Clara Belle - Thread Painting for Island Batik and Aurifil Thread 3

Clara Belle the Cow

I might be out of control. This is the start of the third art quilt for this month’s Island Batik Thread Painting Challenge where I’m combining Island Batik Fabrics with Aurifil thread and Derwent Art's Inktense Pencils. I so enjoyed the first two projects that I just kept going! Fabric, thread and batting for this project were provided to me in my role as Island Batik Ambassador.

I’m back in my happy place combining Island Batik fabric and Inktense Pencils. A.) The base fabric for this art quilt is one of my favorite Island Batik Neutrals, Rice. The design is sketched on with purple water soluble fabric marker from Dritz. B.) Inktense pencil applied to background fabric C.) Completing her grass fed mouthful with multiple shades of green. D.) Fabric medium applied to intensify colors.

Art quilt moves on to thread selection and quilting in this step. A.) She is loaded first loaded on to my Handi Quilter Amara with backing fabric and Hobbs Thermore Quilt Batting. B.) A selection of Aurifil 40and 50wt cotton threads are selected. C. & D.) Layers of thread painting add depth and life to the work.

With the center attraction completed, quilting continues on the background. The heavy stitching on the cow, requires ample quilting everywhere else to keep the quilt flat. I’ve repeated the design from the grass on the lower portion and used modern straight lines above to keep the focus on Clara Belle.

This Island Batik Ambassador project will have two rows of precise 1/16” piping before the outside border. Here are three of the color options I’m auditioning before selecting the center top option.

This process requires exact, precise stitching as even a tiny error really pops out. Schmetz CHROME Microtex Needles work well for this step. The First 1/16” cording is stitched into the light and dark fabric strips. Then the dark strip is accurately stitched in place followed by the dark one. I use a zipper foot to stitch close to the cording. Complete directions are in Susan Cleveland’s Piping Hot Binding Book.

The third Island Batik Ambassador Challenge is completed. Clara Belle the Cow finished at 18" X 16" and comes with corner pockets on the back to be ready to hang. This project included sketching with Inktense Pencils, thread painting and precise piping.