Category Archives: Giveaway

Painting with Fabric

I have been scanning some old quilt related photos. “Old” as in before camera phones so we didn’t know how good (or not) the photo was until it was developed, so please keep that in mind as you look at these images.

I got into watercolor style quilts after meeting Gai Perry, the guest artist at our local quilt show. Oh my gosh, it was fantastic to see her quilts in person. I had a copy of her book – Impressionist Quilts by Gai Perry (Soft Cover Book 1995), but I think I gave it to a quilt guild. It is still available in a few places online.

I’ll admit that some of my pieces do stretch the technique a bit or are combined with other quilt/patchwork styles. I don’t have any of these pieces and didn’t keep good records. Some were finished and sold or given away and others were sold as tops only.

This was my favorite and I think the most successful.

I loved the challenge of finding fabrics that would “reach” to the next for a smooth transition.

Where the contrasts come together to create a hard line can make a good frame or shape.

For my parents – Mom liked teddy bears and dad accidentally collected pigs.

I took an easy road to finishing by using large triangles in the corners of this piece. I did finish this and my folks kept it on the back of their rocking (the grandbabies) chair. I don’t have a photo of it finished but I did hand quilt it; that was before I did machine quilting.

My tiniest watercolor sold at a guild auction and was won by one of my Continuing Ed teachers.

Cat on a Mat (top only). I have mixed feeling about this piece but it was fun to use all those cat fabrics.

With the piece below – the fabrics don’t “reach” into each other, so technically not a watercolor but still has a little bit of that feel. Made before I bought Gai’s book.

The next two photos are the same quilt but the first one shows that it is quilted (hand quilted). The upper area in part was inspired by Margaret Millers Block Bender style and the lower right area is watercolor. My thought was an abstract quilt of birds flying over the ocean. A lot of hours of play/work!

Below is not a watercolor quilt but a cathedral window that my late aunt made for one of her daughters. She came out for a visit and I gave her hundreds of squares of fabric (I think 4.5″) and this is just one of the quilts she made with some of them.

Now for the sweepstakes giveaway…

The winner of the 6.5 inch squares is Julie K.

and the winner of the hand painted fabric pieces is Cherie M.

Fabric winners please email your mailing information to me and I will send your fabric as soon as possible. If I don’t hear from you within five days I will draw again.

I’m wishing all of you a safe and happy New Year, with time to art around!

Thanks and Fabric Giveaways

I’m so happy that I have been able to share my artwork, thank you for supporting me and commenting. I’ve learned a lot from many of you too.

I received two surprises not too long ago, one was an email from the kind person who purchased one of my painted and stitched panel. Below is the project she made with it; prefect for this season. Thank you Lynda! I love seeing how others incorporate my art into theirs.

The other surprise was happy mail from Karen G, who sent me a large piece of her own eco dyed fabric. The background is more a taupe color than shown in the photo but the photo does show the wonderful texture she achieved. Thank you, Karen. I just don’t know how I’ll ever be able to cut into it! If you have a question for Lynda or Karen leave a comment and hopefully they will see it.

A couple days ago I painted fabric using some different objects and techniques, and though I did film the processes I haven’t had time to edit the video. I hope you can get an idea what the fabrics look like from this photo. The smallest piece is approximately 18″ x 12″ and the largest 19 1/2″ x 15″. The darker blue is 28″ x 8 1/2″.

I will be giving the newly painted fabric and 6 1/2″ squares of commercial fabrics away to two separate winners later this month. The winner’s names will be posted in the December 29 blog post. I hope to share the painted fabric video next blog post (but I’ll be getting my booster soon, so we will see).

The commercial squares will be six pieces of a rainbow of colors along with some black and whites. Here is a sampling… Pinks, reds, and greens.

Sweepstakes/giveaway begins Dec.15, 2021 and ends at 9pm (Pacific Time), Dec. 27, 2021.

To enter: You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person. NOTE: (If applicable) If your name is drawn as the first winner it will be removed for the second drawing.

Leave a comment that you would like to win the painted fabric either/or the fabric squares and include your first and last name (or last initial).

After December 27^th I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winners on my next blog post.

Winner/s will email me their mailing information and I will mail the fabric packages ASAP. If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

A Fix and Giveaway

This little piece has been on my design wall unfinished for a while. It was a cut of a larger piece of hand painted fabric that I free motion quilted just for fun. I can’t even remember if I filmed while I was quilting it. I couldn’t figure out how to finish it, to fix it until a few days ago.

I’m happy to say I fixed it and you can see what I did here…

The November giveaway, sweepstakes item is this little leaf decorated box. It’s hard pressed paper and only the top is decorated. I used painted (mop-up) fabric leaves, a couple papers, burned matches, grave vine, and gold paint spatters. It measures 6 1/2″ x 4″ x 2 5/8″ tall. It could be used as is or it could be painted, papered, or embellished in a multitude of other ways. But there’s more… I’ll be putting a little something extra inside the box.

If you are interested in a chance to win the leaf box with surprise inside just follow the rules below. The winner’s name will be announced on my December 1, 2021 blog post.

Sweepstakes/giveaway begins November 10, 2021 and ends at 9pm (Pacific Time) November 28, 2021.

To enter: You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person. Leave a comment that you would like to win the leaf box with surprise, and include your first and last name (or last initial).

I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winner on my Dec 1 blog post. Winner will email me their mailing information and I will mail the leaf box with surprise ASAP. If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

Hummingbird Cards and Giveaway

I’m happy to say a great group of enthusiastic students worked on their own hummingbird notecards in my class, at Visions Art Museum, this past Sunday. Here are some of their works in progress. I thank them for allowing me to share…

In keeping with the hummingbird theme the giveaway for October is one set of four fabric/fiber hummingbird notecards. They will be new, not ones that I have posted anywhere. Here are examples of some of my original hummingbird notecards.

If you haven’t already, you may want to subscribe to my blog email list so you won’t miss the giveaway winner announcement.

Rules and how to enter –

Sweepstakes/giveaway begins October 6, 2021 and ends at 9pm (Pacific Time) Oct. 23, 2021. You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person.

Leave a comment that you would like to win the hummingbird notecard set, and include your first and last name (or last initial).

I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winner/s on my October 25 blog post. Winner/s will email me their mailing information and I will mail the hummingbird notecard set ASAP. If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

Sharing and Giveaway

I’m part of a (primarily) local quilter’s email newsletter started and run by a friend (done out of the goodness of her heart and to keep up her typing/computer skills). There are over 800 people on her list and she allows us to advertise our used quilt/sewing related items, as well as, list newsletters from guilds and individuals, news of our classes, art sales, blog posts, and videos. She hasn’t been able to send out the newsletter for some time. Many of the people who would get my blog post through her aren’t getting them now, so… I’m telling you this because if you are interested in winning a giveaway item/s your odds are a lot better right now, it’s also a good reason to subscribe to my blog, and not miss a notification!

There are five items in the giveaway. Please read and follow all of the instructions below. Note that actual item colors may be different than they appear here and none of these items are washable.

First up (1.) Balance and the Brass Ring (8″ x 10″) is made using hand dyed fabric (fused), painted and burnt lutradur, some free-motion stitching (no-binding edge), rings (which may or may not actually be brass), and a few embroidery stitches.

2. Stamped and Lutradur Leaves (14″ x 14″) started as a painted piece of fabric, then pressed a real leaf in gold paint and then in black, which didn’t work very well, next I stitched and free-motion quilted it. I made the leaves long ago and I kept pulling them out, looking at them, and putting them away again (know how that goes?). They’re made from painted and melted lutradur and are just hand stitched on (knots show on back – what was I thinking!), they could easily be removed if you wanted to bind the piece or add it to another project.

3. Reflections (7.25″ x 10″) Painted pole wrapped and hand painted (copper metallic) wholecloth. This piece was made for a challenge and the company mounted it onto black mat board for display, using a single piece of tape across the top edge, it could be removed from the mat board but it doesn’t have a hanging sleeve so I’m leaving it on the board, (it is labeled).

4. Torrey Pines postcard/mini art quilt. Made on Timtex, it is hand painted sky fabric with free-motion quilting and satin stitch edge. It has a white fabric back.

5. Flower Sampler (approximately 9″ x 10.25″) is just a little piece of painted fabric with flowers made using Neocolor II wax pastels. A few years ago I shared the how-to video, here it is again.

Here is another way I have used Lutradur…

Giveaway Instruction/Rules –

Sweepstakes/giveaway begins August 25, 2021 and ends at 9pm (Pacific Time) September 4, 2021.

To enter: You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person. *NOTE: (If applicable) If your name is drawn as the first winner it will be removed for the second drawing. *If there are more prizes than entrants your name may be drawn more than once.

Leave a comment stating which item/s (1 – 5) you would like to win and include your first and last name (or last initial).

On September 4, 2021 I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winner/s on my next blog post. Winner/s will email me (fiberdesignsbyann@gmail.com) their mailing information and I will mail the item/s ASAP. If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

It Looks Like Watermelon to Me

I’ve put together two little fabric packets. One (#1) is white, blue, and red and the second (#2), what I’m calling watermelon/lavender, for the July giveaway/sweepstakes. Let me know which one (or either) you’d like a chance to win by following the rule instructions below.

Here’s the How-to video showing how I painted the watermelon colored fabrics that is in giveaway packet #2.

**Fabric packet #1** The flower pieces are 13″x10″ and 15 1/2″x8 1/2″, the Arashi/Shibori is 22 1/2″x 17 1/2″

**Fabric packet #2** Flower piece is 11 1/2″x16 1/2″, Lavender/crackle is11″x11 1/4″, Rope wrapped is 16″x12 1/2″

Sweepstakes/giveaway begins July 21, 2021 and ends at 9pm (Pacific Time) July 26, 2021.

To enter: You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person. NOTE: (If applicable) If your name is drawn as the first winner it will be removed for the second drawing.

Leave a comment that you would like to win – #1 (white, blue, red) either/or #2 (watermelon/lavender) and include your first and last name (or last initial).

On July 27, 2021 I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winner/s on my next blog post. Winner/s will email me their mailing information and I will mail the fabric packet ASAP. If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

First Responders and a Winner

Visions Art Museum had a Call for Entries with the theme First Responders. This exhibit will be online only and I haven’t heard yet if my piece has been selected, I’m sharing it here.

I had many ideas but I got a late start so I went with the simplest one. It’s only about 15″ square, which was doable for me even though I’m rusty. The first image I shared on my previous post, it is fused without the vessel. If you follow me on Instagram you may already know what the surprise vessel is.

The quilt sandwiched and the vessel being auditioned in this quick shot with poor lighting.

I had the idea of using a mask for the vase/vessel long before the main design. In making the vessel I discovered that a (too) hot iron would melt the mask more than I had anticipated. Thankfully, I had it sandwiched between parchment paper. I actually like the “aged” look it gave the mask. I removed one ear strap and used the other as the bottom edge and feet. I used embroidery floss with a close blanket stitch around it for a bit more interest.

I free motion quilted/thread played, echoing the flowers and greens, and wrote “Thank you First Responders.” The writing is subtle, I didn’t want it to be the first thing the viewer noticed. I quilted green in the center of the yellow flowers later.

I make tiny double layered binding with butted corners, it’s not fast but it is still my favorite way to finish any quilt. Knowing that my hand is not 100% yet I didn’t want to try to stitch through my usual painted fabric so I used a softer, thinner fabric (white muslin, I think) and painted two pieces.

Another favorite thing is to “break” the binding where the quilt design has an obvious break – in this quilt it is between the table top and the main design. I got the fabric wet and used an old vinyl shower curtain under it. I laid and smoothed the fabric out and then painted it; one to contrast with the main area piece and the other to mostly match the wood-look table top. Then I crunched the wet fabrics lengthwise to give some added interest.

I rush dried this pieces, which means I let them be for a short time and then heat set before rinsing them out with water to remove any paint, then squeezed as much moisture out and ironed them completely dry. They really lightened up.

The vessel was stitched on after the binding was finished.

I always add side binding first then leave a one inch hang over on the top and bottom binding edges, which gets trimmed down. The already cut fabric pieces I painted were almost too short, so in this photo I was just checking by laying them in place… Machine stitched the side bindings first. I love those clips, they hold the binding for the hand stitching with no more pin stabs!

I’m please with the finished piece which I’ve titled – Mask for Them. The exhibit should be online beginning May 3, 2021, with or without my piece I’m sure it will be a great exhibit. VAM has wonderful online shows, events, and activities.

Thanks to those of you who entered for a chance to win the Painted Tree fabric… Congratulations to Karen G, you are the winner! Please email your mailing information.

I hope you’ll stop by again for more fiber/mixed media art and a May giveaway.

Painted Tree Fabric Giveaway

I’m learning to use my hand and arm again but I had no idea it would be such a challenge. I’ve always said making art is my therapy but now it is literally my physical therapy!

I enjoyed painting this tree fabric but I wasn’t sure what I would do with it so I decided to give it away. The fabric is 100% cotton and measures approximately 17 3/4″ x 16 3/4″ and it’s been washed (no soap) and pressed dry.

If you are interested in a chance to win this painted tree fabric follow the rules below. If you know anyone you think may be interested in a chance to win this fabric, feel free to share this post and video.

Sweepstakes/giveaway begins April 14, 2021 and ends at 9pm (Pacific Time) April 26, 2021.

To enter: You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person. Leave a comment that you would like to win the Painted Tree fabric and include your first and last name (or last initial).

On April 27, 2021 I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winner/s on my next blog post. Winner will email me their mailing information and I will mail the Painted Tree fabric ASAP. PLEASE NOTE – If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

Painted Fabric & Giveaway Winner

One reason my giveaways came about was because I discovered many things I made that had been stashed way. This fabric is a piece I discovered in the dig.

I have no idea what I was thinking! The blue and the yellow look like one of my painted sky fabrics and I think I must have set the dry fabric down on a piece of plastic tarp that had small brown puddles on it. Then for some reason I did a rubbing with a black Neocolor ll wax pastel. Looking at it here it looks like a swarm of bees, LOL.

I hot iron, pressed it to remove as much pastel as possible and scrubbed it in hot water with a little laundry detergent, figuring I had nothing to lose. Then pressed it dry, the above photo is that result. Then I flipped it over to see the softer side.

The spots made me think of bananas, giraffes, and spotted orchids. We have an orchid blooming on our front porch right now so that became my inspiration.

I drew a very rough (aka not at all accurate) drawing and traced it onto the back/soft side of the fabric. I’m going to use a simple embroidery stitch and probably black floss as soon as I’m able.

I had to use carbon paper, I couldn’t see the line drawing through the fabric on my light-box.

This is, of course, the not yet able part. I get more x-rays later this week and trade this black one in for a new model.

Thanks to all who entered the hexagon patches giveaway, there were eleven entrants.

And the winner is – Jodi Chrisman. Please email your mailing information to me at fiberdesignsbyann@gmail and I’ll send the box ASAP.

I’m hoping to have some sort of a painted fabric giveaway/s next month. Please subscribe to get notifications.

Hexagons and Giveaway

In my continuing quest to find any art I may be able to do during my recovery I have discovered many limitations. While cutting out these small hexagons, first with scissors and then rotary cutter, I was pushing and moving in ways I shouldn’t have been. Oh, boy, did I suffer the following day. Lesson learned.

Anyway, this is what I made. Thanks to my funky embroidery hoop stand (made from a broken lamp, it has been a great stand and the price was right!), I was able to do a bit of embroidery on the (raw edge) hexagons to hold them. I would have liked to embroider around the all the edges but sadly I couldn’t. They’re far from perfect and fraying but I’m fine with that.

I used a glue stick to hold them in place, which didn’t work very well. I didn’t have applique glue and I knew I wouldn’t be able to embroider through fusible at this time.

I’ll be seeing if I can still paint fabric and let you know how that goes.

The giveaway… A box of colorful hexagon patches – at least 200. They are approximately 1.75 inches side to side, 2 inches point to point, and each side is 1 inch.

Entry and rules –

The Hexagon patches sweepstakes/giveaway begins Wednesday, March 10, 2021 and ends at 4pm (Pacific Time) on March 16, 2021.

To enter: You must live in the US only (no international entries). One entry per person. You must leave a comment on this blog post stating you’d like to win the Hexagon patches and include your first and last name (or last initial). Subscribe to my blog to get the notification post with the winner’s name.

On March 16, 2021 I’ll use a random drawer and announce the winner on my next blog post. Winner will email me their mailing information and I will mail the hexagon patches ASAP. If I don’t hear from the winner within five days of drawing date, I will run another random draw. Good luck!

Fiber Designs by Ann

Fiber art Design, Instruction, Sales