Mattsma on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/mattsma/art/The-Regal-Plum-401368172Mattsma

Deviation Actions

Mattsma's avatar

The Regal Plum

By
Published:
871 Views

Description

Last in the historical Botanical Fruit Series, the regal purple plum, Prunus domestica, which I did first because it has three pieces of fruit. 9.5 cm x 14 cm (or 3.75 in x 5.5 in)

Pattern from Cross Stitch & Country Crafts January/February 1994 issue

When we first put up the Sailing the Fruit contest theme for #stitchingpirates I just happen to get going through some of my older magazine and came across this series. It is my hope to finish the other two by the time the contest ends. The other two are The Glorious Pear from the September/October 1993 and The Magnificent Apple from the November/December 1993 issue.

I have this large piece of white, cotton canvas material that is very similar to a 32 ct linen. It is very starchy and stiff which make it wonderful to work with if you are making a bookmark or something you cannot use a frame for.

If you look closely you will see a kind of color variation thing going on. I didn't want to use WHITE. I wanted a more "olde timey" look to it since the colors in the patterns kind of have that edge to them. So I found some old Folgers Coffee grounds in a can in the back of my cupboard and dumped those in to my French Press and boiled some water. I crammed the fabric in on top of the grounds and then poured the water in. I waited impatiently. I was not happy with what wasn't happening, so I poured the contents of the press into a pot and boiled the coffee, water and fabric for five minutes, stirring and smashing the entire time.

When it started to look like I might be happy with it, I poured it all out and wrung out the fabric. I did not rinse it, just wrung it out and removed the grounds that were still clinging to the fabric. Then I took the fabric to the ironing board and began dry ironing the fabric until it was completely dry. The boiling had made the fabric softer and pliant, while leaving this kind of hand dyed look to it that I actually like.

One large issue with using this fabric is that it frays the floss while stitching. In order to not get tufts of cotton pulled from my thread, I had to use a shorter thread. Entire piece done with one ply throughout the entire piece.

Once I finished the Plum, I realized that the piece of fabric I had dyed using the coffee wasn't long enough so I will have to dye another piece which is fine. I have thought I'd like to make a quilted bell pull from this series :D

The Glorious Pear by MattsmaThe Magnificent Apple by Mattsma  Botanical Fruit Wall Hanging by Mattsma 
Image size
2144x2248px 670.77 KB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon PowerShot S95
Shutter Speed
1/30 second
Aperture
F/3.2
Focal Length
6 mm
ISO Speed
80
Date Taken
Sep 20, 2013, 12:19:08 PM
Sensor Size
4mm
© 2013 - 2024 Mattsma
Comments23
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
WaffuMonsta's avatar
Love the colors here. I'm a vibrant lover. I think the detail definately makes it pop out.