Wednesday, October 09, 2019

Embellishing To POP a project

Have you ever worked on something and then realized it was not making you happy?   Y'all know that I love lots of color.  When I added some redwork embroidery to my current project I thought it would stand alone.  But when I saw it there beside the applique,  it looked too bland, tame, uninteresting.   As the project was already quilted,  I needed to step outside the box a bit and find a solution.

There are so many ways to embellish fabric, but it becomes trickier when you have already completed the project.  So I took a wild chance and pulled out some colored pencils and started coloring it.
You can see that these are Derwent Inktense pencils.  The pigment is actually an ink so it will be permanent once I heat set it.   To intensify the color (and insure that it will be permanent)  I used a couple of artist paint brushes to apply some textile medium to the colored areas. 
The textile medium makes the ink pigment flow and blend. I used it very sparingly to avoid bleeding past the embroidered lines. 

Here is the completed stocking.
The background fabrics are lovely Island Batik neutrals.


I love the soft hand-painted look that I get when I use these pencils.  In fact there is only one thing that I don't love about them.  The tin doesn't stay closed well on its own.  So I do this to store them.
Two simple rubber banks hold the lid on the tin so that I can pop it in a bag for an "on the go" project without worrying about the tin popping open and spilling my lovely pencils.

Now, this project has to cure and dry - so I will leave it for a day and then heat set it. After that I will do a photo session and post this project so that you can see my new Christmas table toppe

Until Next Time,  
Stay Creative 


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

12 comments:

Frog Quilter said...

Wow you fixed it up very nicely! That’s what I love about quilting, there is always a creative solution.

Quilting Gail said...

You are very creative!!!
I can't wait to see the finished project!
Happy Quilting! :-)
quiltinggail@yahoo.ca

Karen said...

This looks great - I have never tried the intense pencils before. The effect is lovely.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

LOVE your solution for a little POP of color - I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project - ;))

Barbara said...

Very pretty, indeed! I’ve never used these myself. I like the faint look they give!

Lyndsey said...

I love the effect of the pencils, they give a great result.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

What is the textile medium that you use? I need to learn how to use these for an upcoming project.

Emily said...

Love the pop to the stocking!!!! Looks really great! I also appreciate your solution to the tin not staying closed :) I'm going to have to look into some of those Inktense pencils! Fun!

For the love of geese said...

Coloring certainly made a big difference, I can't wait to see if as a wholde. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.

Jennifer Thomas said...

Wow Gene! I love the way you colored the stocking. It really stands out. I still love to color anything and everything. I can see I need some of those inktense pencils to play with! Have a fabulous day!

Carla said...

I can't wait to see. I really want to try ink.

Dena@LivingWaterQuilter.com said...

It looks great. Intense inks are on my list to try.Thanks for the reminder