Martha Tabis new blog re pet portraits: http://www.marthatabis.blogspot.com
Facebook fan page (another way to market your art, called a business page
on FB): Martha Tabis Pet Portraits
Fabric postcard: I use Peltex inside for a stiffer card.
The following technique is being shared with us by one of our members, whose last name shall remain a mystery to the casual reader. She showed us a piece that she had done with colored pencils, and it was very striking. There was a lot of interest in her technique, so here you have it:
Parrot Tulip Quilt technique
Yvette
I used the techniques developed by Irena Bluhm in her book “Quilts of a Different Color”. She has a website that I found under google using Irena Bluhm as the search criteria but there isn’t any information that she shares.
I sized my picture to the the desired size on the computer by using Microsoft Paint and printing at an increased size in grayscale.
I trimmed the paper and taped the multiple sheets together.
Then using a black permanent pen I marked the lines that I wanted to quilt on the printed photo. This is where you can simplify the piece as desired.
Use plain cream or white high quality muslin. If not PFD ( prepared for dyeing) wash the piece to remove sizing. Iron to remove wrinkles. Pine the muslin to the marked photo pattern.
Using a light source, transfer the lines to the muslin using a water soluble pen.
Add batting and backing and free motion quilt the piece changing threads where you wish. Note that elements of the design were quilted with dark thread while the background was quilted with cream. The design will have lots of starts and stops with the thread.
After quilting wash to remove the pen marks. Let dry thoroughly.
Now the real fun begins. I used Prismacolor pencils. I did try my crayola pencils but found them to be rather hard and to not transfer color well.
Control color both pressure and shading. With the darker colors you will still see the muslin background.
Work from the center out if doing a picture as it is possible to smudge the pencil into other areas. Another option is to use a clean piece of paper under your hand covering already worked areas.
If you make a mistake you can use an soft eraser of the incorrect area. Be sure to clean it as soon as it gets a lot of color on it.
I color in my background as well as it quiets the background quilting into texture.
Now come the point of setting the color. Her technique recommends a combination of fixatives but I used only Delta Ceramcoat Textile Medium which I found at JoAnns. I wasn’t planning to wash the end result. Pour out a small amount into a cup. Using a craft brush with a square top in a size appropriate to the area, paint on a thin coat of the textile medium. Note that this will begin to behave like paint so be careful where two colors meet. I did the red first to control any bleed and then went on to other colors. The medium and the brush will begin to pick up the color so be aware of this. I changed medium and washed the brush when I changed color fixing. I did use the paper again to prevent unwanted smudging. The medium will begin to dry out on the brush depending on the size of what is being done. I washed it with warm water and soap.
On a winter day this dried to the touch fairly quickly (within an hour). I went back to the touching colors when it was done.
Note that it is best to stay within a single color area as the color will pull from one area to another.
Let the piece dry completely for at least 24 hours.
Heat set the piece from the back by protecting the ironing surface just in case. (Nothing transferred when I did this.)
Finish the piece as desired.
