Translate Composite

Randy has done it again!  Here is our lovely composite of the "Translate" quilts!  He chose to include the back of Carolyn's quilt, since our group is now down to 14 from the 15 it's been lately.

We have two more Reveals--on May 2014 and then again on July 2014.  And then this "first round" of the ever-evolving Material Mavens will be done.  After that Reveal, decisions will need to be made, but those will be done via e-mail.  Meanwhile, congratulations to all for, once again, coming up with amazingly creative interpretations of our theme word.  What a group this is!

Kathy's Translate: "They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot !"

Amazingly, our "Translate" challenge really helped me to focus on an issue that's more important to me than I ever realized... That issue being ecology and preservation !    I looked up "translate" in the dictionary, found several interesting definitions, and yet what spoke to me in such a timely manner was what was going on right in my own back yard.  Well, actually across the street from our front yard.  Here you see what represents the "before" scenery:

To my husband and me, this land is almost sacred - pastoral, bucolic, peaceful, tranquil; home to deer, birds, squirrels, and occasionally, an errant calf from our neighbor's herd.   We've never experienced land like this, and even as I write this,  serenity washes over me bringing a sense of tranquility.  

Much to our dismay, part of that land was sold;  Five duplexes (10 houses !)  were built in that space.   Here's a picture of what that section of land looks like now:

They literally "Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot !"     

So, what have we done about it ....  I'm now a member of the City Planning and Zoning Board here in Gatesville,  and I attend every City Council meeting !   Its amazing what happens in all those meetings !  

And perhaps the biggest and most important event is that my husband, Greg, and I have been able to purchase the remaining land as seen in that first picture !   No more duplexes and no more concrete parking lots !     The deer, cows, squirrels, birds and rabbits, et al roam freely while we tend to the land, preserve the gorgeous trees, and at the same time provide "breathing space" for all who travel near this area.    It's truly the last "Green" space on our street, and we're thrilled to have become stewards of this beautiful land.

So.... that's my story !    Here are the photos of my quilt and the verbiage from the song I used as my inspiration:

The song, of course, from the 1970s made famous by Joni Mitchell.  (If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you the rest of the lyrics  :-D)      To make the quilt, I printed my pictures onto Jacquard Ink Jet Silk (I've described this process in previous MM blogs).     I Googled the lyrics to "Pave Paradise..." and printed some of those lyrics onto hand-dyed cotton, using "Transfer Artist Paper (TAP) developed by Lesley Riley.   The border fabric surrounding the lyrics has verbiage on it that speak to me:  Don't Trash the Earth; Save Our Planet; Think Green; Eco-Friendly; and especially for this quilt... "Tree Hugger !"      Thanks for this great opportunity to "Translate" some of my core-values to cloth and fabrics through Art !    

Judy S-Translate a Pattern

To make an article of clothing you have to translate the pattern. What is selvage, grainline, facing, darts, notches, basting, right side, wrong side, seam allowance, and interfacing? I have been sewing since I was a young girl and I grew up with these terms.  When I started teaching adults and kids camp I learned that they had never heard these words. I needed to explain and show them what they meant. Another way to say, “Put right sides together” is “Put the pretty sides together.” I enjoy translating the language of sewing for others. How wonderful it is to take paper and fabric to make a garment that you can say, “I made it myself!”  

Sara's Translate

When I first thought of translation I thought of the conversion of one language to another or from one symbol to another. My next thought was translational symmetry - the movement of an object from one place to the next without rotation. This concept reminded me of a design exercise I did when in a 2d design class when we were given sheets of printed r's and e's and were asked to create a composition-I decided to work with a simple shape. I started out making a freezer paper stencil and using Shive paint sticks on black fabric,That done, I decided that I wanted something with more contrast and I had just finished a workshop with Esterita Austin so I decided to use Mistyfuse on fabric and use fusible appliqué . I cut out 3 sizes of small circles out of the fused fabric using my accuquilt die cutter, I arranged lines of translated red circles and liked the result. I went back in with green circles on an angle to add visual interest.

I decided to quilt this using "matchstick" quilting that I had seen on some modern quilts - closely spaced lines that are roughly but not quite parallel. A 12 inch quilt seems like a much better place to try ou a technique than a larger quilt - especially one that is so time consuming! I'm not sure I like the effect enough to use on an entire quilt but I may use it in some areas of quilting where my overall quilting is fairly dense. I was glad to be able to try it out .

Barbara's Translate Quilt-Bali Whirl

The Bali Whirl is a cultivar of the Plumeria family.  It has 10 petals compared to the normal Plumeria flowers' 5.  This photo is of my very own Bali Whirl plant which is a small tree but has these gorgeous flowers.  I made a drawing and watercolor of the flower in my sketchbook (a translation) and then made a fabric copy of my drawing to use in the quilt.  I collaged leaves from an upholstery fabric and the 3 stripes on the left are fabric from my cotton stash.  I stitched everything down by hand and quilted with Perle Cotton thread.  I love translating my sketching to quilt art.

Jane Hartfield's Quilt Translate

Here I Grow Again!

Jane Hartfield’s Quilt

Translate

I  have to say I found this word rather challenging. I don’t normally put text on my quilts, and all I could think about was language and foreign ones at that.

Finally I thought about symbols which have been used since ancient times to translate thoughts and ideas. My personal symbol is the spiral. It means growth. The spiral  frequently turns up in my quilting and everywhere else. So, I took a piece of overdyed fabric and needle felted many other pieces of fabric in my favorite color, orange, on top. Then I painted some wonder under with color and symbols. I included the spiral, a fish, a tree, water, cross, sun, moon, star, and a flower. They looked okay, so I applied them to the fabric. At that point, the symbols were rather lost in translation. They became quite obscure. So, I added a large spiral of hand dyed yarn and quilted the whole piece in spirals. I wish you could see more of the symbols…

 

 

 

 

 

Carolyn: Kiss Me, No Translation Required

NO TRANSLATION REQUIRED!

All I could think of when the word "translation" was selected as our theme was the translation of one language into another.  That is, until I stumbled upon the synonym, "transform."  I immediately thought of the frog being kissed by the princess and transformed - or translated - into a prince.  I made a close-up of a princess using cotton and silk with raw-edge appliqué and applied it to the background with Wonder Under.  I added golden hair made with layers of Angelina fibers. The most difficulty I had was creating her whimsical features and puckered lips, which are drawn on with colored pencils.  For another fun effect, I added a dangling earring.  I found a picture of a frog, reproduced him in fabric and set him into the palm of her hand.  The hearts are raw-edge appliqué and the words, "kiss me" are hand embroidered in hand-dyed floss.  After stitching each piece into place, I  free-motion quilted around each image.

I decided to make a second quilt for the back. I translated "Kiss Me" into 30 different languages and then chose the ones that I wanted to add to the back panel.  The words were printed onto fabric, added to the background fabric with Wonder Under, then appliqué, as were the hearts.  I machine stitched around the translations using a tiny zig-zig stitch and stitched around the hearts and the label.

LOIS' TRANSLATE QUILT

Bob and I were on a trip to South Africa this past December.  We happened to be there during the funeral of Nelson Mandela.  There were journalists everywhere from all parts of the world. We saw them translate between languages and cultural differences.  I realized that a direct translation of language from one to another would not necessarily give you the real story of what was going on. There were so many nuances in speech and use of words that were different than my initial assumptions when hearing someone speak about their beloved leader and healer.  I snapped this picture on my trip and so I decided to print it from my computer on using June Taylor inkjet fabric sheets.  I appliqued it on. Then  took some of the batik fabrics that I bought in Africa and used them in my design.  I also incorporated some hand dyed silk ribbons that I made during a class at the Houston Quilt show,  I did some thread painting as well as some embroidery stitches on my machine.  The photo was so strong that I decided a lot of embellishment would not work. It was a fun theme!

Alice's Translate Quilt--Kransen

Kristen Lavransdatter as a bride

Kransen in Norwegian means wreath or bridal wreath.  For my translate quilt I decided to depict the main character in Nobel Prize winning Norwegian author Sigrid Undset's trilogy called KRISTEN LAVRANSDATTER.  The first book in the trilogy is called in English THE BRIDAL WREATH.  The book is set in the Middle Ages.  Kristen defies her parents by obstinately insisting on marrying the man she loves.  This first volume recounts her passionate love affair with Erlend and how broken-hearted her parents are that she won't marry their choice for her.  Eventually Kristen's will prevails, and she and Erlend marry.  But though she "wins", she battles guilt for the rest of her life for defying her parents and for, as it turns out, choosing a man for a husband who turns out to bring her much grief.

I first read this trilogy as a teenager.  I loved the books so much that I have read all three of them each decade of my life.  As soon as I learned the theme for this time, I immediately thought of these books, which of course I read in translation.

To depict Kristen I used a photograph of a bride, which I scanned and then posterized on Photoshop.
The posterization allowed me better to see the shadows on the bride's face.  I then drew it onto flesh-colored fabric and used colored pencils for the features and the shadowing.  I altered the original bride's happy smile to one that depicts how pensive Kristen was on her wedding day.  She looks over her shoulder, perhaps pondering if she has made a grievous mistake.

I used a fine-tipped Sharpie for her eyelashes, and a dot of white paint for the highlights in her blue eyes.  Kristen's hair is constructed of strips of various colors of yellow and gold fabrics.  I fused and then appliqued down the face, as well as her hair.  I machine quilted the background, which was made up of two batiks, a dark green foliage and cut-outs of birch or aspen trees from another batik.  I used artificial flowers and a vine for the wreath, using both thread and glue to attach it.

Below is a close-up of Kristen's face.

 

 

 

Janet's Translate Quilt: I Love My Euclidian Geometry

A strange title for a little quilt?  Let me explain:  When my son started taking geometry, his first assignment was a paper explaining the difference between Euclidian and Non-Euclidian Geometry.  We spent a week going to the library doing research.  This was before Google; heck, it was before personal computers!  I then spent a lot of time typing said paper and learning something I thought would never be useful to me for the rest of my life

But little did I know that I would, much later, take up quilting!

To translate is a geometry function that quilters unknowingly do every day, unless they taught geometry.  A simple explanation is that it means to repeat a shape without changing its direction or dimensions.  The perfect example of this is the flying geese pattern, if it continues in a straight line without the size of the "geese" changing.  And thus my quilt--several sizes of flying geese continuing past the edges of the quilt in a straight line.

As some of you know, I have been of commission for the last few months, having and then healing from surgery.  And so this could possibly set a record for the longest time spent making a 12x12 quilt!  I would spend about ten minutes or so on it at a time and then go take a nap for two hours. No joke!  I hope to make up for the two quilts I missed, including one for my own theme word--comfort.  That is something I received a lot of the last few months from family and friends, even women I do not know.  Rita and Alice:  thank you for the food and the chocolate and the wine that my husband needed more than you know!

PS:  From Alice:  Because of her continued illness, Janet asked me to post her photo and the explanation of her quilt. 

THEME for March 15th due May 15th is SPRING

SPRING  is the Next theme- due May 15th
Enjoy and have fun!  LOIS

Rita's Translate - Time Translates

The Oxford dictionary and other sources will define TRANSLATE as the conversion of something from one form or medium to another, or to change or convert the condition of that thing.  Recently an e-mail cartoon arrived from a friend showing many different people viewing themselves in mirrors as what their minds saw in their reflections.  The combination of the definitions from the dictionary and the cartoons gave me the idea for my Translate.

The ‘young’ image of Randy and I was taken at a friend’s wedding in 1968.  The right –side image was taken recently.  We had a hard time getting our posed angle correct and are still a bit skewed so we will just call it a whimsical view.  (Note to Alice and Carolyn:  Maybe I do have a bit of “flight of the imagination” in my soul after all!)

Both images were printed on a product by June Taylor, Inc. called Sew-In Colorfast Fabric Sheets for Ink Jet Printers.  They have a harder finish than Timeless Treasures. Therefore, I had a little problem in stitching the images down because the needle holes really stand out. The frame for the mirror was taken from copyright free clip art from the web.  Part of the image was done with three coordinating pink fabrics used for the wallpaper, the wallpaper border and the flowers in the vase. The floor, baseboard, cove molding, table top and legs were fashioned from my collection of wood and rock fabrics.  The vase and throw rug were made of bits from my stash.  All parts are fused and then edge stitched with invisible thread using a small zig-zag stitch. The quilting and the stitching down of the appliqués were both accomplished at the same time.

And don’t you think I’m brave to show off my ‘best side’ for the entire world to see?

Andrea's Translate

 From Paper To Fabric

hand-dyed 100% cotton, screen-printed, fused, machine and hand-stitched

My first thought when I heard the word Translate was to work with a foreign language, probably French.  I then googled, and from thefreedictionary.com one of the definitions "To change from one form, function, or state to another; convert or transform" captured my attention and pulled me in a different direction.
 

I have been quite obsessed with monotype printing since taking a gelatin plate printing class with Linda Germaine last August.  Although I have yet to make my own gelatin plate, I do have a Gelli Plate which I have been using to make my prints which are mostly on paper.  I decided that I wanted to develop my quilt based on one of my prints using my printer to transfer from paper monoprint to fabric.
 

After going though my prints and choosing a few favorites, I narrowed it down to one of my fuchsia designs.  Fuchsia blossoms have fascinated me for years.  This particular design started out as a rubber stamp that I designed and carved at least 20 years ago.
 

Last fall I started cutting stencils based on my own designs, out of mylar instead of the paper/tyvek ones that I was using with the Gelli Plate.  The first stencil that I cut was an enlargement of my little rubber stamp fuchsia.
 

I have included photos of the original monoprint, mylar stencil and rubber stamp.  

 Gelli Plate monotype print on paper

hand carved eraser rubber stamp and mylar stencil

Tricia's Translate Quilt

When thinking about the word translate the image that kept coming to me was a braille typewriter.  A year ago I was in my daughters 3rd grade classroom in Denver.  She had an almost completely blind student with an aide.  I noticed on her desk was a braille typewriter.  I had never seen one before and was intrigued.  It makes perfect sense but I had never thought about it.  When I looked braille typewriters up there was several different kinds.  The original braille typewriter was invented by a woodworker at Perkins School for the Blind in Newton Mass.  It has keys that correspond to the 6 dots.  It was first developed in 1951.  I thought it would be fun to use the typewritter for my journal quilt. 

In creating the quilt I used steam a seam lite to adhere the different fabrics.  I created the roll drum for the paper to go thru the typewriter by covering cording with fabric.  I used heavy heat and bond for the part of the typewriter that goes over the drum roll.  I used beads to be the braille bumps.  It says Translate in the beads.  I also signed my name Tricia with smaller beads at the bottom.  I stamped Translate across the top. I wanted to create the paper off of the quilt  as it would come out of the typewriter.  To create the paper I fused white kona cotton onto interfacing, stitched the edges and stitched it under the cylinder.

I really enjoyed making this quilt.  Thanks

Carol's Translate

Translate

1. To render in another language.

2. To change from one form, function, or state to another; convert or transform

3. To express in another medium.

I used these definitions of the word translate to create a necklace from fabric. I felt that it would be perfect to “translate” one medium into another. 

I started by using my NEW sewing machine and using some fancy-nancy stitches, created a "type" of heirloom background for the necklace.

The “buttons or beads” were made by using circle templates. Circles of different sizes were made and then combined to create each of the fourteen “beads” on my necklace. In between the large beads I used some small flat tourmaline beads that I just happened to have. I enjoyed doing this piece and found that it took on a life of its own that needed me to continue until I was done embellishing them with different glass seed beads.

So my translation is the idea of buttons changed to beads into a necklace out of fabric.

Nedra's Translate -Laughing Out Loud

Having spent MANY hours on the previous 3 themes, my goal for this one was to be quick and easy.  And it was.  More time was spent on its inception though, as I found this theme quite challenging and was unable to choose which way to go with the theme.  Once I decided that I often need to translate the multitude of texting abbreviations in order to keep up with my kids and friends on facebook and other social media,  I was finished in about 2 hours!!!

In keeping with my image of the saying, I sketched my cartoon figure and translated it into fabric with bright colored choices to make it whimsical.  I phones with other text abbreviations were added for contrast.

I'm really not that savvy and do need help to translate these abbreviations.  For years, I never understood what the name of the rock group, LMFAO was all about.   One day, a lightbulb finally went off in my brain and I texted my daughter and asked if it meant "laughing my fat ass off".  She laughed and said well, you've almost got it right. I'm sure you can guess what the F really stands for. 

LOL is fused, machine stitched and machine quilted.