Thursday, June 30, 2011

Time for a change....


Today I spent the day in the Thread Shed...




I emptied out cupboards...





I emptied out drawers...





Two cupboards were removed from the room...





One new cupboard was moved in...





I am busy sorting......





I am busy organizing...





I am creating a new working environment for myself...

It has been over 10 years since
I moved into the Thread Shed...

It's.......Time for a Change.

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view the Thread Shed

CLICK HERE to view my Portrait Quilts

CLICK HERE to view my Challenge Quilts


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Clean Up Cloth.......Sun Printing

My favorite part of working with Textile Paints
is creating
Clean Up Cloths


Click Image to Enlarge:


Clean Up Cloth

Last week, at the end of a painting session, I put all of the
leftover paint on a white piece of fabric.

Sometimes I wet the white fabric first, and sometimes I don't.
This time I left the white fabric dry, then poured the leftover
paint all over it and scrunched up the fabric.
I also sprinkled a little kosher salt on top.

The secret is to put it out in the sun.
That is when the magic happens.
Allow it to completely dry.

When you open it up you have a lovely
batik-like fabric.
Press it with a hot iron to set the paint.

Stewart Gill offers an excellent line of textile paints.
However, so does Pebeo/Setacolors
They all perform well for Sun Printing on Fabric.

I have no affiliation with these products.

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Sunprinting

CLICK HERE to view Rust Dyeing

CLICK HERE to view Flour Paste Resist


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Adventures in Portrait Quilts........Class Slideshow

Saturday found me in Philomath, Oregon at
JanniLou Creations Quilt Shop (JLC)

JLC has an ongoing series of classes:
Adventures in Art Quilting

Today I lead a class in
Adventures in Portrait Quilts

Check out the slideshow below to see how our day went:


Click to play this Smilebox slideshow
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This digital slideshow created with Smilebox


Many Thanks to my students for sharing their art and to JLC for their beautiful classroom space.

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Photoshop Elements Portrait Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portrait Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Cord Bound Edge Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Thread Information

CLICK HERE to view my Art Quilts


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn



Friday, June 17, 2011

Portrait Class......Saturday


I should have been home packing for class tomorrow,
but I spent the day working cattle...



I do love working with the animals,
so I rarely miss the spring round up.



We arrived home at 3:30...


" Gunnr "
Neocolor II Portrait on Fabric


I went right out to the Thread Shed and began organizing and
packing for the portrait class tomorrow.

7:30 pm I walked in the door and started dinner.

It is now 8:30 and I am showered and heading to bed.

See you in class in the morning!

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view my Portraits on Fabric

CLICK HERE to view Photoshop Elements Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Tutorial


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn


Monday, June 13, 2011

Taking time to....Celebrate !


The Thread Shed has been oddly quiet and still
for the last few weeks...




I haven't touched a spool of thread or a yard of fabric





I don't even miss the hum of the sewing machine...





We are gathering together for a special event...





Brad, Heath, LuAnn
Celebrating our son's college graduation !





The back yard is full of family and friends...





Nicholas, LuAnn, Heath

We are all so proud of you HEATH

YOU DID IT !

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view the Thread Shed

CLICK HERE to view my Art Quilts

CLICK HERE to view the Quilting Arts Calendar


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full of Celebrations,
LuAnn

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Gunnr........Mr. February


Meet Mr. February

Click Images to Enlarge:


" Gunnr "
by LuAnn Kessi

We just found out Gunnr is February in the
2012 Quilting  Calendar
Theme: Feeling Pet-ty

Our son, Nicholas, brought Gunnr home 4 years ago on his birthday.
It is extra fun that Gunnr is Mr. February as
Nicholas was born in February.




Gunnr's portrait quilt was colored and painted on white fabric,
then machine quilted.




Gunnr does not seem to be overly impressed with his quilt,
but I am just tickled .






CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts


CLICK HERE to view Gunnr

CLICK HERE to view my Portrait Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Adventures in Portrait Quilts Class


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn

Monday, June 6, 2011

Neocolor II Portrait Class......Photoshop Tutorial

Several students have requested help altering images
for portrait quilts.

If you are taking my
I will provide an image printed on fabric for you.

However, you are welcome to print your own if you prefer.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial
Neocolor II Portrait

Preparing the image to print on fabric:


This is the image to be altered in Photoshop
American Goldfinch





Open your Photoshop Elements Program





Photoshop Elements 4
The program is open and ready to go !





Click on.......File
Scroll down & click on.......Open



A new window will open:


Choose the American Goldfinch image





The American Goldfinch image has been opened in Photoshop



Top right hand side
Click on.......Standard Edit:


Click on.......Styles & Effects





Scroll down and double click........Photocopy
This will remove all of the color from the image




The image is now in black & white:


The image may be too large for the window...



At the bottom left side of the window...


Click on...... 100%





Click on........Fit on Screen





The image will now fit in the window



There are sliders on the top right side...


You can adjust the Detail & Darkness
of the black and white image if necessary.

Then, Click.......OK





Your altered image is complete



You may need to crop the image:


Click on........Image
Scroll down and click........Crop





The software crops the photo
(see the darker areas, they will be cut off)





I moved the cropped areas so the bird is in the center.
(notice the dark areas have changed from above)




Click.......Crop





The cropping is complete on this image





You need to check the Image Size
This will enable you to print the proper size image onto your fabric.
Click on.....Image
Scroll down to.....Resize
Slide over and click on.....Image Size



This new window will open up:


Look for:
Document Size
Width & Height





If you are printing your image onto
8.5 x 11 inch commercial fabric sheets,
put 11 in for the width.
The height will automatically set itself.

When I print on my widepath printer
I set the width and height for 13 x 19 inches.





SAVE your new altered image





CLOSE the new altered image file





This is the new altered image icon
on the desk top

Your altered image is now ready to be printed on fabric.

You can use commercial fabric sheets purchased from your local quilt shop, fabric or craft stores.
You can also iron fabric to the shiny/waxy side of freezer paper and run that through the printer.


CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts


CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portrait Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Full Curl Portrait Quilt

CLICK HERE to view Zinnia Portrait Quilt

CLICK HERE to view the Portraits on Fabric Class Slideshow


May Your Bobbin Always Be Full of Portraits,
LuAnn