Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Artsy-Fartsy with Aurifil and Island Batik

What fun it's been this month seeing all the great challenge pieces that have been made by my fellow Island Batik Ambassadors!  I was hoping to get mine done early because I knew this month was going to a super creative onslaught of awesomeness, but here I am...sliding in at the end again.  But I had lots of fun making my project and I am happy with the results, so it's all good.

Aurifil is sponsoring this months challenge, which was to use any fabric art/non-traditional quilting/sewing/thread painting technique using 3 Aurifil thread weights.  I love using different thread weights, and was really excited about the challenge.  I had many different ideas, but this is the one that really stuck out to me, so I went with it!

I really enjoy making these journal covers, they are a fun way to be creative and end up with a nice project that can be enjoyed.  Here are the different threads I used to make my quilted journal:

I started out using 50 wt thread for piecing the background using a pile of blue scraps from previous Island Batik projects on a base of a backing piece and batting.  I really had fun doing this in an improv style, thanks to some tips from fellow Island Batik Ambassador Gene Black!

As you can see, I save all my scraps!  There are prints here from many collections, what great memories of past Island Batik Ambassador projects.
I love using Aurifil 50 wt for piecing.  I find that it really makes a nice flat seam, with little bulk.

For the pieced dresden plate, I also used 50 wt.  This one is a lovely yellow that arrived in the box I just received!  Isn't it perfect with those lovely yellow prints?  Several of these are from the Sunny Side Up collection was also included in the box of goodies!

First I chain stitch the top seam, then press the seams to get the nice points at the top.  I love this technique for making Dresden plates - you get nice finished edges at the top and it's so easy!  Then you trim and stitch your wedges together to get your circle.
Time to stitch it to the background.  For this, I chose Aurifil thread in 80 wt.  I absolutely adore using this fine thread for applique!  It melts into the fabric, doesn't tangle or knot up and is perfect for hand-stitching!
And those wooden spools are so adorable :)
See how lovely my hand stitches look?
Once I got my dresden stitched on, I started the fun part - quilting!  I chose to start by using this lovely bright orange 12 wt from Aurifil to outline stitch.  I love the bold look of this thread.  I have used it many times to stitch hems on jeans because it makes a lovely stitching line.  I use 50 wt thread in the bobbin and lengthen my stitch length a tad for the best results.
Isn't it pretty?  I really love the look of this for a bold stitching line!
This weight comes on a red spool.  It also works great for doing hand embroidery - I thought about doing some embroidery on this project, but ended up opting for more machine stitching...
I decided to add the word Create to the journal.  This was done with the 40 wt thread in a soft lilac color.  40 wt thread comes on a green spool and is perfect for machine stitching when you want to see the thread a bit more.  I also like to use it when stitching clothing.  It's a little more durable than 50 wt, but still makes a nice seam without bulk.  I stitched 4 lines of stitching to make my word show up well.  I tried to use a marking pen to write the letters out first, but that didn't work at all well, so I ended up just free-stitching it, and it came out perfectly!  Doing this is kind of intimidating, but in some ways it's a lot easier to just go for it than to try to draw it out perfectly beforehand.
Looks good!  Now I went back with another 40 wt in teal blue and stitched swirls over the rest of the cover.
Almost finished, but now I need to deal with the center of the dresden.  I decided to add a yo-yo to the center.  For this I picked a 28 wt thread.  This is a nice sturdy weight of thread.  Great for upholstery work because it is nicely and strong.  It looks great for top stitching, too.  It makes a great thread for gathering stitches because it doesn't break easily, so that's what I used it for!
The color wasn't a perfect match, but when it's all gathered you won't see the thread anyway!  This thread makes it easy to pull your thread tight and make a firm knot that won't slide out.  28 wt comes on a gray spool.
I used the yellow thread again (50wt) to handstitch the yo=yo down and quilt around the petals to finish off the dresden.  Then I decided to add some beadwork.  I like the 50 wt for beadwork as well because it's thin, but strong enough to stand up to stitching the beads.
I salvaged these beads from a gown I altered a couple weeks ago - they are a soft gold color, so look really nice on my yo-yo center!

For the pockets and binding I chose Aurifil 50 wt thread that perfectly matches the Blueberry fabric I used for the binding.  I love this color!

And here you have my finished journal with the threads I used.  From 80 wt to 12 wt, I love using all kinds of Aurifil thread!  As you can see, there is so much you can do with thread to enhance your projects, whether they are Artsy-Fartsy or practical!  I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about the different weights and how you can use them. 

Make sure you visit the other Island Batik Ambassadors and see what their projects were for the challege, you'll be amazed!

11 comments:

Vasudha said...

So lovely, Pamela. Love the blue background and the Dresden flower. Thank you for the tip for using 12 wt thread. Mine kept breaking with my regular needle and stitch length.

Gene Black said...

I absolutely love this. You got your "improv" shoes on and danced with it! Yaay.

Jane said...

It’s so pretty Pamela. I love that yoyo flower! So creative.

Denise said...

This turned out so good.

Barb said...

Looks fantastic, love it!

teachpany said...

Great project! Love that you did improv and that I saw some Sea Salt Sandy in it.

Jackie OBrien said...

So very very nice!

Carla said...

Adorable piece. Love it.

Kathleen said...

Lovely journal cover! I haven't made one in a long while, but now you are tempting me!

Angela Bowling said...

pretty cool. I like it.

Emily said...

Love this! And functional art that you can use and admire daily is so great!