Fabric Collage

I started this yesterday at Cindy Rinne's Plants, Seeds and Roots workshop. It was a small class and we had a blast. She had us start by spreading fabric out on the floor so that we can see what works and what doesn't from a distance. Then she taught us a bunch of techniques for painting, stamping and constructing smaller embellished segments. After lunch, Cindy set us free to meander.

I gravitated towards the paints and inks. Note those round, nearly perfect circles. I did that freehand. Cindy was trained as a painter and she brought to class some really good paint brushes. Good tools make the job so much easier. I noted down the specs of the brushes so I can buy them. Stuff diet or not, I must have them.

When I returned to my station to begin cutting and layering fabrics, I had trouble with the composition. Cindy makes it look so easy during her demonstrations, but it really took some thought on my part. Once I had the courage to work with smaller pieces, it became easier.

Today, I set up my sewing machine's BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) foot and stitched down all the (raw-edged) pieces. Cindy did all her demo sewing free motion with a darning foot. Even with BSR, I would have benefited from using a walking foot on the straight parts. Eventually, I became more used to the BSR. In fact, I even stippled a couple of the patches. I will let you click on the photo above to see if I was successful.

Cindy uses beads and yarns and all sorts of embellishments. I selected a few yarns from the bags she brought to class, but am not sure if I will use them. I am not sure if that is me.

She also serges her edges and then covers the serged edges with trim. I would like work in such a free style. ...must resist the urge to do mitered hand-sewn binding... Or maybe not.