Vintage Bouquet

For this challenge, I used lots of small vintage textiles, such as napkins and handkerchiefs.  For previous themes, I have used them in their natural state (white, cream, and pastel), but this time I spent two days painting them with diluted Setacolor paints. Cheryl Sleboda had written an article for Quilting Arts magazine in 2014, about getting the effects of dye with these paints, and I really like her method.

 After heat setting, I cut out shapes for baskets and flower petals.

When possible, I used the already-finished edges of the textiles to provide decorative details.  Where I had to cut into them, the acrylic paint kept the edges from raveling, and it also gave those pieces enough body to stand out dimensionally from the background.  I cut some motifs from old lace pieces, and also made origami-style flowers to "fill" five baskets.

Then I appliqued everything to a quilted black background, which reminds me of an old tole-painted tin.

Vintage Bouquets

 

 

The filet crochet and hem stitching on this vintage cotton napkin make interesting details on a flower basket.

 

These stems were cut from an old handkerchief, and then I added embroidery and flower buttons.

The pink flowers were cut from a damaged commercial doily, and the yellow-orange flower was made from an old collar.

I am very happy with this piece.  Back for our fourth challenge, Improvisation, I also attempted to make a bouquet, with fabric paints on a vintage linen, but I think this current piece is much more successful.

A similar subject, November 2018.

 

Using the paint as a thin wash, instead of in thick blobs, made the fabric much easier to handle and stitch through. It's hard to believe they all started out dull white, even stained.  Now they are the colors of my McCoy pottery collection!

Vintage pottery in soft colors.

And okay, I do not understand this blogger platform and how to publish!!  It tells me my location is in Australia, so I set it to publish at 10 am on Aug. 1, Australian time -- or so I thought!  Instead it was apparently scheduled for Texas time (where I actually live), so now I am publishing way late.  I try a different procedure every quarter and it never works. Sigh.

To see more views, and to read about all the resources I used, you can check out my home blog at textileranger.com.