MATERIALS
- 2 solid fabrics, 8" x 10"
- Batting, 8" x 10"
- Sewing machine with free-motion capability
- 40wt contrasting thread
- Acrylic craft paints, small brushes, and a brayer
- Oil sticks
Optional - Various embellishments—beads, snaps, etc.
It was a bit like doodling on
paper. I was playing. I tried to
think—on the run!—of different
ways to stitch a nose or hair. Some
eyes were open, some closed.
Sometimes, I exaggerated features
or added spirals. Because I was
not stopping, tying knots, and
starting again somewhere else,
the faces resembled continuous
contour line drawings. There were
extra lines where I would move
from chin or cheek to lips. I liked
it! The drawings were quirky and
charming.
Having fi lled all the spaces with
faces, I cut them apart and thought,
‘now what?’ I played with using
a brayer to add paint. This gave
the surface additional color and
texture. Details were added with
paint and brushes. Oil sticks were
used to give color to some of the
high surfaces. Some of the faces
received embellishment with beads,
charms, or small metal pieces from
the hardware store or my husband’s
tackle box. Finally, I fi nished each
with a binding or the pillowcase
method and added labels to the
backs.
My most recent Non-Stop Faces
were made on a domestic machine.
I use the same process, only I make
them one at a time—starting with a
quilt sandwich about 8" x 10"—and
I’m careful not to stitch over my
fi ngers, where I’m holding the edges
as I sew.