Wednesday, August 26, 2015

'Scuse Me While I Quilt This Sky (With apologies to Jimmie Hendrix)

Well...The Line Painter showed up...and laying down the road lines was easier than expected.

The piece is now quilted and trimmed...and awaits further feed-back before facing is applied.  Why?  Well...I am not fond of quilting skies and I have not fallen prey to the trend to quilt the life out of everything (i.e. to quilt everything densely)...so I've asked EB for some advice about my sky quilting...and my road quilting.  (The trees and fields? I'm not concerned!)

Here's how it looks right now:

It's Still About the Sky (C) 2015
28" W x 24.5" L (before facing)

Detail of trees, grass, sky...some road...
It turns out the most challenging part of this piece was figuring out if its sides were straight.

I live (as I may have said before) in a small space.  My studio is the largest bedroom in said small space.  I have an 18" x 24" cutting mat on a surface that's not much larger.  Trimming this piece (which started at 30" x 26") to make its sides 'even' was a challenge!  No wonder I work "small"!

On the commission front...the client (my DD) who wants the gift(s) for her friends' tenth anniversary...well...she wasn't so sure about these:

Maritime Trio (C) 2015
Painted whole-cloth, quilted;
mounted on stretched canvas;
each = 6" square
Then again, she hasn't seen them in person...just a photo of the first one (far left)...

So I made an attempt at a 'mini' in my "usual style" and came up with this:

Maritime Memories I (C) 2015
5" x 7 " matted to 8" x 10"
Materials: commercial cottons, batiks, silk hand-dyed with indigo
Techniques: fused applique, machine quilting, thread painting
I dunno if I can come up with a companion piece...we shall see!

Meanwhile...I await feedback on all fronts (my DD will be here Saturday to review!) and...I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network...

Have a lovely evening!


5 comments:

Jo Ferguson said...

Photos, no matter how well taken, really don't prepare someone for the beauty of a piece in person. I think your DD will love the pieces when she sees them. The sky is spectacular and I think I'd make the quilting as simple as possible. Love the new mini.

els said...

Your sky piece is wonderful. I can imagine that's hard to decide how to quilt it. I love your maritime trio. It's so colourful and different from your other work. Maybe your DD had something less colorful in mind, but I think when se sees them she will fall in love with them. If not I am sure they will sell.

Kate said...

I have noticed at quilt shows that when a quilt has "the life quilted out of it", into longer lays or hangs flat. I agree that less is probably better.
I love the road quilt, I thought the quilt was a photo, at first glance. However, it is so much more then a photo. Wow.

Sha said...

I like the road and how it's developing and agree about the sky quilting. Prairie skies are open and uninterrupted and quilting can so easily break up the vista. Will be interested to hear what advice you get. Maybe a couple of flying birds to tack the sandwich layers...

Looking at your maritime paintings - I like them. Do you remember those pillow cushions from India that I showed you with small central handwork pieces showcased in the centre of a wide 'frame' edge. I was wondering if that sort of setup might give the wee pieces the punch one might be looking for. It might bring more focus and formal presentation to the pieces vs the three unframed pieces displayed on the shelf. Just a thought. The one done in your more utilized technique is interesting and could be effective but I prefer the paintings as they seem to have more charm and quaintness about them. Regardless I know that you will come up with the perfect solution for the commission.
Shalaya

Monika Kinner said...

you are so PUNNY! I love it. : ) What a great piece with the lines. : )