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| The first 30 Stitch Meditations for 2019 |
Here’s a
look at all of them. I’m going to explore with you some of hat them in more
depth as we go along. Some I like more than others; some have taught me
valuable lessons about myself and my style. But the first ones I’m going to
cover are these.
Recently a
friend was giving away strips of fabric she wanted to get rid of. They had been
decorated by students at a workshop she taught. I took 3 of her strips but had
no idea why.
Then I
started researching an idea I had to see if anyone else was doing it. Well you
know what happens online in places like google; Pinterest; Flickr and the
likes. Rabbit holes are all over the place! I stumbled on this technique and
realized that was what was going on with those fabric strips.
About the
same time I came across the Stitch Meditation group on Facebook. I joined in
and started creating little mini fabric collages which became a perfect place
to use pieces of the strips. I’ve indicated where the strip was used on each
piece.
First up
are the “whole cloth” ones, only stitches were added to these and sometimes
some buttons and lace.
One took on the appearance of a fan.
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| Fan shape with lace trim |
Another one had
faces looking out at me.
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| Faces one side view one straight on |
One spoke to me of a summer cloudburst.
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| Summer cloudburst over the hills |
And then there was
just stitches wandering around buttons and space.
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| Stitches and buttons wandering around |
Placed with
other fabric they blended in sometimes just a square in the middle,
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| Square in the middle |
sometimes
most of the middle,
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| Most of the middle section |
or on the left side.
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| On the left side |
One even
joined with a piece of felt leftover from a stitching project my 4 year old
granddaughter and I made.
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| A piece of felt and lots of stitching |
Now back to
the rabbit hole:
The process
is simply using pre-washed fabric, rubbing alcohol and Sharpie pens. You can do
it flat or place the fabric over a jar or some type of container and then use
rubber bands to hold the fabric in place.
You color
the fabric with two or three markers and then spritz it with a little rubbing
alcohol or use an eye dropper to drop the rubbing alcohol onto the colored
area. Then be patient and watch the magic happen. The color will start to
spread. You can add more rubbing alcohol if desired or wait for the fabric to
dry (takes just minutes) and then add more color and/or rubbing alcohol.
Some
Sharpies will not work; like the ones made for fabric or the fast drying ones.
This
process requires experimentation, patience, and imagination. The fabric should
be heat set with an iron for 5 minutes (keep moving the iron to keep from
scorching the fabric and use a press cloth), or it can be placed in a dryer.
It is best
to use this fabric where it will not require washing.
Enjoy!
Rose
