CLAIRE PASSMORE blog

Free Motion doodle Dolls

6/5/2018

 
I can't remember the last time I made a bed quilt; it has to be at least 5 years, probably longer. So, when I decided to make this one I came to it fresh - and enjoyed every minute of it!
It is a single bed size, so not too hard and made using the 'quilt-as-you-go' method, which meant that the intense free motion quilting I used on each of the panels was easy to handle on my small domestic Singer sewing machine. 
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Doodle Dolls by Claire Passmore 2018

The quilt is currently hanging at Midsomer Quilting in Somerset, UK, and will be there until May 19th when I will be teaching how to make these pretty free motion quilted blocks.

I designed 10 dolls and a very special horse for the workshop. The dolls are based on traditional painted wooden dolls from Russia, Japan and Scandinavia.
The idea for the first doll came from the annual Midsomer Quilting  12 x 12 challenge in 2017, entitled 'Where in the World?' After some thought I decided to make a Russian Matryoshka Doll, and if you went to the exhibition you might recognise her.
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'Matryoshka Doll' by Claire Passmore 2017
These Russian dolls are an unmistakable symbol of Russian character, culture and country, an emotional feeling summarised as 'Russian Soul'. As I was researched the history of these elaborately decorated dolls I discovered a lot about similar dolls from other countries, and I was surprised to discover that the tradition of carving these so called 'Matryoshka' dolls (often mistakenly referred to as 'Babushka' - dolls) is not quite as old as I thought. 
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The first nesting Russian  doll set was carved 1890 and has been atributed to a man named Vasily Zvyozdochkinn who made a set using a design by Sergey Malyutin, a folk craft painter. Traditionally the hollow outermost doll in the set is a maternal woman in traditional dress, known as a sarafan. Inside her hollow interior are a succession of smaller and smaller hollow dolls which can be male or female and the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood.

Much of the artistry of these beautiful dolls is seen in their painting. Long dark winters are the perfect time for farmers and other artisans to spend time creating beautifully ornate masterpieces.  Their decoration often follows a theme; fairy tale characters and regional traditional costume are popular. 

The name Matryoshka, written in Cyrillic as матрёшка, translates literally as 'little matron', and is a diminutive form of the Russian first name 'Matryona' or 'Matriosha' (Матрёна). T
his name is very popular in rural parts and is associated with the matriarchs of a big Russian family, having its origins in the the word mother (mama). I was interested to discover that although in the west we frequently call them 'Babushka' or Grandmother dolls, this is actually incorrect - they are not grandmothers at all!

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For people of Slavic origin Matryoshka is a symbol of motherhood and the fertility of nature, which why the traditional dolls take the form of a curvy, female shape, expressing the ancient symbol of motherhood. Some say that in ancient Russian tradition dolls were made without painted faces and did not represent living persons because it was believed that evil spirits could settle inside it. Others say that Matryoshka dolls were given to newborns to wish them a long and prosperous life - something that echoes with similar dolls in other cultures. 
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The first Matryoshka dolls carved by Vasily Zvyozdochkinn
Photo credit: public domain: Doll carved by Zvezdochkin, painted by Malyutin - Sergiev Posad Museum of Toys, Russia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5051554
Ten years after the first Russian Matryoshka was created, the doll was  presented to an international audience at the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris, where it won a bronze medal. The doll was a hit, quickly gaining popularity, and soon began production in multiple regions in Russia. By the 1930s, the dolls were being factory produced and shipped around the world.

Another more ancient nesting doll set, very likely to have influenced the creation of these Russian dolls, came from Japan. It is believed that the forerunner of the Matryoshka was brought from the Island of Honshu, Japan’s main island. Japanese wooden dolls representing Shichi-fuku-jin, the Seven Gods of Fortune are thought to have inspired Vasily Zvyozdochkinn. This ancient Japanese set of dolls has the largest outer doll taking the form of Fukuoka, a kindly, old, pot bellied Buddhist monk who symbolised  happiness and longevity . Inside were 6 further dolls. Each of the dolls took the form of one of the 7 lucky gods from Japanese mythology.  
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Shichi-fuku-jin dolls
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Lucky Daruma Dolls
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Kokeshi doll https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15202822
Even older still are traditional Japanese Kokeshi dolls, originaing from north easern Japan. There are 11 traditional styles and are thought to have originated in the 1600's as souveniers for those visiting the spas in this part of Japan. Next are the 'lucky' Daruma dolls modelled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Dharma), vary in color and design depending on region and artist. Though considered a toy by some, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. 
A modern twist on these Japanese dolls is the 'Creative Kokeshi Dolll'. are probably more popular in the west. They d
eveloped as an art form since the 2nd World War and retain the limbless kokeshi characteristic. However, they are more contemporary in their design with more shapely bodies, added features such as hair, as well as colourful exquisitely patterned kimono. Creative kokeshi are 'created' by artists, and have features and styles unique to their own particular artist or creator. The majority of creative kokeshi are made in Gunma prefecture.
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By THOR (Kokeshi Kids) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

These are the dolls that started my new series of doodles that resulted in the Doodle doll quilt. But of all the dolls in thie mini series, I think the Skandinavian inspired dolls are my favourite. Here are 3 of them.
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At the workshop we will be making square panels similar to those above, created by 'drawing' the design onto plain white fabric just using black thread. Once the design is stitched we  then fill it with free motion quilting stitch and finally use fabric paints to colour them. Depending on how fast you work it is possible to complete 3 of these panels during the day. 

The panels can be used in lots of ways - to create a bed runner or a larger quilt, as a panel on a bag, as a wall hanging - or even stitched onto clothing. 

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Free motion quilting used to decorate a panel on a dress by Claire Passmore
Of course, you don't need to go to a workshop to create you own doodles. On paper or just draw an outline and start to fill it with repeated shapes. Once you have your design, set your sewing machine for free motion quilting and 'draw' your design with stitched thread. I paint my finished designs with fabric paint, but they also look very striking just left in black and white.

Why not have a go? 
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If you are interested in coming to the workshop you can contact De at Midsomer Quilting https:midsomerq.com/. You can also see more on my website by clicking the button below
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Doodle dolls Workshop

​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.
 

Free motion quilting is not difficult - honestly!

18/7/2016

 
If you haven't ever said it, I'm sure you have heard someone else say it....

"I can't do free motion quilting. It is so difficult."

Well, I can honestly say that is a load of rubbish! And here is the proof. Last Saturday I was with a group of ladies at Midsomer Quilting who are the proof that free motion quilting is not only easy to master, but lots of fun too. Some were complete newbies to FMQ - and others had dabbled a little and a few were already confident. Just look at what they made - I bet you can't tell who had never done this before! 
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Gill's  brilliant and totally original golf playing bird has just scored a birdie. Get it?!?!?!?! I think he is wonderful.


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An extinction of Dodos!
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We had quite a lot of Dodos (incidentally, my favourite Doodle bird
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Funky Fantail
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Pon the Peacock
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Derwent Inktense Pencils
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Pretty Bird 1
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Pretty Bird 2
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Robby Robin and his Christmas tree
 So as you can see, a lot of very successful free motion quilting was stitched and a lot of concentration and fun was had. The great thing about making these lovely birds is not only do they look wonderful, but they are great at boosting confidence with free motion quilting. By working on a square of fabric of around 12" it is easy to keep control as you do not have to manage the bulk of a whole quilt in the throat of the machine. You are also free to experiment and try out lots of different patterns. 

Still don't think you can free motion quilt? Why not just have a go? ​

If you would like some tips on how to be successful with free motion quilting take a look at my blog post from back in December 2014. You can read it here. I hope it helps! (Just one thing has changed since I wrote it - I no longer drop the feed dogs when I free motion quilt, - you could give it a try to see if you find it any easier). If you give it a try, I'd love to see what you do. 

​Thanks for reading
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Trying out a new stabilising product: Terial Magic

23/11/2015

 
I was at Midsomer Quilting last week, teaching my 'Doodle Birds' workshop (more on that later) and was given a present by De - a new product to try out. It is called 'Terial Magic', and I must admit, I had never heard of it until now.

Terial Magic is a slightly sticky liquid that comes in an easy to use spray bottle. According to the instructions it needs to be sprayed onto fabric and allowed to dry naturally for 15 or so minutes, and then ironed.

Once dry it is supposed to make the fabric stiff (like when you use starch) and non fraying. Stiff enough, it is claimed, that no further stabiliser is required for things like machine embroidery or 3D work.

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Trying out Terial Magic

To see how it worked I took a few pieces of cotton quilting fabric from my scraps bag and sprayed them until they were moist. Following the demonstration on the Terial Magic website (click here) I put my fabric into a small tub and sprayed it. Once it was quite moist I squished it about a bit to make sure the liquid had penetrated throughout the whole piece, and then squeezed out the excess liquid (I put this back into my bottle).

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Spray the dry fabric with Terial Magic in a small bowl until saturated
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Squeeze out the excess slightly sticky liquid. I put this back into my bottle

After smoothing it out I left it to air dry on a flat surface for the 15 minutes stated. After this time it was still very wet - it was a winter's day in the UK, so not very warm - so I left it for around another 20 minutes of so, by which time it was only just damp. Obviously the temperature plays an important part in this, so use your judgment.
NOTE:At this stage the fabric was slightly stiff, but not noticeably different to when I had started.

I then took the fabric pieces and ironed them, as per the instructions. I used a hot  iron directly on the fabric (no ironing sheet) and the heat obviously had an effect, as the fabrics became smooth, very crisp and stiff. There was no residue on the iron and no flakes or 'gunge' on the fabric. 
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Pressing the damp fabric with a hot iron. It became very crisp - like a piece of thin card

Comparison with starch

Up to this point I was starting to wonder why I would use this product instead of starch. I do not often use starch on my fabric, but when I do I usually mix my own and apply it in the same way.

I applied the homemade spray starch to the fabric in the same way as I did the Terial Magic and left it to dry until just damp and  then ironed the fabric. It was slightly stiff, but nowhere near as stiff as with the Terial Magic.
To try and get a stiffer result I sprayed the fabric once again with the starch mixture, but this time I ironed it dry straight away. This made a big difference and the fabric now had very similar crispness and stiffness to the Terial Magic soaked fabric. 

There were, however, two things I noticed which were slightly different when using the starch.
1. Small flakey particles of starch came to the surface of the fabric, which easily scorched
2. The sole plate on my iron got covered in a thin film of starch, which also scorched. Not the end of the world, but it meant I had to clean the sole plate of my iron which is always a pain.



My spray starch recipe:

50ml tap water
200ml  hot water

1 to 3 teaspoons of cornflour

Mix the cornflour and the
cold water to a smooth paste.
Add the hot water and whisk / shake until well mixed.
Pour into a spray bottle.

​According to the blurb that comes with Terial Magic these are two of the drawbacks of using starch. Another thing they mention is that insects like to eat the starch and therefore your fabric. I must say that I have never noticed this, but I am not a regular 'starch user'(!) so I am not able to say whether this is an issue or not. They also say the stiffener in Terial Magic is not edible by insects - so if this is important to you it may influence your choice.

What to do with this stiffened fabric

​The stiffened fabric was interesting.
It folds crisply - just like thin card, so if you have a project that needs firm creases or needs to stand without support this may be a good product to use. 

I tried a few origami ideas...​
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This is a single layer of fabric folded to make a star
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A single layer of fabric folded to make a dress. Next to it is a banknote I was once given, also folded into a dress shape
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Folded hexie yoyo - easy once you have got the hang of it! (trouble is it took me an hour to get the hang if it)
The crispness of the fabric made it perfect for folding techniques. I can imagine it would also be particularly good when piecing small, fiddly shapes or pieces cut on a bias.

Origami links for the above 
For the folded dress, click here
For the yo-yo hexie, click here


​Next I tried some needle turn applique
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1. The stiff fabric was easy to cut. I chose this fabric as it was particularly bad at fraying prior to treatment
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4. The needle and thread slipped through the fabric easily - it was a pleasure to stitch
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6. Fabric soaked in starch - cut well and no noticeable fraying
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2. After cutting I finger pressed the seam allowance over. The crease stayed perfectly


The green fabric stiffened with the Terrial Magic did not fray at all and was very easy to stitch. I was pleased to note that there was no resistance to the needle from the product in the fabric







To make a fair comparison I repeated the process with a piece of yellow fabric soaked in starch. It cut well and creased well, just the same as the Terial Magic soaked fabric. The only difference I noticed was that when I came to stitch the needle and thread were not at all easy to pass through the fabric. It was much more difficult and made hard work of a simple job.
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3. I pinned the leaf shape in place ready to stitch down
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5. The finished leaf shape stitched down
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7. The two leaf shapes; the green fabric was easy to stitch, the yellow much more difficult.

And then I tried stitching some raw edged leave to a piece of fabric
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Holly leaf shapes cut from Terial Magic soaked fabric
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Place 12 in a circle, and stitch down the centre of each leaf. It looks better in real life than this photo!
The stiffness of the leaves made it easy to position them on the fabric and the raw edges, once again, did not fray.

The blurb also says you can use the stiffened fabric for machine embroidery without and further stabiliser. As I don't have an embroidery unit I can't let you know about that - but if anyone does and has experience of this product it would be good to find out if the claims are true. 

So - do I like Terial Magic? Yes, I think I do. It is similar to starch, but has a nicer feel, doesn't gunk up my iron and the treated fabric is nicer to stitch. I don't often need fabric that is stiff or crisp, but when I do I think this product would be a useful addition to the tools I already use. Thanks De - when I run out I will be buying another bottle from you!


Now for those Doodle birds!
These are a few pictures I took during the workshop at Midsomer quilting last weekend. Brilliant aren't they?

And how about these two amazing Doodle Poodles?  My thanks to Chris D who was so inspired when she got home that she made these two fantastic pieces. I just love them! Thanks for sharing them, Chris, I think you have cracked free motion quilting!
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I hope you have enjoyed seeing all this brilliant free motion work. Thanks for looking.
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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!

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

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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Do you doodle?

25/5/2015

 
Yes! I am a doodler. Are you? 
If I am sitting on the phone and there is a  pen and a piece of paper near me something happens - and by the time I have hung up whatever the paper was is covered in scribble. Sometimes it causes trouble. 

"What happened to the water bill?" was the last difficult question I had to answer this week. What had once been just a water bill was actually now a piece of blue biro artwork. Normally this would not have been a big problem - but when you want to open a bank account and have to go to the bank with the all important ID documents, you know - passport and a utility bill ..... which is now covered in my spontaneous drawings .................


Trouble is not far away.



So - now I will try to be more selective in my doodling material - but still, sometimes accidents do happen.

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Etymology
The word doodle first appeared in the early 17th century to mean a fool or sitmpleton. It may derive from the German Dudeltopf or Dudeldop, meaning simpleton or noodle.




Doodling v Drawing

Let's just clear one thing up.
Doodling is not the same thing as formally drawing. 
A doodle is a drawing
 made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. So, if I sit down and focus on just drawing, then that is a drawing.  To be a doodle I am drawing, but not really thinking about it.


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Doodling has a bad reputation

Now - when I was in school, doodling was severely frowned upon as being a waste of time , or even worse, proof that you were not concentrating. How wrong they were!!! Recent studies by Professor Jackie Andrade, of the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth have come to my rescue and give scientific proof (obviously the best kind) that doodling is NOT the product of a wandering mind, but, in fact, the complete opposite! Doodling is not my mind 'daydreaming' but rather a way to force it to stay focussed on the present.
In fact, much like chocolate and red wine, doodling has benefits. Who knew?


So what, exactly, are these benefits? 


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I liked this one so much I painted it afterwards
Doodling increases creativity
When we process information and turn this into learning  there are several 'ways' or 'modalities' our brains like to use. Here are the most common; auditory, kinesthetic, visual, reading, writing. Each of us has our preferences. My brain learns best from images and doing things. Have you ever thought about how you like to learn before? 
It is believed that if we are to really learn and assimilate new information we need to engage at least two of these modalities at the same time - or one modality and an emotional connection (sounds complicated.... but it really isn't)
Anyway, the great thing about doodling is that is that it uses 3 of these modalities straight away!

  • Visual, because we seeing what we are drawing
  • Kinesthetic, because we are using our hands to draw
  • Auditory, because we are processing information by listening to what someone is saying to us



Doodling improves your focus and concentration
Often people think that doodlers are daydreaming, with the mind wandering off somewhere.  However, Professor Jackie Andrade has been found that the act of doodling actually reinforces the brain to pay attention instead of drifting off.  Sunni Brown, an eminent doodler who has made a business out of teaching big businesses the benefits of doodling, states that the act of doodling itself, drawing shapes and symbols, actually forces the mind to slow down and focus on the present. (Nice work if you can get it, Sunni!)



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Must have been a pretty frustrating phone conversation
Doodlers have better memory
Back to Professor Jackie Andrade again. She found that doodlers recalled facts 30 percent better than non-doodlers.   You can read more about the study here. 
The bottom line is that process of doodling helps us remember things better because it brings the information currently being absorbed into a more saturated and sensory experience, allowing a clearer picture of the facts in our memory. 


Doodling helps you see the big picture
According to philosopher Jesse Prinz, who is a professor at City University of New York, doodling helps you hit the sweet spot in your brain, the spot where you are paying close attention but you are not overthinking things.
Sometimes when we are too focused on something, we overthink things, especially the little details that often don’t matter.  As a result of focusing on the small details, we fail to see the big picture.  By doodling, we don’t pay as much attention to the small details of the information we absorb.  Instead, we tend to focus on overarching ideas, which are paramount to seeing the big picture.



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I have no idea what sparked this off!
Doodles and Quilting

With all this free 'inspiration' to hand I think doodles lend themselves to free motion quilting patterns very nicely. As an experienced doodler I have lots of material to put my hands on. Stuck for a FMQ pattern? Put on your favourite music and sing along. Or maybe phone a friend and have a natter - but do it with a pen in hand and a pile of scrap paper (no water bills please).  Just let your hand do what it likes and I will bet that you will come up with something that you could turn into a free motion quilting pattern.  Here are the two doodled pages that I used on my Heron on the Vlei and Flamingoes on the Vlei quilts. There; more proof.


These two pages of doodles became the background FMQ design for my 'Modition' series of quilts


Doodle Birds


Which brings me on to my latest project: Doodle Birds. I am actually revisiting a technique which I tried out about 5 years ago, early on in my ventures into Free Motion Quilting. I decided I wanted to get better at FMQ - and there is nothing like a bit of practice to see improvements. It all began with a doodled bird.................... and this is where I have ended up. 


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It takes time and patience to create a Doodle Bird, but it has improved my FMQ enormously. If you think you would like improve your FMQ then why not give one a try? I will be teaching a workshop at Midsomer Quilting in Somerset on 14th November, but why wait? Get out a pen and some scrap paper, phone a friend and go for it! What have you got to lose?

For more info on the workshop click here.




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