Animal Alphabet Book(s)
For the last year or 18 months, I've been focusing on the critter ffabric in my stash. ( I have many categories of fabric in the mighty stash.) Since I know you know how this book turns out, I will not necessarily include a-z of each version I have worked up so far....
I've added a bit of information about some of the photos , so I can have the fun of writing about the technqiues used in their amalgamation.
I'm partial to the kangaroo (with apologies to the marmot of askamarmot designs), because it's my own block print. As you can guess, some of the animals are hard to find in fabric version--so I made my own. This particular kangaroo is printed on some Marimekko remnants I found on-line and pounced on as perfect for this project. The letters are stenciled--I used Bangle font for the alphabet part of this project.
Most of the fabrics are cotton and linen, although some fall outside that category in my quest to use a wide range of fabrics. Most of the pages include embroidery, flocking, and other extra bits. Everything was pre-washed and heat set and ironed, etc, if at all possible, and water-based ink, dye, and paint were used throughout.
I've added a bit of information about some of the photos , so I can have the fun of writing about the technqiues used in their amalgamation.
I'm partial to the kangaroo (with apologies to the marmot of askamarmot designs), because it's my own block print. As you can guess, some of the animals are hard to find in fabric version--so I made my own. This particular kangaroo is printed on some Marimekko remnants I found on-line and pounced on as perfect for this project. The letters are stenciled--I used Bangle font for the alphabet part of this project.
Most of the fabrics are cotton and linen, although some fall outside that category in my quest to use a wide range of fabrics. Most of the pages include embroidery, flocking, and other extra bits. Everything was pre-washed and heat set and ironed, etc, if at all possible, and water-based ink, dye, and paint were used throughout.
A-Z--short version
Okay, to make the point: this is the A and B, and the following is the Y and Z, just to prove it goes all the way through the alphabet. (The pen is there to show scale....the pages on this one are about 8".)
I did the block of the yak, too--nope, I couldn't spot any Y fabric. And the Zebra is an echino print. On every page of this particular book, I added a small stencilled white bird, just for the heck of it.  Cool extras
These closeups show some of the more entertaining bits of this project.
This is the squirrel page--a closeup. That fabric is not the best choice, but I do love the squirrels. This is the before picture, with only the pocket showing. The following is the after picture.  A few more pages
This is a closeup to show off some wonderful hedgehogs printed on the twill tape.
The small book
This is the small A-Z book. It's chunky and about 4" x 4.5". This includes the pen to show scale.
The smaller format required a smaller scale print, so I got to use some tiny prints that don't work well in a larger page size. The Elephant fabric, below, is a short-run custom print from the emilyme etsy store. Gorgeous prints, with a great story behnd them--a family that has made these prints since the 60s and only prints small runs. The Polar Bear print (further down the page) is also gorgeous--by Laurie Wisbrun. .   The Narwhal, the Sea Urchin and the Yak
The Narwhal and sea Urchin (Hey, it's a U) and the Yak are more lino prints/stamps. The Yak (other column) has a fringe of embroidery along the fur above her feet, and her face is embroidered.
  To see more animal alphabet pages, use a couple of the navigation links at the top of this page. |
A few page spreads in A-Z (book 1)
Here are some page spreads--a few showing fabric or embellishment that I am particularly fond of. This is the I-J spread. Note the Jaguar page--the rectangle is a pocket.
The owl and penguin pages show the range of fabric types. The owl fabric is flocked snd doubtless a polyester. The penguin page is another Japanese import, and it's a linen. The pages have a high tactile quotient wherever possible.  Contents of jaguar and elephant pockets
In this edition, I put a small fabric object in every pocket, and that object is attached....
Note the remarkably tiny elephant living the the elephant pocket (below). I've included the stencilled bird across this set, where it made sense for the closeup. Sometimes it's intentionally a little hard to spot.   Not yet a quilt
I am not a quilter, to speak of. So I am saving these squares for a bit longer, and then I will quilt them. The Fox square (above) is funny if only because of the light green embroidery toward the bottom of the picture--the fox is daydreaming about supper.
There really are X-Ray fish, so I was thrilled to find this mod/retro fish print.    More pockets and techniques
The D page above, of dogs, includes a brown hill of dirt with a dog bone that you can pull out of the pocket. The lobster, below, uses an applique that focuses attentino to the letter L on the page. A lot of the design involves helping focus on the right critter and the text, without overwhelming the print. The T for tiger, to the left, used embroidery and color to call up the orange of the tiger across the tiny print.
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