"Oh man, I hope this wasn't a mistake." This was my thought as I started "collaging" my fabric onto the muslin base. I really didn't want to use fusible this time, especially since we'd been instructed by the person who will be doing the quilting for us to stitch the edges of all applique we might use on our slice. Doesn't matter that my fusible of choice does not need this step as it stays put, even along the edges, even through a wash. She's obviously had trouble in the past so I don't want to make her sigh unduly by not following her wishes. I've done applique without fusible or needleturning in the past, I think with satin stitching around the edges or taking care of the edges during the quilting process. I've not done it before quite on this scale where I will NOT be doing the quilting and where I don't really have pattern pieces to mark and cut out. Just trying to do some freeform cutting here. I also didn't want to "tack" pieces in place with glue stick or basting glue. I just wanted to lay down the pieces, pinning as I went (as I found in one tutorial), and then stitch along all those raw edges. Boy, I sure hope this is going to work.
And to my relief, it did work pretty well. The bush and grass definitely started looking better when I went from rough-cut blobs to releasing some of those leaves from their background. I used invisible thread and a size 60 Microtex needle because it doesn't matter how invisible the thread is, the needle still leaves holes, so they may as well be as small as possible.
That batik at the bottom is one of my very favorites for portraying grasses. I have it in two colorways but both are eight yard cuts - long and skinny and not much overall. So I use it judiciously and couldn't resist adding it here. I'm wondering if I should add branches or slender trunks to the orange blob like I am seeing in the photo, but frankly, that's the sort of thing I would do with quilting. Until you are not responsible for that last step, I don't think you realize just how much you depend on it to add details and bring the design to life. Maybe the need for branches will seem obvious to our quilter. She did a great job of quilting our barn slice quilt, bringing all our individual quirks into a cohesive presentation. But before I can send my slice off to her, I still have that bridge to build. You can see I've gotten out some threads to try out on a sample.
Speaking of the barn slice quilt (scroll to the bottom of this post to view it), our group had decided that after it had toured some quilt shows, we'd eventually donate it to a charity for auctioning. We chose Empty Bowls in the Eau Claire, WI area (where the other members of the group reside) which recently held that auction at their yearly event. To our great surprise and delight, it raised $400! So often, quilts go for a pittance at auctions, so this was exciting news and has renewed our enthusiasm for our current endeavor.
10 comments:
I love that barn slice quilt and am looking forward to seeing this next one finished.
Oh boy you are braver than I. But you are right in that you have to do what the quilter asks.
It’s looking good so far and congrats to your group on selling the last one for so much!
Chris
I can understand why you'd buy a lot of the batik at the bottom! Having to hand my art piece over to someone else for quilting would add anxiety to the assembly of my quilt! Our fiber arts group challenge this year is interpreting a photograph taken by one of the members. I'm having trouble getting started & it will probably take setting a timer & just s.t.a.r.t.i.n.g. it! Congratulations on the great outcome for your group's donation to the fundraiser! I agree that it's disappointing when quilts do not bring the money at auction they're actually worth in both time & materials. Jan in WY
We placed a value on the barn slice quilt of $500.00. The minimum starting bid was $395.00. We displayed it with the three ribbons, but they did not go with the quilt. If no one had bid, we would have found another charitable outlet for it. We are grateful................right person at the right event at the right time! Thank you.
Great colours in this slice - and what an interesting idea these slice quilts are. I’ve not come across them before. The group I stitch with locally always has a group piece for our exhibitions to we each add our three penny’s worth. However, we haven’t attempted anything as brave as this! Incidentally, i looked back at your barn slice quilt - don’t know how I missed it before - it was stunning! I’m not surprised it won all those prizes.
Thanks, Mary, for the additional information on the auction. Smart to set that high minimum price. This is the downside of being a part of a group that is over a thousand miles away - I don't get in on the chit chat when you guys meet to discuss some of these things. Obviously, you are doing fine without my input on everything! ;-)
Thanks, Margaret. Slice quilts have become quite popular here in the states and you see versions like ours where each slice is finished as a separate piece as well as versions where the slices are sewn together before quilting. Either way makes for interesting results.
I'm really enjoying using these fabrics - the sky fabric, a small piece of hand-dye with that radiating texture, is what set the tone. I promised Mary (our fearless leader) and the rest of the group that I'd loosen up more this time, not be so matchy matchy with the photo. But it's hard not to follow its lead. So I suppose the loosening up is with technique. It was quite scary for me with the Barn quilt, not knowing what the others would do and being concerned with accuracy. I'm still aware, as I mentioned, of a few places where I do have to be accurate, but I'm not nearly as intimidated by the process this time around. In fact, only being responsible for a small portion of the whole takes some of the pressure off!
Jan, indeed you just have to dive in. Although I'd also recommend reducing the photo you are working with to grayscale, as Mary has done for our group. I know I struggle with using a photo for reference without ending up copying it verbatim in fabric and grayscaling it might help with that. Also, picking out the main areas and ignoring all the little details (another weakness of mine)is helpful. Do you use a sketchbook? Sketching out some ideas might get you started too. Good luck!
I have a lime green bridge and a black and white road! Mary
Ack!!!!! Well, at least there shouldn't be a problem seeing your bridge - lol. Maybe I need to reconsider those thread colors I'm auditioning. :-)
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