ATCs and Some Fishy Stuff

"Fish Tales"

While at Festival in Chicago last week, I coerced talked Beth into taking one of the little mini-workshops that Quilting Arts offers at their "Make It University" extravaganza in the middle of the vendor area.  It was an ATC-making workshop with Jane Davila (who blogs here).  We were each issued a little (3 1/2" x 2 1/2") piece of fabric-covered heavy stabilizer, a square of PFD fabric, a small plastic plate, a tiny foam roller, a piece of freezer paper, and a small rubber fish.

We went to the front of the roped-off area with tables in it class and poured a bit of blue or green Lumiere paint onto our plate (Beth and I just had to pick more than one -- she had two colors and I, three).  Then we rolled the paint onto the rubber fish, wiped the eye (Jane said that it's a custom to ink in the eye later so it doesn't lose its soul, or something like that) and carefully printed the fish on the fabric.  Sorry I don't have any pictures of the process, but I was caught up in the moment.  We colored the fabric that was stuck to the stabilizer with diluted acrylic ink, stamped it with Jane's hand-carved stamps, then fused the cut-out fish on top of a small bit of paper that looked like a net.  I added the stitching around the edge after I got home using some of my fancy new WonderFil metallic thread that I bought at the show.

I had a bunch of stamped fish left over on the fabric she gave us -- she wouldn't let us keep the rubber fish, but I guess I can live without it.  So using some colored silk that we stole, um, bought (it was really cheap), some painted Peltex, some dyed cheesecloth, and a few beads, I made a half dozen more ATCs.


While I was there, I also traded a couple of ATCs that I had made previously for these ones.  The artists who made them are: Lisa Cousineau (who blogs here), Sally Ann Licocci, and I couldn't read the name on the back of the snowman ATC -- it starts with a W and she's from Blue (something that starts with an M), Il.

Next: more Festival quilts (and more of my humble opinions).