Working in sketchbooks with traditional art techniques

Over the last several months, I’ve been inspired and motivated by online opportunities to learn and practice making art—drawing, painting, collage, mixed media, printmaking, etc. Even though I have a minor in Art as part of my bachelor’s degree, I only skimmed the surface of working with traditional art techniques back in the day. Time to circle back.

Sketching and painting in the Junk Journal.

Junk Journals: a non-precious place to start

An easy, “non-precious” place to practice art techniques is in a Junk Journal. Making a few of these junk journals for participation in Junk Journal January and Junk Journal July, I have unused pages in these journals that can still be filled. The junk journals are easy to grab for a slow drawing session or a quick sketch. 

My collection of Junk Journals from 2023 and 2024.

Since Junk Journals are made from… well… “junk” (discarded papers, discontinued sales boards, things from the recycle bin), they are unintimidating. You can give anything a go and not be concerned about messing up.

Water color painting inspired by nature.

Sometimes the work is new (above). Sometimes the drawing or painting gets added to an existing composition (below).

Slow drawings added to a Junk Journal page.

Here is the inspiration from nature…

Inspiration from nature.

and here is the drawing/painting in the Junk Journal.

Drawing and painting from nature.

Sketchbooks

Several of my 100 Day Projects required a sketchbook. I am curating a healthy stack of them! When I need a new sketchbook, I buy three! The extras are used for my general art practice.

Drawing in the sketchbook.

The sketchbooks I buy are: 

• 9” x 12”
• 110 lb. (160 gsm) mixed media paper, so they accommodate multiple techniques—watercolor, ink, paint pens, and other mediums.
• spiral bound (but they have a perf line if I choose to tear out a page for another purpose).

And, I have two sketchbooks of watercolor paper for when I specifically do watercolor.

Nature journaling in a sketchbook.

Taking online classes—especially if you follow along in “real time”—doesn’t provide any time for hesitation. Gather your art supplies, grab a sketchbook, login, and draw/paint/sketch along with the instructor.

Watercolor exercise on watercolor paper.

Watercolor exercise on watercolor paper.

Filling in the gaps

I have used design principles and concepts from my undergrad art studies throughout my graphic arts and printing and publishing career—and of course in my quiltmaking—but now I’m enjoying filling in the gaps of those traditional art techniques that weren’t developed.

Online resources I’ve tapped for developing my practice have been:

• Slow Drawing with Amy Maricle at Mindful Art Studio
• Sketchbook Revival with Karen Abend
• Willa Workshops with Wendy Solganik
• Classes with Carla Sonheim and others
• Drawing sessions with Ruby Elliot [rubyetc]
• Workshops with Jennifer Wilken Penick 

I’m enjoying the learning and the processes.

Therapeutic patchwork: when the world throws a curve ball

Sometimes the world throws curve balls. With that comes feelings of uncertainty, concern for what the future holds, sadness, anger, unanswered questions, a lack of control.

Patchwork therapy.

This weekend, I have found consolation and solace in the mindfulness of craft. I spent time doing “patchwork therapy”… sorting bits of fabrics, ironing, matching sizes/shapes/colors, trimming, sewing… trying to make cohesiveness from randomness. 

Patchwork therapy.

Minimal sewing guidelines

• If two pieces are about the same length, they are sewn together. 
• If one is too long, it gets trimmed. 
• If one is too short, another bit gets added. 

This is the only guideline.

Patchwork therapy.

I don’t have control over what’s going on in the world… what curve balls the universe sends out… but I have control over this kind of patchwork! Control over a miscellaneous pile of odd scraps, left-overs, a jumble of colors and prints. Finding a purpose, a function for the discarded bits… when life doesn’t make sense.

Patchwork therapy.

This patchwork grows serendipitously. These pieces will find a use… some time in the (near or distant) future. 

Stan Leigh offers good therapy, too.

For now, it does the job of providing a safe harbor… a sense of calm… a bit of hope… and something that resembles “normal.”

Why new holiday fabric collections arrive at quilt stores in the summer

It’s hard to think about sewing or quilting with Christmas holiday fabrics in the summer. But late Spring and Summer is the time of year when all the new holiday and seasonal fabric collections arrive at our favorite quilt shops.

Hand stitched holiday decorations from the Winter Dreams collection from FIGO Fabrics. 

Summer delivery for Christmas fabrics?

These hand stitched decorations were made with a holiday fabric panel from a collection called Winter Dreams from FIGO Fabrics. The fabric collection was delivered to quilt shops this past June. 

I found inspiration in the Winter Dreams project panel and was moved to embellish the motifs with hand embroidery—melding colors of floss, perle cotton with various stitches. Being that the embellishing was done by hand, this project would not be a quick, over-night completion. 

Fabric panel from the Winter Dreams fabric collection by FIGO Fabrics.

So, unless you have a gang of Santa’s elves to help you, making handmade gifts or decorations for the holidays is going to take time… likely time you won’t have this time of the year—the short, busy timeframe between Halloween and when the decorations go up and gifts are slid under the tree. 

Hand embroidered heart.

The hand stitching on these decorations took a number of hours over a course of several months. It was my portable travel project during this time. Now that it’s November, I pulled out these embroideries—I finished 8!—to match them with coordinating fabrics for the backs. 

Three embroidered stars ready to be sewn to a backing fabric.

Stitched and turned right side out, these stars are ready for the filler/stuffing.

Once stitched and turned right side out, the pieces were stuffed. I used batting scraps for the stuffing and then hand stitched the opening with Scanfil organic cotton thread and the ladder stitch (not a whip stitch) for an invisible closure.

Batting scraps used for the filler/stuffing.

The sewing, turning, and stuffing takes a bit of time. Here are two finished trees that I think are quite charming and festive.

Hand stitched stuffed holiday decorations.

So this is why holiday fabric lines are delivered from May to July. And why quilt shops and independent sewing centers promote "holiday making" with classes and events in the summer. If one waits until November, you might be giving an IOU as a gift... and your decorations will be held over for next year. 

Stitched and stuffed holiday heart decoration.

A few tips about these holiday stuffies

A few things to note about the motifs on the Winter Dreams project panel:

• there are no seam allowances for the motifs. If making stuffed decorations, you will need to take the seam allowance out of the printed areas.

• I used a 2.0 stitch length on the machine to sew the fronts to the backs. Leave an opening for stuffing.

• Clip the inside acute angles (on the trees, between the star points, and the top of the heart) for easier turning. Clip the seam allowances up to (but not into) the stitching line.

• I used the ladder stitch to close the opening after stuffing. It makes a neater, more invisible join.

• Thread a needle with a strand of embroidery floss or perle cotton and sew a loop into the stuffie so it can be hung.

• This was the perfect travel project for me because it was small, portable, and required minimal supplies—an embroidery hoop, a small baggie of left-over strands of embroidery floss, a needle, and a pair of scissors. 

Coordinating fabrics for the backs.

The clock is ticking... are you in a hurry?

Check with your local quilt shop for the Winter Dreams collection. There is a project panel and several coordinates in this fabric line. For a quick holiday project:

• Forego the hand stitching and embellishing and just sew and stuff the motifs. 

• Use a fusible appliqué technique to appliqué the motifs onto a base fabric. Think: mug rugs, pillows, a banner, or table runner.

• The panel has a bunting project that could be no-sew by using a fusible.

• Fuse the motifs onto card stock for gift tags or greeting cards.

• Embellish the motifs with fabric paints or crayons.

• Find a pattern for quick patchwork and make something all by machine.

Enjoy your holiday making!

Stitch samplers with Scanfil organic threads, American Made Brand solids, and 2.5” Edition binding

Have you stitched with the 100% organic long staple Pima cotton thread from Scanfil? I’m making improv patchwork stitch samplers—using American Made Brand cotton solids [from Clothworks]—to show the versatility of stitch techniques that can be achieved with Scanfil threads, and how lovely and effortless these organic cotton threads are to work with.

Scanfil organic cotton threads and improv patchwork with American Made Brand (AMB) cottons.

Improv Patchwork with AMB solids

I chose solid fabrics—from the American Made Brand (AMB)—to show the thread and stitch qualities of the organic cotton thread. Solid fabrics provide a non-distracting background for the samplers. 

I also like to use solids when doing improvisational patchwork, as the essence of the patchwork and seam lines are more defined. The freehand cut, organic shapes—inherent with improv patchwork—also complement the ‘organic’ characteristic of the thread. AMB cotton is also grown, spun, woven, and dyed in the USA. Here's a video on the back story.

Improvisational patchwork with American Made Brand solids.

Thread versatility

The stitch samplers include a variety of stitch techniques: 

• free-motion quilting, 
• decorative machine stitching, 
• hand quilting, and 
• hand stitching/embroidery. 

I like the 50 wt. for piecing and free-motion quilting. For hand quilting, hand stitching, and hand embroidery, I use the 30 wt.

Using 50 wt thread for free-motion quilting and 30 wt for hand stitching.

2.5” Edition binding

And no mini-quilt would be complete without a binding, right? So, I’m using the 2.5 Edition collection (binding on a bolt) from Art Gallery Fabrics. This binding print is called Magic Bound. (Gotta love the words!)

Quilted stitch sample.

A few more quilt sandwiches await stitching…

Improv patchwork quilt sandwiches await quilting.

If you want to try any of these three products for your next project, ask your local quilt shop or sewing machine center about Scanfil 100% organic cotton thread, made-in-the-USA AMB solids, and 2.5” Edition binding fabrics. 

You’ll score a “hat trick!” (If we were talking hockey, anyway.)