It's generally thought that Autumn in Florida is a colorless affair. But that's not true- I see signs of trees changing color here. Not the splashy, deep colors of more northern regions, but greens do turn to soft golden colors on some species of trees. That subtle color shift inspired these fun leaf bowls. The Palm is made using batik fabrics in assorted green-brown-gold prints.
And the Maple has the traditional orange-brown tones. I used a pattern called Natural Inspiration Leaf Bowls. And I used a material that is new to me- Bosal, a heat-moldable fusible product that gives the leaf bowl its shape and firmness. Soft when heated, hard when cooled- the bowl is malleable as long as it's warm. The free-motion stitched leaf veins and the zig-zag edge stitching were completed prior to heating and shaping.
The bowl is constructed similarly to a quilt- there's a backing, seen in this photo; a middle layer which is the Bosal in this case; and a top, which is made using 8 different fabric prints. I printed the pattern pieces on a sheet of printable freezer paper, cut the pieces apart, and ironed them to the various fabrics ready to cut out and place on the Bosal. The three layers are then fused together, stitched, and shaped. The bowls went together pretty quickly, and while I was thinking the Bosal was going to be too much to sew through, it worked just fine. As a former editor, my eye went right to the statement on the package- "Stiffness that permits you to heat the material and shape it into any!" Ummm.... I'm left with the question- any what?
The Palm is a great container for some notions I was given by a fellow quilter- vintage button cards and an interesting buckle. I love the doctor and nurse depicted on the pearlized uniform buttons. I'm guessing these are from the 1950s or '60s. I'm often the recipient of "found" items because people know I have an affinity for these little odd bits they come across. The items often find a home in one of my projects, and I appreciate the gifts! I recently got a large bag containing an old YoYo quilt- badly made but lots of fun fabrics. I wonder what I'll do with it? Ideas are forming already.
4 comments:
What a find. That material would work well with most cotton fabric, I suspect, but the leaves are especially lovely. These are beautiful.
Oh those buttons. I have button envy. You got some gorgeous ones. You have some very good friends. I've never heard of a yo-yo quilt, so I look forward to seeing perhaps a before and after the ideas become reality.
WOW Nancy….you got me immediately at the leaves….but when I read about this new product I was really hooked…..thank you for sharing it’s def. a new one for me.
Love your leaves - perfectly suited to the batiks. I get things 'donated'to me as well...being a mixed media artist also leads to being the recipient of some interesting gifts!
Nancy, these are beautiful!!! They turned out great!!!! Just beautiful!!!
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