croque-choux

Coffee is my muse!

I'm a little frustrated at the moment because I haven't had time to sew or craft anything lately... This is largely because I've been trying to organize a short trip to Denmark- I spent days on the web looking for a place to stay- and because I've been going to training courses in Paris again. This is my last week and we're learning Flash, which is really cool so far! Dreamweaver was such a let down because of the instructor we had, but I'll give it a second chance after I've digested Flash.

Therefore, since I've nothing new and exciting sous le coude at the moment, I thought I'd post some of my past projects. This particular one was made during a class where we had to make a small quilt using cubism as our inspiration. I think the actual assignment was probably to do something in the style of Picasso ot Braque. So my little collage quilt was inspired by this collage that Picasso made in 1913. I used linen as a background, and I enjoyed finding just the right neutral fabrics for this one. The pieces of text were printed off on muslin using my trusty old Epson. Anybody who knows me knows why I threw a coffee cup in there: I am a coffeeholic (my birthday should be a national holiday in Brazil!)

Oops

I just realized that I posted that last entry so quick that I forgot to file it under a category (oops, duh!). I think I'll add a special photo album to my sidebar to house future fabric "Tea Cup Readings", to avoid further confusion. ANYway, this follow up post will also answer a question Annette sent me: what was I going to do with the stuff that was sitting on my sewing machine the other day? Well, I made this 4.5" x 6.5" fabric quiltlet using the Setacolor Oriental Red fabric paint and the beads. You can't really tell, but I also used a little Pebeo Crystal Touch gel on the swirls under the tea cup. I'll have to experiment a little more with that stuff... I haven't quite figured out what it's good for yet. This piece started out as a sunprint experiment actually. I drew a tea cup and some swirls on freezer paper, cut them out, and ironed them onto the fabric BEFORE painting. Then I put it out in the sun for a while. This technique works, but I think that the fabric should be painted first and then covered up with freezer paper shapes because a little of the dye seeped under the paper (oops). That's why I ended up painting the tea cup a pearly blue afterwards, which is just as well after all. I'll let you know when I work the bugs out of this technique. In the meantime, here's a close up of the tea cup. I used Canon tee shirt transfer paper for the lettering. It's the best brand I've used so far.

Virtual Tea Cup Reading n°2

Today's virtual tea leaf reading with its Shakespearian quote is really telling you that you should do something new and different today! I really like how this little 4.5 x 6.5 inch quiltlet turned out. It almost looks like someone else did this, because this is not the kind of thing I usually make... I'll keep it as a reminder that whenever I'm in a creative slump I should try something new. I tried out an idea that I found in the book "Surfaces for Stitch". At first I thought that cutting pieces out of plastic bags, fusing them together, and then stitching the results was a little far-fetched, but it worked as you can see by the tea cup here.
I've always liked quilts and artwork with writing or calligraphy for some reason. I guess it combines my love of reading with my love for art :o) Oh yes, and speaking of Shakespeare... you can find a fun timewaster here on the link below. What's YOUR flaw?? According to the test results, here's mine:
To be, or not to be?


What is Your Shakespearian Tragic Flaw?
brought to you by Quizilla

Virtual Tea Cup Reading, n°1

Just a thought for today, and the first in a series of "vitual tea leaf readings", made out of fabric of course and just for fun (like lots of stuff I do). This one means that today would be a good day to sit down with a wonderful friend you haven't seen in ages, have some tea, and talk about anything and everything. It will do both of you good! That's what I did this morning instead of having coffee with my iMac (merci, Lisa!).