop in it - so everything will be neat and tidy and all in one place. How about that for organised?!
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Doodle Bag!
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My thanks go to Kati Spencer, whose excellent instructions I followed to make the bag. You can find Kati's excellent tutorial here on her blog 'from the blue chair'.

Here is the link, should you wish to make a similar bag.  ​http://www.fromthebluechair.com/2013/03/messenger-bag-supply-list.html


I must say, I am really looking forward to running the Doodle Bird workshop in November. I have 16 new full sized Doodle Birds to choose from, and several smaller bird projects for those who are new to free motion quilting. As well as developing or improving your free motion quilting skills, you will create beautiful quilted squares which you can transform into other projects, like the bag above, or perhaps a cushion or book cover. If you get completely hooked you could even make all 16 and turn them into a bed quilt - something a bit like this.

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The original Doodle Birds quilt I made in 2012
​The workshop is on the 14th November at Midsomer Quilting. To find out more either contact De de@midsomerq.com or myself, or see the brochure on the workshop by clicking here. 

Thanks for reading. Happy doodling!

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Making your own fabric paints with fabric medium and acrylic paint

20/9/2015

 

Fabric paints two ways: ready made fabric paints or mix your own....

One of the ways I like to add colour to fabric is with fabric paint. There are lots of brands on the market, all at varying prices. 

'Pebeo', 'Jacquard', 'Dala' and 'Golden' are brands that are readily available. They each give bright, long-lasting colour, leave the fabric with a soft hand (that is, not a stiff or plastic-like feeling on the surface of the fabric), can be heat set easily with an iron and are washable. I have lots of all of these brands and find them equally good. 

So far, so good. The main problem I find with all of these is that they are mostly sold in little pots and can work out to be rather expensive.



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Happily, however, there is an alternative. You can purchase something called FABRIC MEDIUM to mix with ordinary artists acrylic paints which transforms them into fabric paints. Again, there are lots of fabric mediums on the market. In the past I have used 'Golden GAC 900', 'Dala Waterproofing Medium' and 'Liquitex Fabric Medium' very successfully. 
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One of the major benefits of using fabric medium is that you can mix it with acrylic paints - and these come in a huge variety of colours, qualities and sizes and are readily available online and on the high street and even in many large supermarkets. For me, this means I have so much more choice.

Another benefit is simply down to cost. Generally speaking, artists acrylic paints are not very expensive and come in a range of sizes from small tube to bucket-sized. Prices vary according to whether you buy student quality, which I find is usually fine, or artists quality which has more pigment and often goes further but is more expensive. 


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Which brings me on to why I am talking about this today. 



I ran out of fabric medium on Friday!


So I took a look online to find some more, and I came across what looked like a bargain - so I bought some to try out. It is a new manufacturer of fabric medium for me. It is made by Berol and comes in a 1 or 5 litre bottle, with 1 litre costing £5 and £6 depending on where you buy it. I purchased mine from Yellow Moon as they were having a promotion and free shipping. It arrived the very next day, which was fabulous. 

I have used it over the weekend on a variety of samples and have found it to be of very good quality. It mixes well with all of the brands of paints I have tried so far and has been great for painting onto fabric with a brush, using with stencils and with hand carved stamp blocks. 
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Here are some of the samples of doodle quilting that I painted 
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Flat F4 brush
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Round R6 brush
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Round R00 brush
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The final thing you need to do when using paint on fabric is to fix it in some way.  If you do not fix the paints you risk them coming off or running when the fabric becomes damp or wet for any reason and after all your work that is probably the last thing you want - so do not forget this last and vital step.

It is usually as simple as ironing the fabric for a certain length of time at a given temperature. There are other ways, however, which I have summarised below. Just be sure to always read and follow the instructions on the particular product you are using.

  • Iron for 3-5 minutes with a medium-hot iron on the reverse side (side opposite of the application). On delicate fabrics where lower heat levels must be used, a longer ironing time will be necessary.
  • Oven: Cure for 1-2 minutes at 300F; 4 minutes at 250F.
  • Clothes / Tumble dryer: Commercial: medium-high temperature for 20-40 minutes. Household: high temperature for 40-50 minutes.

Thanks for reading.

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A big 'thank you' to Moonraker Quilters

15/9/2015

 

Moonraker Quilters' Area day, Bromham: 12th September 2014

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One of my favourite things to do; have a good chat about my other favourite thing...... quilting.

On Saturday I had the great pleasure of spending the day with a group of very talented ladies. Thanks to the great organisation of Jan and Sue (and lots of others I am sure) from Moonraker Quilters, the Quilter's Guild Region 3 Area day was a tremendous success.

Despite the rain, over 70 people attended and we all had a wonderful time. Thank you to all who made this day possible.





In the morning we all enjoyed a fabulously entertaining talk by Gail Lawther, who brought all her quilts from her fabulous 'Glimpses of Great Britain' series. There was plenty of time to look closely at Gail's work and also a chance to see and buy her new book 'Stained Glass Patchwork Techniques: Birds'. Gail was extremely generous and gave me a signed copy, and I have enjoyed reading it very much. 
Click here to visit Gail's website.
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My favourite quilt from Gail's 'Glimpses of great Britain' series
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The White Horse at Hackpen - created to celebrate the coronation of Queen Victoria


After a break for lunch I gave my talk about my 'Wiltshire's White Horses' series. As we were sitting in the heart of white horse country, not 5 miles from the White horse on Roundway Hill in Devizes, it could not have been more fitting.



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The 8 quilts from my 'Wiltshire's White Hosrse' series


After my talk we were then treated to the excitement of the raffle draw and a great 'show & tell' session with a fabulous variety of quilts. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did. Unfortunately I was not able to write down the names of the makers, so I give my apologies.




After all that excitement there was time for tea and delicious homemade cake (you probably know how I feel about cake) before we all said farewell.  

My wholehearted congratulations to everyone at Moonraker Quilters for hosting such a great day.

 
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Liz graciously sat next to me to make me look tall.




I also need to thank Liz Norris and Sue Rawlings for all the great photos they took for me, some of which I used in this blog.
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The flower bowls were very popular with today's guests
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I have no idea!
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'Sardine Run'
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A selection of my sketchbooks were also on display
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2 quilts inspired by the summer visitors to the vlei near my old home

Moonraker Quilters
Meeting Day: 3rd Wednesday of every month, 2pm-4.30pm
Venue: Southbroom Parish Rooms, Devizes
Contact: Sue Daniels
Email: tony.daniels1941@gmail.com
Phone: 01380 729721

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Thanks for reading.

When you are searching for inspiration, try looking at everyday things

4/9/2015

 
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When you need inspiration....

It happens from time to time - that 'what next' feeling. 

After finishing the flower bowls that have kept me busy recently I had a few days space to fill this week. Not long enough to settle down and get into something big, but too long to just let it slip by. It was one of those 'what next?' moments.

I got out a few of my sketchbooks and looked through them for something to inspire me. I didn't find anything that I wanted to tackle at the moment, but I was reminded of some techniques I haven't used for a while. 


To help me decide on a motif to use I decided to take a walk and look what I found! I have been noticing all kinds of fruit in the hedgerows along the sides of the road these past few weeks - it amazes me that people don't stop and pick a little. So far I have had blackberries (a firm favourite), plums and now apples. There were lots on the floor that were perfect for cooking - so I gathered up my skirt and chose about 20 of the nicest ones to take home. 

As well as making a delicious crumble and some apple sauce for the freezer, I saved a few of the mangiest ones and started a new sketchbook. Problem solved!


So far the sketchbook only has a few pages - and is likely to stay that way for a while - but it is the beginning of something that may (or may not) end up as a series of quilts one day. Nevertheless, it will be enjoyable to create and will hopefully give me the opportunity to try out lots ideas, old and new, that I can use in the future. 

Here is a flip book of some of the pages.

Why not try a few ideas in a sketchbook of your own?


Thanks for reading.

Please feel free to share my website or blog with your friends by using the buttons to the right. If you would like to receive an e mail each time I post a new blog, please click here. I promise to never send you junk or give your address to anybody else.

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