Angie E. Knowles

Work In Progress 5/22/13

angie — Thu, 23 May 2013 01:27:12 +0000

no progress on any projects this week, but i spent the day playing and stitching. i had a blast! no other obligations, just play. what a rare day it was. i just played and tried so many different things with free motion stitching & quilting.

but this was my favorite.

doodle mini quilt

this zentangle inspired mini quilt. i took a zentangle class several years ago and loved it. but put paper and pencil in my hand and i freeze up. a different story when i sit in front of the sewing machine. i’m right at home.

what do you think?

definitely plan to do more of these.

Tools of the Trade #2

angie — Wed, 22 May 2013 02:21:03 +0000

i’m always on the lookout for interesting and weird items that can be used for tools in making art. sometimes i know what the item was originally used for but most of the time i don’t. this piece is one where i have no clue what this item is or what it is use for.

mystery tool

but it works great for marbling. i like using it to swirl the colors around on the marbling size. here is another view of it.

what is this?

do you have a clue?

can you help me out?

Thursday’s Tips

angie — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:38:27 +0000

when trying to get things done, i hate little irritants. actually i hate big ones too. lately i’ve been spending time in the garden trying to get things done before it gets so darn hot and humid around here. one of my biggest pet peeve is water hoses that kink up. talk about a big pain in the patootie. and i hate very long hoses. they are too much to drag around and are bound to get kinked.

to avoid that i like to buy a quality hose. this one is my favorite.

no kinks

but they are pricey. worth it, but still pricey. recently i wanted to buy three 25 foot hoses, but the smallest they came was 50 ft. at over $25 each. ouch! that would have been over $75.

so instead i purchased a 100 foot hose for $38. then i purchased these.

hose repair kits

cost–$6 for the set. i purchased 3 sets for $18.

male & female parts

so for $58 and about 20 minutes of work, i get three 33 foot hoses.

gotta love that.

Work In Progress 5/15/13

angie — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:27:17 +0000

continuing to work on the multi-technique art quilt. last week i marbled the fabric, screen printed and painted the flower. this week i’ve added some thread sketching.

marbled flower with stitching

and a close look

a little stitching

and some stitching on a leaf

stitched leaf

now to decide how to quilt the background

Containing it all

angie — Tue, 14 May 2013 02:06:33 +0000

when i first started dyeing fabric and marbling fabric i did it fast and furious. and in the process i accumulated a lot of dyed and marbled fabric. a lot. since i had not given any thought to how to store all these beautiful pieces of fabric, i just stuffed it all in drawers and a laundry hamper.

laundry hamper

like this one.

but that does not make it easy to find anything. very frustrating.

a jumbled mess

so, i came up with a plan to get this mess under control once and for all.

Studio Snippits 5/11/13

angie — Sun, 12 May 2013 02:34:06 +0000

i spent almost all day working in the studio. one big final push to find a home for everything and to add a few pretty touches. since i’ve started art quilting, i’ve needed to find a home for quite a lot of new supplies. and i really love puttering around in my studio, i find it relaxing.

the final thing for the day was this pretty touch. i’ve started adding little plants around the studio. this sure adds a nice homey touch.

turquoise planter corner

Work In Progress Wednesday

angie — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:07:39 +0000

just wanted to share a quick look at what i’m working on now. this piece is an experiment for me. i want to find a way to combine all the process i like in one piece–marbling, screen printing, painting and stitching.

painted flower

this is lightweight silk that i did a ghost marbled print. the ghost print is a second print and is very subtle, which is what i wanted. before marbling, i masked off the flower with a freezer paper stencil.

then i screen printed the flower on and painted. almost finished painting then will layer and stitch. can’t wait for the final results.

Tools of the Trade Tuesday #1

angie — Wed, 08 May 2013 01:28:00 +0000

one thing i learned in the Air Force–the right tool for the job. i live by that in the studio. having the right tool makes work and play so much more fun. but sometimes i don’t want to spend big bucks for those tools. so the other day at the thrift store, i noticed this

straw mini broom

and i immediately thought of marbling tools.

only $1

and it was only $1.

making small marbling whisks was so easy. i started pulling the straws out. the first ones were a little hard, but once i got started, they came out so easy.

i made just one first to make sure that it would work. worked perfectly. so i made 7 more.

7 bundles

making them could not have been easier. wrap rubber bands at the top. piece of cake.

wrapped with rubber band

the end results

7 marbling whisks

now to use them in the next marbling session

Studio Snippits 4 May 2013

angie — Sun, 05 May 2013 01:19:44 +0000

i have so many neat corners in my studio. and i’m always finding such neat things. such as this drawer unit. one of my students has a booth at an antique mall and she finds such great pieces. at one of our class sessions she showed me this

metal drawers

and i had to have it. all crusty and rusty. just the way i like it. i’m having so much fun filling the drawers.

rusty and crusty

the only downside to finding such neat pieces? it requires a complete re-arrangement of the studio to fit it in. but this piece was well worth 2 days of moving things around.

drawer heaven

don’t you think?

Watercolor On Silk

angie — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:20:47 +0000

in March I took a workshop with Juanita Yeager–watercolor flowers on silk and i’m so glad i did. this was an absolutely wonderful class and the results are just beautiful, if i must say so.

yellow & pink watercolor flower

this is basic tube watercolors on silk broadcloth. i’ve never been a big fan of silk, but this silk broadcloth has a texture closer to cotton that the typical slippery silk and i liked it.

watercolor flower close up

here is a little close up of the stitching. i am really loving the free motion stitching. kinda got carried away on this piece. it was so buckled that i had to steam it 3 times to flatten it out.

beads and stitching

another close up view. decided to play with some beads. not sure if i really like them or not. should have used a different thread to sew the beads on.

as you can see, i really laid on the stitching. i’ll be trying this technique again.

watercolor flower on silk broadcloth

one final look.