Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Wednesday's Wanderings #34 - Sewing with Silk


I have spent the summer following the Silk Road.  It's not the Silk Road from days gone by that  was the trade route for Chinese silk across parts of Europe, the Far East and parts of Africa.
 My Silk Road is my journey of experimentation with dupioni silk.

I just finished this top with the bi-colored leaves. It's made completely from silk dupioni.  In the photo it is basted and I'm waiting for an aha moment to figure out how I am going to quilt it.  It measures 30"Hx38"W.  The green scallop in the border is done using jumbo rick rack. 
 I will probably embellish the rick rack with beads or buttons.


Over the past 6 months, I have been making these 12" x 12" pieces out of silk. 
 I have tried different techniques to really learn how to work
with this gorgeous but somewhat tricky fabric.


The scrolls were added from the reverse side with a beautiful raspberry decorative thread.

 These have become some of my favorite colors. 
 I found the anodized washers on the Internet.


The guys at the hardware store thought I was a bit kooky.
  (I'm used to that.)


This zinnia interpretation has the luscious pink velvet as its center.


This is my WW. The center leaf was a practice piece
 and for the rest I used scraps of silk left over from the quilts I have been creating.


I want to make one more dupioni quilt from the scraps I have left over.  It's on my summer "to do" list.  I hope I don't run out of time.

I have added more silk fat quarter kits to my etsy shop.  It's a nice selection for experimenting.
Click here:  Sewing With Silk

8 comments:

  1. You have been busy! I like the orange bits in the leaf quilt it makes it so interesting and keeps the eye moving.
    Are the others for the 12 x 12 challenge?

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  2. While I like all of your quilted pieces, I especially like the last ones of the leaf...very striking!

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  3. Your top is great! I admire your courage in working with silk--not for me, but it is lovely!

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  4. These are just luscious!! I'm sure making use of every scrap of silk is fun, and satisfying. Beautiful work.

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  5. These are wonderful, Cheryl! I also like to work with Dupioni and backing it with lightweight interfacing makes it easy to work with. I love the subtle sheen that you can only get with silk. What a productive summer you have had!

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  6. You are an amazing talent! All of your work is fantastic!

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