Consternation

Consternation    15" x 20"

So here is my newest portrait quilt.  He certainly looks a lot different now that he is painted and quilted.  Especially around the eyes and mouth and nose.  I still struggle with noses but I think I am slowly getting better.

One thing that worked in my favor with this one was the great piece of hand-dyed fabric that I had to work with.  My dear friend and fellow blogster Jan was the artist who created the fabric with this type of quilt in mind (variation of color and value in one piece).  And the pattern of dye in one of the light areas was just PERFECT for the creases in this guy's forehead.  How excellent is that?

I am also sort of fond of his left ear - I guess it would actually be HIS right ear - but on the left of the quilt.  I like the way it looks like a real ear - if ears were bright red!

Anyway - he is finished in time for the HnH show, and he will also be entered in the SAQA regional show that is scheduled for next year.  More about that later - along with photos of the quilts that I will be entering.     barbara

I Need a New Face

Every quilt seems to have a story of some sort in the background.  I hadn't made a portrait quilt in many months and donated my last one (Blue Man) to an auction for a wonderful cause in Memphis (Advance Memphis).  I was totally thrilled when it sold because I love for my quilts to find new homes and new people to live with.

But I was also taken slightly off guard because Blue Man was a quilt that I had entered in our Hill 'n Hollow Quilt Show (which starts October 20).  Oooops!  I needed to make another quilt the same size as Blue Man so that it wouldn't goof up the design of the show.

So I did.  And this is what he looked like when the pieces had been selected and pinned to the paper pattern.  Sort of a stern looking face don't you think?  I was pleased with the initial appearance of this quilt - but if I hadn't made one before, I wouldn't have realized how significant the difference would be once he was painted and quilted.    barbara

Just One Pear

Just One Pear    16" x 20"

Here is the finished quilt - painted and quilted.  Notice how the shading of the pear is smoothed out compared to the unpainted version.  I think this is the true magic of this technique.  I added the light yellow portion that was too harsh in my original choice of fabrics by using paint - much nicer.

And I really like the border fabric that I found in my stash.  I had this fabric for years - never figuring out a way to use it - and then TA DAA - here was the perfect opportunity.  Perfect colors, nice linear pattern that contrasted with the round shape of the pear.  I used a quilting pattern that mimicked the wavy pattern of the border fabric.

I wonder what besides faces and fruit I can use this technique for?  Hmmmmmm.....  barbara

More Fruit

Where oh where has the summer gone?  YIKES!  Yes we had our favorite daughter Anna visiting for several months with her adorable puppy Amos - but the time just seemed to drift away.

BUT - I have now started working on quilts again and am having a wonderful time.  I am currently focused on practicing the technique that I learned in the class with Esterita Austin and this quilt of a single pear is an example.  This first picture is how it looked while still on paper - you can see the blue tape under the fabric.  Notice the dark patch on the lower right side and the bright yellowish patch on the upper middle portion.  Both looked like incorrect values once I stood back and looked at the piece from a distance.  This is the nice  part of this technique.  I just removed the yellow piece and changed out the dark piece.

The second photo shows how the changes affected the overall appearance.



Both of these photos are prior to moving the pieces to the background and adding paint - which will make a significant difference.