On 23 Apr 2006 17:18:20 -0700, "Wren" wrote:

Hi all,

After going to the quilt show yesterday, it reiterated that I want to
raise my creative senses to include embellishments. I've been buying
them over the last couple of months but I haven't used any of them yet
on a project. How did/do you learn to embellish your wall hangings or
quilted items and take them to a different level? What are your
sources? What books have you bought? Which fiber artists do you
emulate? Do you use Angelina Fibers? Do you couch threads, yarns, and
new materials? Do you use found items?

Help!

Renee

The only time I've used embellishments on a quilt they were part of
the overall design. I used a swizzle stick for a sailboat mast, and
a toothpick and fishing line for a tiny fishing pole and line on my
tropical fish wall hanging. I couched those found objects on by hand.
I have also made some quilt blocks with purchased buttons added to
them.

I have rarely had to purchase embellishments other than buttons. What
kind of things do you want to learn how to use?

A lot of the other folks here have done more embellishing than I have
done. Go to Google and check out the old messages about quilted post
cards. Some of the people have been making postcards to practice
using embellishments because the cards are small so they are easy to
work on and don't cost a fortune even if you go wild and cover the
whole surface with embellishments. Evidently the folks making post
cards are so busy making cards that they haven't noticed your
question.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere