Saturday, August 29, 2015

The Photographer's Assistant

My DD came down from Edmonton for the better part of today...and we accomplished a number of things.

  • We delivered The Quilt Top to Sylvia Sawyer, long-arm quilter/proprietress of Windwood Quilts just up the road;
  • DD photographed some of my roses...while I held an umbrella to cast the appropriate shadows;
  • We reviewed her Maritime commission options and will go with 2 fabric minis -- the one that's finished and one other... and 
  • DD photographed three pieces I have in mind to enter into a couple of juried exhibits this fall.  She took the photos; I helped adjust the lighting.  :-)  She'll send me the shots, sized per requirements for the competitions...and I'll take it from there.
One of said pieces is "It's Still About the Sky"...the latest in my Master Class efforts.  In my last post I was awaiting EB's comments re: quilting.  She didn't disappoint; her thoughts were as follows:
Yes quilting skies is a problem, funnily enough that's exactly what I was trying to work out yesterday on the quilt I'm finishing right now.  I have different solutions...sometimes I just go with vertical lines - never horizontal because it seems to compress things.  and never ever those horrible wormy things that people call meandering - ghastly!!!

I do vertical, or diagonal usually...once in a while I'll look at the fabric and follow  the markings on it..and that might be your solution here...that expanding circle is really the focus of the piece...

I like to print out a few photos and draw potential quilting lines on them...and then I'll mark out the lines with a chalk pencil on the fabric to see how it looks too.

It's a great relief to me that someone of EB's stature agrees that "quilting skies is a problem"! :-)

Upon her advice, I added more quilting, following the "natural" markings on the fabric...and was so pleased with the results that I've faced it and am calling it "finished"! (Label to follow!)

Here's a photo I took of it right after facing it:

It's Still About the Sky (C) 2015
27.5" W x 23.5" L
Materials: hand-dyed and commercial cottons,
fusible web, cotton thread.
Machine pieced; fused, rough-edged applique, machine quilted

All in all, it's been a particularly satisfying month...Somehow, I feel that I've crossed a threshold...

And on that note, I'm off to bed...just as soon as I link up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  This week she has a great wee post on 'critiques'.  (To my mind, EB's "crits" definitely fill the bill!)

Have a good one!

P.S. You can check out more of my daughter's beautiful work on her blog.

5 comments:

Judy Warner said...

Yeah, skies are tough to quilt. But, you have done a great job! Lucky to have your DD to help with photography. It does sound like it has been a great month for you!

elle said...

Great finish! The sky is the limit!!! Speaking of skies, some of your smoke has made all the way over to blot out sunny Manitoba! :O
You have had a wonderful month!

Jenny K. Lyon said...

Ooo-crossed a threshold! How satisfying that must be. I do like your sky and love the title too. You have worked hard crossing that threshold!

Regina B Dunn said...

Your quilt is very nicely composed. It is very interesting that even EB has trouble deciding how to quilt skies!

Jo Ferguson said...

It's always nice to get good advice. The skies look, just right and set off the quilt beautifully. Good for you, for feeling as though you've crossed a threshold.