a spring fling with collage ~ and a giveaway!

MarveLes Art Studios Blogs 26 Comments

the lawns are greening up, the winter wheat is up a couple inches and bright green in the balmy february weather we’ve been enjoying here in central montana!

so why not celebrate a bit of that in a collage technique, presenting a beautiful spring table runner?  yes!  easy.  and guaranteed to brighten your day! 

and today is the announcement of a prize package giveaway from the fabulously talented hands of vicki welsh.  she’s giving away a yard {squeal!} of her gorgeous hand dyed fabric, of your choice and… 2 1/2 yards of misty fuse, a spidery-light, almost invisible fusible web.  how sweet is that?  {misty fuse fusible doesn’t change the hand of the fabric.}  i wrote about it in a post “just the facts on fusible” if you want to see what it looks like on fabrics.

 my collaged table runner began with inspiration from vicki’s hand dyed fabric; here’s the link:  red-purple gradient that is just so yummy, you almost want to take a bite out of it!  

did you know vicki welsh does custom orders, too?! you can’t go wrong with a “stash pack” — a lovely pack of five pieces of hand dyed 100% cotton mercerized fabric.  the stash pack is a total of 1.25 yards of glorious  graduations within the same color theme; a great way  to begin, and awesome for piecing, too.

vicki follows a meticulous process of washing out the dye to eliminate bleeding.  the fabrics are so well done, and the colors are really fabulous.  it’s on my hit list to get my hands on every one of them!!!  lol 

 this is how i quilted it. in the perimeter on top of all the collaged floral motifs, i chose to free motion with the yli fusions thread, a 24 weight thread with a 100/16 needle.  love the chunky texture, and it’s always interesting how the thread ties and unites the flowers together, too.  i try to catch as many raw edges as i quilt, too.  even though the edges are glued down with steam-a-seam 2 {the lite version} and completely washable, it’s just a good idea, overall.  i don’t fuss about it too much, really.  this will be totally washable, too. i always like to dry them flat, and then press from the backside first, then on the front as needed.

i chose a magnifico solid, polyester, 40 wt thread for the quilting in the red-purple gradient fabric center.  i just wanted it to pop with a little dimension, and i love how it contrasts with the busyness of the flowers, but ties it all in, too.

 here is the backside… a batik is the fabric i chose, and i really do like the contrast of the white on it.  it also makes this beauty reversible. i used superior’s masterpiece cotton in a white color for the bobbin thread with both of the top thread types i quilted with.

 i have some pretty silk flowers {wish they were fresh} and even they look quite charming on this spring runner:

the curvy edge is really nice on this floral design, too. i didn’t measure at all;  it’s randomly cut as a continuous smooth curve along the edges with my rotary cutter, and then bound with a bias binding.

my favorite detail is the small dark purple flowers that are silhouetted into the solid hand dyed fabric… i was glad to find it was so worth it {to me} to cut out these delicate darlings!

this runner is now hanging up at the quilt-a-way shop here in great falls.  the first collage class is full, and we’ve got quite a few students signed up for the second one, which is set for saturday and sunday, march 14th and 15th!  you can also create this runner instead of an animal if you would like.  

leave a comment here today, to be entered for the drawing. one per person.   brian will draw us a winner and i will announce it this coming saturday, february 13th.  i think that is a real fun way to begin a valentine’s celebration!

a big thank you to vicki for sponsoring this giveaway!  

blessings on your day, and happy valentine’s day, too!

xo
leslie
soli deo gloria

Comments 26

  1. Totally in love with the batik and white thread contrast! Would absolutely dive in with some have dyed fabric! Love what you did and would enjoy trying my own version.

  2. Your table runner is amazing and I would love to try to make one using the collage method . Thanks for the chance to win some of the requirements.
    Pauline
    perry94022 at hotmail dot com

  3. the runner is gorgeous! Thanks to you and Vicki for the giveaway — February 13 is my birthday, and the fabric would be a nice gift!

  4. What a lovely table runner. As a fairly new quilter, I can only hope to make something so beautiful. Thanks for the chance to win the gorgeous fabric. Hopefully it will inspire me as it inspired you. πŸ™‚

  5. Hey Leslie, You have me so jazzed up about floral appliquΓ© I can't sleep nights! I have been following your collage posts and you are such an inspiration. I absolutely must go out to the Thread Shed and paw through the cupboards for florals and hand dyes! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous work with all of us.
    My Best To You,
    LuAnn in Oregon
    luannkessi.blogspot.com

  6. Lawns greening up. . . I can only imagine!Your runner is simply inspirational. Thanks for sharing your quilting/artistic journey with us.

  7. Love all the collage quilts and have learned a lot from your tutorials. Now to find the time to make one. Beautiful giveaway. The hand dyed fabric is luscious!

  8. I wish you were in Great Falls, Virginia instead of Great Falls, Montana–then I could take a class. Your work is more than beautiful! I'm so glad Vicki sent me to your blog.

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