Map printing

More development for the Deuteronomy quilt: I spent about half a day trying to find a suitable map with the area of Reuben and Gad. I had 2 ideas in mind of how to print part of the map on the fabric. Since my base fabric is about 35x35 cm, I can't run it through the printer. I have a piece of Lutradur, which is a non-woven, web-like, open structured paper. You can print on it and it give a nice soft look. But my printer wouldn't take it :( You also need an inkjet printer for it and we only have (had I must say) a laserjet printer. Since my hubby wasn't too happy for me running fabric and other weird stuff through his business printer he told me to buy an inkjet :), which I managed to get for $56 :)

I even managed to install it myself, which only a tiny bit of help;)

Most iron-on image transfer paper will only work on an inkjet printer. The only problem is that you have to mirror print you image. So I have been playing around with LibreOffice Draw and trying to mirror words...easier said then done. It's not very logical....:type your words, click on modify- convert to curve- back to modify- flip- horizontal. Yeah!

I photocopied the map onto the Transfer Paper and ironed in to my nice 'antique look' fabric. Mmmm....too dark and grey. Unfortunately I don't have more of that fabric :( Ok, one more try on a less nice fabric, but the outcome is way better :)

This is my final design

Right the printed map, but I didn't make it transparent, so it's way too dark. I like the one I did on the left. Printed a fingerprint to study the lines ;)

This is part of the map I used and mirrored

Ideas for Deuteronomy 3:16

The book of Deuteronomy completes the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible. Deuteronomy means 'the second law', so we could regard this book as a reaffirmation and summary of essential principles in the previous books.
In chapter 3 Moses records the battle with the Amorites and how the tribes of Reuben and Gad had asked to remain east of the Jordan river. Moses assigned to them the land from the Jabbok River down to the Arnon River. Therefore we read in chapter 3:16

And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon 

First I thought that this verse might be translated into a nice landscape quilt. But I want to think about it a bit more.
These are the scribbles in my visual diary so far:
territorial rights, possesing land, map, rivers, God ownes all the land, but has given this piece to Reuben and Gad to take care of it, parchment look, old map torn up, blue, green, creamy, black, orange.

I really like the idea to explore the idea of a map and to emphasise the 'possessing of the land'. Especially when 'Possessing the land' is mentioned more than 60 times!!!

How do you express possession. I am thinking in the line of fingerprints...Maybe I can stitch a fingerprint look over the land/map look.

Very rough sketch (and picture needs to be rotated)

Trying to print the right map...In the end I used none of them :(

Unveiling Numbers 3:16

And here is the finished piece!

It's pretty self explanatory I think...It has a slightly tribal feeling to it which I didn't plan, but is still fitting for the verse.

A few details:

 For the first time I tried threading my machine with 2 threads. So they both go through the tension system and through 1 needle. It just gives a little more definition to the shapes. Surprisingly no broken threads or needle! :)

Why I always take a photo before printing......Unveiling of Numbers, but not quite.

Numbers 3:16 And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

Unveiling of Numbers 3:16. But not quite... I am always scared to start the part where I have to do letter printing on fabric. And for a reason....This is where I was up to an hour before dinner. And then I was so keen to see the finished one that I started printing straight away with the intention to be finished before dinner.

And then this is what happens:(((

So I am back to the background. I already have taken off the counting embroidery part and have to redo the background which is quite a lot of work. I made stencils of  'people shapes' and used inktense paint blocks + pencils + oil paint sticks + gold paint to give them some colour. Then I rubbed some oil sticks over number stencils and stitched with a double thread all around the people.

It was a fun process and I am quite happy to redo it. At least I will change the letter format and positioning of the verse. The upside of making mistakes is maybe that it will only get better :)

Numbers 3:16 start

Numbers 3:16
And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. 

Another book and verse to start thinking about. When I first saw the verse I thought there is not much to think about.....What am I going to make of this?
Usually I start with reading a commentary about the chapter, jotting down words, or drawing pictures I associate with the verse. And I always put it into google and quickly scrolling over images. Not much came up, only pictures associated with Moses I guess. Like these:



Not much help.

Reading from Matthew Henry I gathered that Moses had to count all the Levites from a month old and upward. The babies of course couldn't serve in the tabernacle, but still had to be included. It appears that a little more than a third part of the Levites were fit to be employed in the service of the tabernacle (about 8000 out of 22.000). Yet God would have them all numbered.

So I started thinking about numbering, counting, people. How would I express that??
Counting is done in different ways. Putting people in groups or families. You can count on  your fingers, write down numbers, or dots, or lines.

After all this verse took more planning then I first thought....For the first time I haven't made any sketches. It just took root in my mind. I came up with an idea of some embroidery, picturing a sort of counting system. The background has to be a mixture of fabric painting/stamping. What colour I don't know yet.

First some experiments:

Some fabric dyeing and scrunching for a background I can later maybe stamp on. But the colours didn't turn out very well. Tried some free motion sewing and painting some petals. Mainly out of curiosity to see it the paints hold and not bleed.

Tried rubbing a derwent Inktense block over some fibrous underlay. Not what I need, but keep it for maybe some other piece.

Rubbing to get a grid pattern. And burning holes with a soldering iron into cobweb paper. fun....but very smelly and probably not very good for my lungs ;)

Putting fabric over letter stencils and then rubbing with oil sticks. Like! And an idea for the background fabric.

Yes, Counting!! A Sneak Peek what I am doing with the embroidery. I had some white embroidery cotton which I dyed in a strong coffee and tea mixture. It's got a nice natural colour now :)

Leviticus finished

And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD'S. Lev. 3:16

Due to family visit I haven't been able to spend much time on designing and sewing, let alone blogging...But I am back into it now!

This one symbolizes the offering the priest had to make. It appeared that it had to be the kidneys. So I decided to make this from a birds' eye perspective. So you see the yellow (with copper foiling on top, which is not really visible in the picture) rims of the altar and its 4 corners. I tried to make a sort of 'coal' structure on the black fabric and on it you see the kidneys. Inside the kidney I cut up different reds, oranges and yellows and cut them into flame shapes to represent burning. The fat is free motion sewn into a netting shape. It is the Lord's as it spirals out over the edge.

 Btw the picture should be rotated 90 degrees left...but can't figure that out right now.

Detail. You can also see the words which I stamped on the rim of the altar.

I have also done some interesting binding technique. You can't see it because it is at the back. I didn't want a visible binding, because that would restrain it and it already has some sort of frame anyway.

Faced binding technique I used and learned from a dvd I watched: Design, Paint and Stitch by Judy Coates Perez.

Cut 4 wide fabric strips, fold them in half. Sew the raw edge to the quilt raw edge, but start and stop 1/4 inch from the beginning and end.

Fold the corners on a 45 deg. angle and finger press them.

This picture should be last, but for some reason I am fighting with blogspot today ;), but this one shows how the back of the quilt looks. Nice and clean finish

Sew on the pressed line. And trim seam back to 1/4 inch.

 

Fold to the back.