September 12, 2016

Remnants of Spring

Posted in Embellishment, Silk Ribbon Embroidery tagged , , , , , , , , at 12:27 PM by Shelley Swanland

remnants-of-spring-wCollaged fabric, embroidery and embellishment on Linen, Remnants of Spring, is my latest piece. It features silk ribbon embroidery over vintage fabrics, digital pictures, vintage napkins and lace. It is embellished with buttons, charms and beads with a lock and key. Once finished the linen was mounted on a piece of felt and then a quilted base of crinkled batik fabric. remnants-of-spring-detail-2remnants-of-spring-detail-1

 

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January 8, 2016

Winter Jay

Posted in 12 x 12s, Digital Collage, Embellishment, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Twitter Quilts...Twilts tagged , , , , , , , , , at 4:17 PM by Shelley Swanland

IWinter Jay started this piece while housesitting in the mountains for nine days in December. “Winter Jay” is my latest Twilt. An Arm & Hammer Soda Card from 1916 was scanned and printed on cotton fabric and used as the focal point in the embroidery.
Winter Jay DetailLinen fabrics, cotton organdy and lace were stitched together before the embroidery was added. Silk Ribbon leaves, embellishments and beads rounded out the central motif. The embroidery was then mounted on the batik with silk, chiffon and satin ribbons.

For more info on the Twilts: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts :Flickr Twilts Page. Click on the image of the Twilt to go directly to it’s high resolution image.

June 19, 2015

New Books and Needle Cases on Etsy

Posted in Embellishment, Journals, Needle Cases, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Vintage Postcards and Art tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 9:16 AM by Shelley Swanland

Mini Comp Books and Needle Cases 6 15A few days ago I added these Needle Cases and Mini Composition Journals to my Etsy Store.  The Needle Cases are scans of Vintage Envelopes that I added Vintage digital elements to before printing on fabric. Once I put the needle cases together I embellished them with embroidery, beads, lace and buttons. The envelope addressed to Col Edwards is circa late 1800s.The other letter was sent from Italy to Long Beach in the 1950s.

Vintage Envelope Needle Case 2015 002 FVintage Envelope Needle Case Italy to Long Beach 01 F

 

 

 

 

Embellished Covers are added to Mini Composition books to create the Mini Journals. One is a felted base with Silk ribbon embroidered flowers which was this backed with another piece of felt. The other Mini Journal is linen applied to felt and then embellished with a piece of painted lace embroidery and beads. All four can be found in my Etsy Store.

Mini Comp Felt Silk Ribbon 01 FMini Comp Linen Lace Silk Ribbon 01 F

May 28, 2014

Embellishment Sampler

Posted in Classes. Workshops & Lectures, Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Twitter Quilts...Twilts tagged , , , , , , , , , , at 7:21 AM by Shelley Swanland

Embellishment Sampler for emailBy special request I put together this Embellishment Sampler for a workshop I will be doing in July. I have included many of my favorite embellishment elements. Just as Inchies, Post Cards and Tags have become a popular format for small artwork, I thought that these Tiny Twilts” would be a fun and versatile way of learning new embroidery and embellishment techniques. Each of the nine Tiny Twilts are only 3 1/2″.

Embellishment Sampler Block 6This little pieces are a lot of fun and would make great Motifs on cards books and needle cases. They are also a great way to experiment with new stitches and techniques.

Just a few included techniques: Gathered Wire Edge Ribbon flowers, Basic Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Silk Ribbon Spider Web Roses, Bead Leaf Flowers and Folded Gathered Flowers.

Click on the picture of the Sampler and it will take you to a High Res picture on Flickr.com

 

April 14, 2014

Early Spring

Posted in 12 x 12s, Twitter Quilts...Twilts tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , at 1:14 PM by Shelley Swanland

Early Spring WI know there is cold weather out there but Spring is coming in with a vengeance here in Southern California. It’s almost 90 degrees outside. This is my newest Twilt, “Early Spring”. Techniques include Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Folded Gathered Roses. raveled linen Tiny Twilts with bits of vintage lace and a doily corner. There’s a vintage button, lots of beads and my favorite French Knot Roses.

For more info on the Twilts: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts :Flickr Twilts Page. Click on the image of the Twilt to go directly to it’s high resolution image.

August 2, 2012

Old Papers

Posted in Digital Collage, Free Vintage Art, Silk Ribbon Embroidery tagged , , , , , , , , , at 4:09 PM by Shelley Swanland

This collage isn’t perfect but I like what I came up with. I digitally layered vintage documents, a post card and some envelopes inside an old book cover. When I finished all that I added the embroidered piece and the key. The flowers on the linen Twiltlet are folded on an Octogon paper base and then gathered. My silk ribbon students learned how to do them a couple of weeks ago.

I also added the French Knot Roses I love so much. Click on either image to see the high resolution version.

July 31, 2012

Summer In Bloom

Posted in Silk Ribbon Embroidery, Twitter Quilts...Twilts tagged , , , , , , , , , , at 4:30 PM by Shelley Swanland

“Summer in Bloom” is my newest Twilt. It includes tiny little pieces that I call Twiltlets. They are a great format for experimentation with bits of this and that. These four include, just to name a few things, trims, buttons, a picture on fabric, the corner of an old hankerchief, a heart paperclip and silk ribbon embroidery. When I mounted the Twiltlets on the quilted linen print I added gathered flowers and a vintage lace that looked like a little fence. So, I added a rose bush with French Knot Roses.

For more info on the Twilts: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts : Flickr Twilts Page. Click on the image of the Twilt to go directly to it’s high resolution image.

June 30, 2009

Twist and Twilt

Posted in Twitter Quilts...Twilts tagged , , , , , , , at 9:15 AM by Shelley Swanland

Twist and TwiltSilk and Linen are the focus for this Tuesday’s Twitter Quilt, “Twist and Twilt”. The ribbons and the twisted blocks are made from silk ribbons and silk fabric that was scrunch painted. The painted fabric was also used for the flower. The blocks are folded and basted to a backing fabric before the top was pieced. After the quilting was finished, I mostly stitched in the ditch, the ribbons were laid out and twisted as I applied them to the Linen block with a running stitch of #8 pearl cotton. Each petal and leaf of the flower was shaped using a candle to burn the edges.Twist and Twilt Detail The shapes were than applied using a running stitch with pearl cotton and embroidery was added to the leaves and flower center.

Credit goes to Yvonne Porcella who introduced me to the techniques through her books. She is a fabulous artist.

For more info: Twitter quilts…….Twilts or see all my Twilts : Flickr Twilts Page.

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