I am back in the swing of things…looky what I made!

Yep, I am back, my cold has run its course.  Thank Goodness that is over and it was a relatively light one.

Since I was stuck at home yesterday recuperating I was able to work on a project I have had rattling around in my brain for awhile now.   I bought the flour sack towels over a month ago and the acrylic paints I have on hand for the signs I paint.  I also used some textile medium mixed in with the paint. 



I bought a set of these flour sack towels at Target and another set at Wal-Mart, they seem to be comparable in quality so take your pick.   I washed, dried then pressed them well.  I found the center for placement of the chicken or rooster motif and marked it with a water soluble marker.



I cut to size and ironed on the the back of a towel a piece of butcher paper to prevent the paint from bleeding thru.



I only needed a piece a bit larger than the motif to be painted on.  I cut a stencil in the basic shape of the motif using an old file folder. I just ran it thru the copy machine and another I traced over a piece of graphite paper. Both worked fine.  Painting on fabric takes a good base coat and stenciling it on is easier than trying to brush it on.  This is the stencil of one of the roosters.



Here it is after brushing the paint inside the stencil area.  I brush inward from the edges to prevent too much bleed under the edges.  I good fabric adhesive would work great too but I did not have any. 



This is the drawing I made my stencil from. I refer to it for placement of the feet and beak. 



I brush in the details.



I rip 3 inch wide strips of this red ticking fabric to make ruffles.  I leave the edges raw for a primitive look.  I sew several strips together so I have plenty of length for 2 towels.



Since I messed up the timing on my fancy dancy Bernina Artista 180 sewing “computer” I had to resort to my trusty plain old Wards zig zag sewing machine I have had since the 70's. 

 My mom gave it to me when she upgraded to a fancier machine, I love this old heavy as stone machine and sewed on it for 20 years, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.  I will never give it up even though I do love my new machine as well. But I am getting side tracked here, back to my story...

  Since my ruffling foot only fits my Bernina I had to resort to one of my older methods for ruffling the strip. I use a long piece of crochet cotton thread and I zig zag over it.  I pull one end (secure the other end first) of the cotton thread to draw up and ruffle the material. 

For me it is faster than sewing to rows of basting thread, I have done miles of ruffles when my daughters were young and I sewed their dresses and this method worked great for me. 



I lined up the edge of the ruffled material a half inch above the towel edge and I stitch on the ruffle.



I trimmed up the threads and there you have it, hand painted chicken kitchen towels!  I painted a hen to match and added the ruffle.



A matched set.



I also painted two more sets of towels.  I have yet to decide on the ruffle for these.

  
  

I have to admit I enjoyed working on these despite the hiccups with my sewing machine.  That reminds me, I need to call the sewing machine shop and find out what it is going to set me back to get mine fixed.  I will put it on my Monday list. 

It was a lovely afternoon here.  Mild temps in the 50’s with glorious sunshine.  My husband and I took advantage of the fine weather to take a walk to the lake and back.  After all the sitting I have done since coming down with this cold I desperately needed to stretch my legs. 

enjoy your evening all…