An Ounce of Fusing Fun

Every time I see this quote on Pinterest....it makes me chuckle. Too true sometimes!

How many times have we invested in all the supplies for a new hobby or craft only to find out that it might not be for us. I know I have!

I have been playing with fusible fabric for a long time. I've done large wall quits....small greeting cards...and everything in between including most recently embellishing my Watercolor for Relaxation projects.

Fusible webbing is versatile...and there are so many applications in art and quilting. Once the fusible webbing is on the back of the fabric (or even paper)....all you have to do is cut out your shape and iron it on.  No gluing necessary.

It might not be everyone's cup of tea...but if you want to play around with it before investing time and money....then maybe you would like An Ounce of Fusing Fun!

I have started a new "page" along the sidebar of my actual blog called "Your Joyful Puttering." Unlike blog posts...these sidebar pages are static...and always there.  All the details for the Ounce of Fusing Fun are there and this is where I'll be posting any artful things I have to offer.

If you are reading this by email, you will have to link to the blog itself to get to the Your Joyful Puttering sidebar page: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/  Or you can click the title of the post in the email....or the "read on" note at the bottom of the email to get to the blog site. 

Can't find it?  Questions?  Email me at joyfulputtering@gmail.com

If you want to get closer look at my fusing projects you can click on the label "fabric fusing" along the side of the blog.  There are dozens and dozens of project posts and in several of those posts I've shared my process in great detail.  

Here are a just few of the many pieces I've done with fused fabric over the years.  

A JOY banner I made for Hancock Church when Paul retired. It hangs in a niche going up the central stairwell.

I fused random pieces of batik fabrics arranged in rainbow order. When I held it to the light...it's easy to see the overlap of the fabric pieces. The JOY is black hand dyed fabric fused onto the piece.

Once the fabric was fused...I topstitched for interest and texture.

You can see the banner at the top...and another fused banner I made with Joan there at the bottom.  

This was a stained glass look commission I did for my friends Amy and Lisle in Lexington.

Again...I used batik fabric with hand dyed black trees.

I did  whole year long series projects for Folt Bolt based on their monthly color scheme...and every piece I used fusible fabric. 

All 12 project under the Folt Bolt label along the side of the blog.        

 

I've done a lots and lots of small stuff too.  Cards for our art exchanges...

and I even covered a box top for my sister Nancy.

So if you have interest in An Ounce of Fabric Fun...hop on over to the blog to the Your Joyful Puttering sidebar page and have a look.  You can alway contact me directly at joyfulputtering@gmail.com.  Thank you!

Fabric and Fibers

I got up early this morning to watch the sunrise....it was spectacular and changed by the minute.  It was a balmy 30 degrees so I was able to sit outside on the front steps to soak it all in.

Like I said yesterday....there's fabric and fibers flying all over the house.

One of the things I've been playing around with is this twisted fabric rope.....I've always wanted to try it.  It's a good way to use scraps....and I'm finding the twisting process quite relaxing. 

I'm not quite sure what' I'll do with it...but it could be coiled up like a braided rug for coasters, a hot pad or even a basket.  

For now....I'm just having fun using up some scraps and watching the colors mix together. I'm just going to keep going and make a big ball of it.

And I got all my paper pieced squares all sewed together. I'm thinking it needs to be just a bit bigger so I'll dip into my stash of batiks when I get back home.

Jane has been cutting wool strips for a rug. The squares will be stripes like this with next square's stripes going in the opposite direction. It's going to be stunning!  

 

Patsy is working on an incredibly detailed cross stitch on linen.  It's going to be a stunning Wizard of Oz scene for one of her grandchildren.

And Jane and I (mosty Jane) have been working on extra squares for a quilt she's making for me with my striped and polka dotted fabric.  You can see the first set of squares all layed out in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2020/07/one-of-those-days.html  More on that tomorrow.

It's such a pleasure and a privilege to have this focused time with friends....doing things we love to do.  We even played some cards today and took a nice walk. 

Joy!   

Delivered

I delivered the commission fabric stained glass piece today!  I'm relieved that it's done....and even more relieved that Amy and Lisle seem to love it.  Phew!

Amy and Lisle are going to order a simple edged wooden frame that it will drop into...that's been the plan all along.  It will coordinate well with the other art in this corner of their family room and make it a bit larger to better fit the space.  We were pleased that the bright colors of the large painting were balanced by the vivid batiks in the fabric piece with the softer, smaller pieces in between. And I personally love that right now they have stained glass lamp sitting on the table...and I secretly hope it stays.

I mounted it on a deep edge canvas...and the black binding that almost seamlessly wraps around elevates it to an art piece rather than an art quilt. Kudos to Colorways by Vick Welsh. Vicki's black hand dyed fabric is so nice to work with...it almost looks like suede.  And I'm certain that most of the solids that are interspersed with the batiks are her hand dyed fabrics too.

Here's just a little glimpse into the journey.

Once again I worked on stiff interfacing making drawing the pattern and fusing much easier.  This time I drew the longer branches in red.  I wanted to make sure they were evenly distributed and to remember to use a little bit wider black strips to cover them.  The red marks really helped.

Using a sliver of soap for marking and a good pair of scissors I started puzzling in the pieces. 

I only lightly fused the pieces and once I had them all tacked on I just kept looking at it for few weeks trading colors here and there. It's so hard to tell without the black...but at some point you just have to go with it. 

Once I was satisfied I gave it a good hot pressing...with a pressing cloth of course....to really fuse the pieces in place

Then I started adding the black....small branches first...

...then the large branches and landscape, and finally the tree trunks. I numbered the trees at the bottom because I wanted #1, which were the closest trees, wider....#2 next and #3 in the distant being the skinniest.

It's always a bit nerve racking to trim it....but it has to be done.  I cut it exactly the size of the large 15 x 30 deep canvas. I cut the binding and added an inch or so of fusible webbing to the edge.

Once the binding was sewn on I glued the piece to the canvas using soft gel medium....another part that's a little nerve racking.  I have to work quickly....so no photos. Then I stretched the binding around the piece and fused it to the back.

I finished it late in the day last week....and brought it down stairs to photograph on the floor but it was already too dark.  But you do get a glimpse of our undecorated Christmas tree with one row of lights out....I need to work on that. Then again, maybe it's fitting to have some missing lights for this odd 2020 Christmas.  I thought the fabric actually kind of glowed in the low lighting...especially the row of sunshine yellows.

Thank you Amy and Lisle for trusting me with this piece and supporting my art.

Just Getting Started

Every once in a while I'm compelled to buy a little fabric.

I saw this Alison Glass assortment of bright and colorful plaids online....and I couldn't resist.  It's going to be a while before I can do something with it...but in the meantime I'm just going to bask in the glow!

I'm just getting started on my commission fabric stained glass piece.  I've had the basic sketch done for quite some time....but life has take me in a few different directions as of late.  And...because it's a commission it seemed more important than ever to get it right so I was hesitant to even start. If I didn't start....I couldn't screw it up. 

I'm pretty much modeling it after this last one I made....with just a few tweaks.  The biggest change is eliminating the straight green horizon line...the whole lower landscape part is going to be more curvy. 

For anyone new to the blog...you can read more about this piece here:

http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-studio.html

Since it's a commission piece I want Amy and Lisle to see the finished product before I write too much about it here....but I wanted to let you know one of the things I'll be up to in the studio for the the next few weeks. I've already worked my way into the reds and oranges so I'm making progress....but this all I'm going to share for now. It feels good that I'm finally getting started.

Lobster for Dinner

I've been playing with some of the batiks I prepped....but there's no energy left to write about it tonight.  I'll share my second fabric stained glass project tomorrow....I have enough fabric prepped for lots and lots of projects!

What's to love about a lobster dinner on the patio.... 

....and a beautiful patch of holly hocks on our morning walk.

Batik Meets Stained Glass

I've wanted to experiment with batik fabrics and a stained glass look ever since I did this piece a year or so ago.  

And...after being nudged by some friends who are interested in a commission piece for a new space in their home we started brainstorming ideas....this was one of the pieces they were drawn to. Amy and Lisle have bought several fabric pieces from my shows....so they know what they were getting into with me.

                 So over the last couple of days I've gotten back to fusing as part of my concept development.....and I'm loving the meeting up of batik and stained glass! The black border in this photo was added digitally so I could see how it would look. I will bind this small quilt in black and mount it on a black canvas. Hopefully it will be a piece ready for a possible next show.

I forgot to take photos along the way....I almost never forget...but here it is part way through. I drew my design with a sharpie on heavy weight stabilizer and puzzled in the fused pieces. The shapes didn't need to be perfect since all the seams would be covered with black.

Using Colorways hand dyed fabric I fused all the side branches....I do them first so the ends get tucked underneath the trunk pieces. I use hand dyed fabric for the trees because it fuses securely. I missed one branch....do you see it?  

Finally I added the trunks and horizon lines....and that missing branch which didn't get tucked underneath.

I think there's potential here and I'm excited about where it might take me!  🌈

My Black Lives Matter journey continues....and sometimes I feel compelled to share something here. As with everything I write....you're never obligated to read it. 

I got very emotional last night when I saw images on the news of the 110 foot monument and statue of John Calhoun being taken down in Charleston, South Carolina. As recently as just a month ago I wouldn't have had enough of a context for it to affect me so deeply. But I have since learned that John Calhoun was one of the most despicable defenders of slavery and white supremacy.

About a week ago I read  another article in the 1619 Project by the New York Times  called Undemocratic Democracy and was quite troubled by this John Calhoun quote: "Liberty is a reward to be earned, not a blessing to to be gratuitously lavished on all alike - a reward reserved for the intelligent, the patriotic, the virtuous and deserving - and a boon to be bestowed on a people too ignorant, degraded and vicious, to be capable either of appreciating or of enjoying it."  Liberty....was reserved for the the superior race....the white race...and black people were to be bought, sold, and used so white people could hold and gain more power.  

And...just yesterday afternoon I had a conversation with Paul about white power and supremacy...giving me even more clarity for last night's news segment. Today....I dug a little deeper and I came across this article in the New York Times about this particular monument and the story leading up to it being taken down.  The mayor of Charleston said the purpose of taking is down is "not to erase our long and often tragic history, but to begin a new and more equitable chapter of that history."  

A councilman said "We are not on our knees praying today - we are taking action today. Racism is violent and evil, and is the foundation of an unjust America.  This system, it's not broken - it was founded and designed on violent, vicious evil racism."   Oy!

Just two years ago another article was written about the history of the monument giving almost no hope of of it ever coming down.  What a difference a few years makes.

Both journeys continue.

Scraps

https://www.instagram.com/caroldubosch/

Last night while I was watching TV I paired scraps of colored fabric to stitch together for my Another 100 Day project.

This morning I chain stitched them all up giving me a little head start on my daily sewing practice.  My head is a little fuzzy these days....so this was just the right project in between house chores.



They're all snipped, ironed, and ready to shop from as I keep rolling along on my Another 100 Days.  I like the little pop of color in the middle of today's #21.