Welcome to Mountaintop Quilting Studio

This is where you find me exploring a variety of creative adventures mostly about but not limited to quilting. I'm a firm believer that one increases their creativity by being open to and playing with a variety of cretative endeavors ... at least that my excuse for today. Enjoy your sourjourn through my studio playroom. May you find encouragement and inspiration, and on occassion, a little pin-prick that may be thought-provoking or spark your imagination. Thank you for stopping by.

Looking for .... An easy way to add images to your art quilts ..An easy way to add printed text to your art quilts ...

Here's what you need:

• Goldens Matte Medium
• Brayer
• Wide paint brush (nothing fancy or expensive … sponge brush works well, too)
• Image on an ink jet transparency (remember to reverse the image before printing if image contains any text or if direction of image subjects is an issue)
• A quilted sandwich or a plain piece of fabric you will use in your quilt later.

Here's what you do:

Mark fabric with registration points (tape, pins, light pencil mark) to image placement and to define area to be “painted” with the Matte Medium

Paint the defined area with Goldens Matte Medium evenly … not too heavy/not too light

Place printed transparency (rough side down which is where the image is printed)

Use brayer to smooth or burnish image to the fabric. I work vertically and horizontally going for even pressure across the image and to get good coverage in the transfer of the image.

Peel up the transparency film from a corner slowly checking to be sure the image has transferred well.

Heat set using a press cloth and finish with embellishments, paint, applique.

You may have noticed my demo piece is already quilted. I've done pieces pre quilted and quilting after the fact. A couple of observations: quilting after the transfer can be a little tricky to work with stitch quality while stitching through the medium. Careful selection of thread and setting of tension is needed. I also wanted to place my images in reference to the quilting pattern. I like the "vintage look" created by the image not printing in the stitched areas due to the quilting relief.

Want to know more? I just love the Google search engine. Type in "image transfer" and be amazed with the results and all the creative inspiration right at our fingertips. Search your way through YouTube videos and don't forget to check out articles in print from Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors.