Eke Krug – P
P from Printing
Inspiration: Upcycle, making something new from a piece that exists. In this series six art-quilts are made from one old damask tablecloth, and the coronavirus creeps in.
For the second piece of my Upcycle series of six, with the letter P, I choose Printing. I love printing on fabric and do it in many different ways. For this piece, and its connection to the first piece which was Shibori, I wanted to repeat the shibori pattern. So I took a piece of Freezer paper, folded it the same way I did for the first one, and cut of the four corners of the folded paper. This is not that easy, because it was very thick. But that was also nice, to create differences in the patter, to make it more interesting.
I iron the paper on the fabric, and take some fabric paint and stencils, to cover the holes in the paper. I also cover bits of the surrounding space, to make a connection with the neighbours that come later, and also the first piece, so the pattern walks over a bit in the Shibori quilt. After that, I cut a stencil in Freezer paper for the text and print it on top of my patterns. Pieces of eco printed organza and Uzbek silk are put on top of it all, for a more interesting look and an other printing technique. First the letters of Printing are surrounded by straight stitches with my sewing machine. This is the first time I use it on its lowest speed, which is funny and makes it easy to do. Then I stitch the word Printing several times, to make a repeating item in the series.
And then the hand stitching begins. I start in the middle of the piece, to secure the silk, using the blanket stitch I used in the first piece again. And while working, the corona virus creeps in. Hidden behind the Uzbek silk, but on its way, and I cannot escape from that feeling. So as I see it now, on the left sight of the piece, it is there, in full sight, but we are not aware of it, so for this side I use the backstitch and running stitch to make them visible. And on the right side of the piece, the pattern is not covered anymore, and using the blanket stitch repeatedly, corona is there….. I am not ill by corona, but, like everybody else I guess, touched by it.
Materials: Damask tablecloth – iron, tea and wine for dyeing – organza and Uzbeks silk – cotton sewing thread – cotton threads – 20/80 batting – cotton backside
Techniques: Printing – ecoprint – hand and machine stitching
Detail views:
FIFTEEN BY FIFTEEN 
I love the colours and I really admire the way that you have brought coronavirus in to your piece with the way you have worked it without changing your initial subject. Super work!
I really like the texture you create with your hand stitching on the surface. Your prints are very interesting too and both techniques put together are in harmony.
A beautiful piece with such interest created by the layers and patterns you have created. The stitching gives an extra element to the piece and is wonderfully done.
I love to see all the different ways of printing in this interesting piece. It blends perfectly together. It became, combined with your meticulous hand stitching a beautiful piece, that always will remind us of the corona crisis. It really slipped into your work. Very well done!
A very effective piece showing many different effects from your printing. The stitching really adds the detail and completes the design.
Love the mix of different prints and all the connections you create among the pices of thie series. And your colours are to die for!
Thank you for the detailed explanation of how you created the printed fabric. It sounds quite challenging. It is always education to learn how fibre artists have created their pieces. The use of repeated text in different sizes and created with different methods works well as a unifying device.
Wonderful use of multiple techniques. I like the shapes you have created and the way you have found to make the quilt speak to current events.
I love how you used the different prints, the hand stitching and the how you added the blue and green colors into the brown. Well done!
With all the work and techniques invested in this piece you got a really astonishing result. I look forward to your next letter!
I love the way you integrate all the little printed pieces in the textile. The colors are incredible as well as the composition, and the stitching. Beautiful!
A beautifully designed and well thought out piece with so much to see. Love all the layers, textures, colors and techniques you used. Your attention to detail is amazing!