Stencil-work on the Red Spice & Curry Quilt Top

I finally started doing the stencil-work on the Red Spice and Curry Quilt Top that needed an extra layer of something to tie it all together.

I'm using a stencil from The Stencil Lab, with Paint Sticks.

My method : I rub out some Paint Stick Color on a piece of freezer paper (The shiny side).  This is also known as palette paper.   Then I can spread it out and pick it up on the stencil brush, then add the color to the fabric.  IT would go on way too thick if I tried to "color" with the stick itself directly onto the fabric.

Although I was introduced to Paint Sticks about 10 years ago, when my Art Quilt Group was still meeting.  It also came up at The Sewing Expo at the local Tech School.  I think I was reminded of it in the Pepper Corey Scrap Quilting class.

Helpful Tip : I picked up a flannel-backed vinyl table cloth at Voldemart for less than $4.  I laid it on our dining room table with the soft fuzzy side up.  This served 1) to stabilize the quilt top and 2) protected the table beneath.  The Paint Sticks didn't seem to "bleed through" the fabric.

It's slow work.  I got the first tracing done in about 90 minutes.  That's the one in the middle.  I used the color Alizarin Red [top of post].   The 2nd one seemed to go a little faster -- I used a mixture of Burnt Sienna and Asphaltum, with copper highlights.

At first, I was thinking of just doing a quarter of the stencil in each corner as an anchor.  But the quilt top is bigger than I planned on.  Turns out 1 entire repeat of the complete stencil will fit in each corner.   I think I will do 3 more in the corners, and then fill in with fabric pain on stamps or other mark-makers.

As I worked, I realized I coulda/shoulda used different colors in different parts of the stencil.   I had a smallish orange block left over from Mande's quilt on which I tested the first colors (the oranges corresponded to the warm colors in this quilt).  This also let me try the stencil work/technique, get used to the brushes, etc.   I guess I can still add highlights to what's already done.  But then, I thought -- I want the stenciling to blend into the whole, not necessarily take over ...

The Paint Stick color does get lost in some of the darker patchwork.  Maybe I can go in with a little gold (or something) to highlight the edges? I'll have to think of something ...  My husband and friend Lynda suggested white when I was testing colors in PSE.  And I thought no way ...  but that is one color that would be visible in every block.  It just seems such a stark contrast as to NOT fit into the whole.  Maybe if that what was underneath and off-set a bit?

I know they say work in a ventilated area with Paint Sticks ...  but it really did not smell too bad.  I think I could take this project along to Quilt Camp in a few weeks.  I'll have a nice big rectangular table to work on there.  It's really the Do-Your-Own-Thang Retreat, so half the people are scrap-bookers there anyway.  No one will even batt an eye if I start doing surface design work on a quilt top.

Once those larger stencils are done, I may go back in with block prints and fabric pain to fill in some of the other areas.  I think that will go a lot faster than the slow work with the paint sticks.  For one thing, I can use a larger brush to fill in the stencil holes.  Or even make it more like a screen print, where you scrape the paint across the stencil holes. 

The wheels are turning in my brain ...  The Paint Stick stencil tracings need a new layer to help them stand out -- akin to a glaze with a kind of cracked ice texture over the top that lets the paint stick through.  I'll have to figure out what will stick to the Paint Stick after it's dried and set.  Does it have to be another Paint Stick product? or can I just use fabric paints? Or even acrylics?  Sponges and texture tools.  This could be fun!

Everything is a work in progress!  If this were some really special work-of-art quilt, I probably would have done more experimentation on other fabric.  But it's not, so I can afford to experiment.  By the last stencil, I'll have it all worked out!

Surface Design Possibilities for the Curry & Red Spice Quilt

 Red center; Sepia corners, smaller gold sides.

This one is getting closer to what I'm looking for ...   That gold should be a little more subtle.

I've been playing with layers in PhotoShop trying to visualize the next steps for this quilt.  I decided it wasn't ready as is for quilting yet.  It was a nice background for some additional work. 

My friend Sheila at Idaho Beauty reminded me of Cynthia St. Charles surface design work where she adds stamping and block prints to her quilts--to an amazing and wonderful effect!  Sheila counseled against the Shiva Paint Sticks as I'd probably want to wash this one day.  So I'm leaning towards dry-brushing with fabric paints.

I'm still trying to settle on the right colors ... burgundy and a forest green?  Translucent graphite?
I want these add-on colors / layers to be see-through, where the colors of the fabric beneath show through. It's meant to add an extra dimension, and to tie everything together.

 A few people suggested using white for the stencil design.  

I'm not crazy about this one, so it was good to trial it.

It really makes the background pieced quilt look washed out and pale.

This was one of the first combinations I tried -- Red with gold in the corners.

Not bad ... but not quite right either.

It will take a while to develop the right technique, so best not to start with the center mandala!

I need to do some measurements, too.  The stencil is supposed to be 23 inches across-- which sounds pretty big, until you think about covering a bed-size quilt.  That can fill in the center middle, and corners in quarters.  But what do I do with the spaces in between?

Somewhere I have a metal trivet that I purchased for rust dying.  But it's also been wonderful for stamping with acrylic paint.  I did some experiments with that years ago on a baby-shit brown piece of dyed fabric that I thought should have been destined for the trash.  Turns out that unappealing ocher color turned out to be a good neutral background for the stamped prints.  And the colors actually make it look like they are floating in 3D -- like ornaments hanging in the air.

Stencils & Stamps

Well--I've made some progress on the Fiber & Form Class. I made a few stencils and stamps ... The stencils are made out of paperboard (all that packaging is good for something!). The stamps are made of stick-backed foam.

These will all be used to add molding paste and texture to prepared canvas and muslin ... I just need to get back down to the basement in daylight for that operation ... Stay tuned!

Thrift Store Find : Stencils

I recently read Pepper Cory's book, Mastering Quilt Marking.

Check WorldCat for a library near you, or Amazon for more info.

One thing the author suggested was to invest in stencils to make the arduous task of quilt marking easier. In my mind, I thought, "Great! another way to spend money on my hobbies."

Well, I also believe in the idea that "Where there's a need, the Universe provides." You just have to put in your request for it to manifest. On a recent stroll through my favorite local thrift store, I discovered a big bag full of stencils for quilting and painting--probably 25 stencils for $3. What a bargain! The set included some classic stencils like feathers, cables, meandering, and cross-hatch.

Anytime I purchase 2nd-hand items from the thrift store or a rummage sale, I always feel good about having found a bargain and about the recycling aspect--saving usable items from the landfill. Beyond that, I usually start thinking about the past history of the item(s), about the owner(s) ... What were they like? Did the woman who collected all these stencils use them? Did she also find them at a thrift store, or did she collect them one-at-a-time Many have price stickers for a store I've never heard of : House of Stencils in Canada. Did someone give them to her? Why did she give them up? Did she die, or was she moved into a nursing home as her family had to pare down her belongings to what would fit into a single room? Did she just decide she no longer enjoyed quilting? Did she put them in a rummage sale herself and these didn't sell, so they were taken to the thrift store? Or was it something more glamorous than that --- She is traveling North America in an RV, and just doesn't have room for all this stuff anymore ... Maybe she decided to join the Peace Corps and is helping to plant trees, or delivering HIV/AIDS medications on a bicycle as a visiting health-care worker in Africa. I don't know ... I do know that I've got all the stencils I could want now.