Guest Designer Frieda Oxenham

In essence is printing on fabric using a gelli plate exactly the same as printing on paper. In this case I’m using dedicated fabric paint as it’s much easier to stitch through than acrylics and also makes the end product washable. My fabric paints are Opaques and Metallics by Colourcraft and I’m printing on silk.

1.     Add a mix of colours to your gelli plate (8 x 10”) and take prints. Add one colour to your gelli plate and add a stencil on top, take a print on your printed fabrics. Remove stencil and take another print. Overprint on some of your fabrics if you like. I used the following stencils: L301 Circles Circles, L320 Batik, the large stencils of the June 2020 StencilClub, the January 2017 Club, the October 2014 Club and the August 2015 Club.

2.     Cut all your fabrics into 1” wide strips. I used a rotary cutter and cutting mat. You can also use scissors.

3.     Cut the strips into approx. 1” squares. I do this step freehand, without a ruler.

4.     Sew the squares together using a sewing machine and chain piecing i.e. sew one pair together, then without lifting the needle the following pair etc. Press the seams open with an iron. Then sew the pairs together into fours, then eights etc, till you have a long strip of sewn together squares.

5.     Select your background. I used black wool felt and alternated between black fabric and my pieced squares. Put a small strip of black fabric (also 1” wide) to the centre of the wool felt. Tack it down if you like. Then sew a length of your pieced squares to opposite sides of the black fabric.

I did the vertical strips first, then the horizontal strips, so that the black strip is enclosed by the pieced squares strips. This is improv quilting so I am not aiming for straight lines in this case although you can if you like.  Repeat the sequence with black fabric strips. This pattern is known as Courthouse Steps.

Repeat until your black felt background is covered up. I like to tack my strips down before sewing on another strip but that’s an optional step. It takes more time but makes the sewing easier.

6.     Once finished hand stitch the piece with black running stitch on the black fabric strips and a variegated thread on the coloured strips.

7.     Sew on gold beads along the edges of the coloured strips.

8.     Use another of your painted fabrics from step 1 and iron on a piece of Bondaweb (WonderUnder) to the back of it. Using stencil S298 Deconstructed Single Lily Mask and Stencil and mark it out on the Bondaweb. 

Cut out the flower and mark the pattern of the lily on the front with a permanent black marker and outline the pattern with black hand stitching.

9.     Add black binding around the quilt

10.  Add the lily from step 8 to the quilt and stitch it down using buttonhole stitch and a variegated thread. Outline the lily with gold beads and also add beads to the centre of the flower.

© Frieda Oxenham 2024

An Art Quilt Block Filled With Circles by Jill McDowell

It’s Jill McDowell here with you today with my take on the current  StencilGirl®️ Creative Team challenge; Fill it with Circular Shapes. This month I’m heading down another creative rabbit hole with a project that’s been on my bucket list for some time.  A few years back I attended a quilt show that left me aghast. Ever since then I’ve had dreams of making an art quilt but the size and scope of the project was just too daunting for me to start.  Fortunately for me, a recent purchase sparked some ideas about how I might actually tackle the project.

I bid on this vintage lot of linens in an online estate auction.  My plan was to use the fabric for eco printing.  I was pleasantly surprised when I got the lot home and found that I’d scored three large tablecloths, 90 napkins, several table runners, and a few dozen doilies.  It was really a good lot and I found myself swimming in linens. But I knew I’d never be able to use them all up with just eco printing. They were destined for bigger things. That’s when I realized that the napkins could make a great substrate to build a quilt block on.  It was time to overcome the art quilt intimidation factor.  

I choose a 17” X 18” napkin for my first block and prepped it for quilting by soaking it overnight in Oxi Clean Odor and Stain Remover. (You can find this detergent in the laundry section of your grocery store.) The next morning I rinsed it out thoroughly and then set it outside to dry in the sun.

To color the background I spritzed the napkin with water and left it to sit for a few minutes so that all the fibers had a chance to dampen.  Then I mixed together GAC 900,(fabric painting medium), a few squirts of Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold, a touch of Iridescent Gold Fine, and Glazing Liquid to make a wash the consistency of the creamer I put in my morning tea.  I applied the wash all over the napkin with a large paint brush.
   

Then I wrung out the napkin to get rid of any excess moisture and hung it up to dry.

This left me with a cloth that was soft and had a vintage feel that I knew I would enjoy stitching on.

For the background, I choose three stencil designs from StencilGirl® Products' vast collection: my own Crest Stencil, Carol Wiebe’s Asian Character Impressions 3 Stencil, and MaryBeth Shaw’s Hunab Ku Stencil.

I used a layering technique with VersaFine Clair ink to lay down my design. Layering stencils expands the versatility of your stencil collection and it’s super simple to do. With only two stencils you can add a multitude of cohesive designs to your art.

Here’s how I layered two stencils: 

• I positioned a circle from the Crest Stencil, (or any other stencil with an open shape) over an interesting area of the Asian Character Stencil, (or any other busy stencil).

• Using a stiff brush, I scrubbed Chianti VersaFine Clair Pigment Ink through the stencil sandwich.

• I slipped the Asian Character Stencil out from underneath the Crest Stencil leaving just the open shape on the cloth.  Using a smaller stencil brush, I scrubbed Acorn VersaFine Clair ink around the edge of the stencil to add depth to my design.

• With the Crest Stencil still in place, I traced the outline of the circle with a black fine tip fabric marker.

Here’s what a finished circle looks like.

I continued to use this technique to create more circles on the cloth and then generously sprinkled some Crests and Hunab Ku through out. 

I kept going until I was happy with the overall design. 

I put the napkin in my dryer on high for 40 minutes to set the paint and the inks. 

I made a different quilt sandwich with a square cut from an old sheet as the backing, and low loft batting in the muddled, topped with my stenciled napkin.  Then I basted all three of the layers together to keep them from shifting.

Next, I added my focal point; an image I found in an old 1920 Japanese Block-print book. I had altered the image in ProCreate, printed it with my inkjet printer onto Transfer Artist Paper, and then ironed the image onto another piece of vintage linen.  I hemmed the edges and then whipped stitched it onto my stenciled napkin block base. 

I decided to quilt the non-stenciled areas of my block by hand.  I outlined each circle with a running stitch and then radiated the circles outwards until all the spaces were filled in.  Although not perfect, I was happy with my stitching considering that it was my first time quilting. 

I used a water-soluble marking pen to trace extensions of the background circles onto my focal point fabric and then stitched around the edges.  It was easy to wipe the pen marks off later with a damp cloth.  

I love to embroider with plain old spool thread. I like the texture it adds and the play of the delicate knots and lines against the rustic stenciled designs. I used French knots and lazy daisy stitches to embellish some of the circles.

So far I’ve spent about 8 hours stitching on this block and although it’s not completely finished I think it’s close.

My art quilt block has been a perfect lap project to work on.  It’s so relaxing to stitch while watching tv or visiting with friends.  I’m so glad I traveled down this rabbit hole and I’m planning on staying here a while.  I’ve got just a few more blocks to stencil and stitch.....

Are there any projects in your bucket list that you’re too intimidated by to try?  If so, I hope I’ve inspired you to break a small piece of it off to try.

Hugs until next time,  Jill

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StencilClub Voices face the November Mashup Set with grace & style

Tis no lie, a woman has many faces and our fantastic StencilClub Voices, Amy Vetter, Carol Baxter, Tricha Hartman, and Geri Beam took this month's set, took paints in hand and created quite a few! There are journal pages, paintings, collages, and a quilt!

Amy Vetter's Bejeweled, untitled, and The 3 Faces of Amy

Amy Vetter wanted a glowing stained-glass window effect for "Bejeweled." She used alcohol inks on glossy paper, glossy black acrylic paint, Artists Loft silver metallic paint, and stick-on gems.

Amy used acrylic paint on watercolor paper. She painted and textured the background with the 6 x 6 stencil, then painted the arches of the stencil in black paint and used them to print the lines in the background.

She says, "I am not fond of the "Big hair" look so I used a foam brush for a reserved hairdo."

This teal print - is acrylic paint on watercolor paper. "The Three Faces of Amy are behind chain link to hide my feeling," Amy says.

Carol Baxter's Must Be Season of the Witch

Carol was inspired by the Donovan song from the 1960s because it was on her playlist around Halloween while she was stenciling, painting, and doodling with pens.

Scary fun.

Carol says, "My witch was green and orange before I rendered her black and white in Photoshop.

Tricha Hartman's Tulip Woman, untitled collage, 

and Sun Shining Through a Grate

Geri Beam's Art Quilt

Geri Beam sprayed bleach over the stencil onto black fabric to create the background. She used fabric paint to add a few color highlights. Then she embroidered and attached the steampunk clock and keys, and added decorative trim and braiding as the binding. Her art quilt is 16" x 20".

We hope you have enjoyed inspiration from our marvelous StencilClub Voices! It was our pleasure to paint them!
Amy, Carol, Tricha, and Geri

If you'd like to see the video reveal for these stencils, you can watch it here.

We'd love to get to know you in StencilClub!