Skeleton Leaves

I decided to do something for myself today.  It is Autumn here, and the leaves in the towns are turning.  A week or so ago, I found a skeletonised gum leaf, and the other day another, deciduous leaf.

 This is the gum leaf, unfortunately, I can't find the other leaf.
So I thought, well, let's try and make one with free motion lace  - so I did.

 I used two layers of water soluble stabiliser.  This is a Floriani one.

 I drew the leaf and veins on the stabiliser, but you can trace.  If you type in leaf in google and select images then line art from the side bar, you will probably find lots to suit you, like these.

 However, there is a problem with these.  The veins do not reach the edges.  You will have to extend the lines so that they reach the edges, otherwise, your leaf will fall apart.  Lines of stitching need to cross to hold the lace together.

 Here, I have used straight stitch to go around all the lines, retracing my route when neccesary, especially in the central part, to build up the stitches.

 I also went around the whole leaf margin and the stem with a very thin zig zag when all the inner lines were done to make a stable edge.

 When I was finished, I roughly cut out the leaves,

And pinned them to some foam, then rinsed off the stabiliser under running water.  I blot them with kitchen paper to remove a lot of water.  It is best to allow them to dry before removing the pins, and you can test them for remaining stabiliser as they dry.  They will be sticky.  Run the under the tap again if they are.

 Here are the two finished leaves.  And below, framed.

  I am pleased with the results, but would use a much thinner and lighter thread next time.

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.

Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)

Waterfall WIP

As I said, Wednesdays will be work in progress day. The day when I show you how I go about creating my fibre art pieces.
Today I worked on a landscape with waterfall collage that I designed for my Quilt uni course.

 This is the original idea sketch in my journal.  It is a simple scene with only a few elements and uses the golden rule in composition.  There is a rocky cliff on the left, A waterfall with pool in the centre, and rainforest and ferns on the right.  The ferns are in the foreground, covering the other side of the cliff.  There will also be a dragonfly buzzing around somewhere.

This is my sketch on interfacing 18x14 in.  I have already placed some hand dyed fabric for the sky.

The brown fabric, another hand dye, is what I will use for the cliffs.  On the left is a close up of my sketch of the rocks on the fabric.  This fabric will be extensively thread painted, then trapuntoed to give dimension before I put it on the background.

The green mottled fabric will go under a large amount of FME lace representing trees and ferns in the foreground on the right.

This is my tucked fabric for the pool at the bottom of the scene pinned ready to sew the ripples in, and on the right, pinned in place.  The pool is contructed of an organza overlay over a navy blue piece of cotton, so that when the ripples are sewn in, it will appear to hane depth.

These are a variety of yarns and threads which will be couched in place for the waterfall.  In the picture on the right they are sitting in place and also to the right of them, is some of my Fibre film from yesterday which will form the moss at the edge of the pool.

As you can see, Most of the pieces require some work before the piece can be assembled, and at present it is still only a plan and looks like quite a mess.
Creating art is always about give and take.  At this stage I like how I imagine the pieces will fit together, but you must always be open to change.  Our minds are always learning new things and new ways to do them, so when you look in next week, I cannot guarantee my plan will be the same, however, I hope the piece will be a little closer to being finished and starting to look like more than a mess!