I use all kinds of fabric in my fabric collage quilts. That part seems pretty obvious when you see pictures of them. What might not be obvious is that I often use lots of sheers, netting and other semi-transparent fabrics during the final stages of “editing” my pieces. When I figure I’ve got the image really close to being done, I start looking at where I can add sheers to help make the subject pop. It might be as simple as using a sparkle tulle to add some bling. Or I might use dark or light netting to emphasize shadows and highlights. The Throwback Thursday post below explains how I use them.
And if you’re interested in adding fabrics such as these to your stash, now is the perfect time to go to your local chain fabric store and discover what kinds of interesting nettings and so on they have on display, and on sale. Halloween presents a great opportunity to find spider web netting that’s silver on one side and purple on the other, or maybe flocked black bats on sheer black background, or even shiny blood droplets on a red sheer. And now the holiday season is upon us with all sorts of silver and gold sparkle sheers and tulles—some perhaps with snowflakes. They may not be the types of fabrics you usually shop for, but you never know when they’ll be useful for fabric collage!
This Saturday, in your regular blog post, I’ll be covering my two recent Portland, Maine Quilt Retreats, one an advanced student class and one and all-levels class. Toward the end of a class week, I bring up the use of tulle and other sheer fabrics. The advanced students, many whom were working on previously started quilts, were especially ready to consider using these translucent layers for finishing touches, though the all-levels class had a chance to try them out as well. So, be sure to check them all out!
Speaking of Retreats…
I know some of you are waiting to hear when I will open enrollment for my 2019 Maine Quilt Retreats. I announced the dates in a previous blog post, but fair warning, I’m planning on making some changes to that schedule. Since the time to iron everything out has not presented itself in the last couple months, further information will be coming in early December instead.
Thank you for your patience.
Susan, it is possible that I will be out of the country when you open up enrollment for your Maine workshops. Can a friend enroll me at the same time she enrolls? Pretty please, with a curl on top?