Category Archives: free motion machine stitching

Ann’s Abstract Challenge

Posted on by under free motion machine stitching

I finished a piece for Ann’s abstract challenge. There’s a longer post over at the Fiber and Felting Studio. I don’t think I’m very good with abstraction. I do much better with representational pieces. This piece is stitched on a thin cotton fused to a heavier Kona cotton with black thread. I then colored the piece with permanent markers and colored pencils. I like how it came out but it’s not very abstract. Do you do abstract work? Do you base your work on something and then “abstract” that idea? I’d love to hear how you work abstractly.

Quick and Easy Note Cards

Posted on by under free motion machine stitching, surface design

 I cut up my painted fabric into approximately 4″x6″ rectangles and I now have a big stack to use to make note cards. I already had the white note cards and since the fabric is so colorful, it’s simple to add a bit of machine stitching  and sew it to the card.

I just looked at the piece to find a place to start. The green paint on the left looked like leaves so I thread sketched those in and sketched in longer leaves on the right. I used stitch and tear to stabilize the fabric. I found it worked best if I fused the stitch and tear and the fabric before stitching. I then fused the stitched fabric to the card before sewing around the edge.

For this card, I used automatic machine stitches to make a pattern. I tried using a glue stick to baste this in place before stitching to the card. It didn’t hold very well and shifted a bit with stitching.

I saw a butterfly in this piece of painted fabric. He’s a bit wonky but still looks like some sort of flying insect. Each card only takes about 10 minutes or so. I’m going to try and stitch a few every day so I have cards to use when I need them.