Collage Play with Crowabout ~ Week #51

This week's collage sheet at Collage Play with Crowabout was the nudge I needed to get my Halloween juices flowing. I have been in a state of denial regarding the end of summer and therefore none too anxious to begin creating Halloween inspired art. But the wonderful collage images that Nancy B.of Crowabout supplied in this week's challenge certainly made me more receptive to the chill in the air that is approaching and all the fun and beauty that the Fall brings.

Collage available in my Etsy shop.

© Nancy Lefko

"Mix It Up with Melange" Challenge ~ NAUGHTY

It wasn't much of a stretch for me to find an image to use in a NAUGHTY collage for the "Mix it Up" challenge. More than a few of my lovely vintage ladies might be referenced as such.

Please stop by the Melange Team blog and join in on the "Mix it Up" challenge....we'd love to see what inspires you.

Collage available in my Etsy shop.

© Nancy Lefko

"Lofty" Work

Our older son was fascinated by the loft of all the bits and pieces layered on the prairie flower panel I was working on last evening. He got out the camera and snapped a few shots.
He had a hard time imagining how I know all these raised ... lofty ... floating pieces will look when they're flattened out with netting and lots of quilting.
Really, I don't know. However, after creating many pieces with my "ortwork" collage technique for a number of years, I have a pretty good idea what combinations will give the effect I'm after. This piece is now layered and pinned, so it's back to the machine work.

Center of Prairie Flowers DONE

The five panels down the center of the Prairie Flower installation piece are completely quilted with finished edges. The last steps for them will be to lightly quilt a plain piece of canvas to within a 1/2" of the edges and then to upholster them with staples to the mounting boards. Also, a bit of highlighting with oil stick pastels may be in order to pop a few things forward ... such as the main stems of those flowers growing from one panel into the next.

I got a bit more bold with Elvis. He appears at what will be my eye level in the very center of this piece. I wonder how often he'll be spotted when he's installed in the lobby of the hospital.
Next, the three panels between the finished top and bottom ones of the vertical row to left of this set will be worked on from now through the Labor Day weekend.

FABRIC ART COLLAGE ~ A Book Review

Fabric Art Collage by Rebekah Meier is a wonderful resource book with a wealth of over 40 mixed media techniques.

Divided into nine sections, this book is well-organized and reader-friendly. The full color photographs showcase not only finished projects and techniques, but also key steps along the way.

Beginning with the section entitled TOOLS AND SUPPLIES, Rebekah offers an extensive and thorough overview of a wide range of products including fabrics, paints, dyes, inks, adhesives, tools, accessories and more. There is truly something for everyone; Rebekah's vast experience with a wide array of products and materials is evident.

PAINTING AND STAMPING illustrates 13 techniques for adding design to fabric. Concise instructions are given for each technique.

Eight techniques for CREATING BASE MATERIAL show how to combine materials such as fusible web, paper, Lutradur (a non-woven translucent web) and more.

CREATING TEXTURE offers five methods, including needle-felting and machine stitchery, utilizing a wide variety of materials.

Sections entitled EMBELLISHMENTS and FIBERS AND HAND EMBROIDERY offer up ideas and approaches for adding extra “punch” to your fabric collages.

HOT TOOLS explains how using the Creative Textile Tool, an iron or a heat embossing tool can fuse, emboss or etch a variety of materials to be used in your collages.

Rebekah demonstrates DISTRESSING materials with tea, coffee, dye, ink and paint and she offers guidance in ASSEMBLING THE LAYERS. A focus on creating composition, balance and construction of the finished piece rounds out the techniques presented in this resource book.

Five different quilt projects are found at the close of Fabric Art Collage along with a gallery of 17 beautiful examples of mixed media/fabric projects. Finally, the materials referenced throughout the book are listed in the “resources section” with detailed source information.

The author suggests creating a “techniques swatch book” as you move through the book. I think this is a wonderful idea and would make for a handy reference.

Fabric Art Collage will be a “go to” resource when you are looking to master a new technique for use in your mixed media projects. The techniques range from the simple to the more complex, thereby satisfying the novice or the experienced artist.

This book is available through C&T Publishing.

FaveCrafts is giving away a copy of this awesome book. Visit their site and enter every day, if you like, to increase your chance of winning. Contest ends September 8, 2009. Good luck!

Image © C&T Publishing

Collage Play with Crowabout #50 ~ A Celebration

This is a very special week at Collage Play with Crowabout. It is Week #50 and worthy of a celebration! Nancy B.of Crowabout has outdone herself offering three fabulous sheets for collage play. "Players" may submit up to three collages and in doing so be eligible for an awesome prize...a "seat" in Nancy's upcoming workshop. Well, say no more...I set to work...or shall I say "play."


The hardest collage to come up with was the third and for a while I thought perhaps I was stumped. And so I sat with the collage elements for a bit and slowly found a line from a song by "Stealer's Wheel," repeating in my head.

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right..."

Everything came together in the collage pictured below.


Special thanks to Nancy B. for the world of fun she offers up every week.

Collages available in my Etsy shop. **the great circus and beautiful dreamer SOLD**

song lyric © Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan
collages © Nancy Lefko

Loving My Juki

I'm loving this machine! The quilting is going fast and there's little disruption with just a few breaking threads. This is taking a bit of getting used to after not being able to stitch more than an inch or two without that happening on the Brother. One little "buggaboo" on this wonderful machine is the automatic needle threader. I'm not finding that part easy to operate. I finally dug up one of those little silver wire needle threaders to speed getting the thread through needle along.

As much as I like this new machine, I had liked the Brother. It worked well up until it started punching loops of top thread to the back and then shredding it. I had it professionally cleaned, oiled, and greased. There was a minor improvement. On the recommendation of quilting friends (in particular, Loretta Painter), I ordered this one. The Brother will be taken to the dealer it was purchased from when I get back to Tennessee to see if the problem can be fixed. I don't know what I'll do with it then. In less than a day I'm spoiled by the Juki.