1.17.2008

TIF January 2008 - Part II

Thank you to everyone who left comments on the 'Take in Forward January 2008-Part I' post I wrote two weeks ago. I really appreciate and enjoy reading your thoughts. There's alot happening among the challenge participants including a good bit of action on the TIF flickr pool as well as links to participating bloggers in the comments here. It's a real pleasure to browse around and see what other people have come up with working from the same starting point. Although, I've probably bitten off a bit more than I can chew in one month, I'm pleased with the way my piece is developing. I'm already getting antsy to do the quilting, a sure sign that I am feeling a strong connection to the work that is unfolding. Below are photos with a brief description of what I've done so far.

windows_1

Pieced together three windows to place in the background of the quilt. I wanted decreasing sizes of windows to give a senseof depth to the wide open space in the center of the piece but somehow I didn't manage this. So I'll work with these. Next time I would use patterns for this to get staggered sizes.
2_windows_fused_2

These are two of the windows set into the background fabric. They are fused from underneath with wonder-under. This is the first time I have used this product and I like the result.


freezerPaperBirds_3

I traced silhouettes of flying birds onto freezer paper and ironed these onto the fabric. I mixed up some acrylic paint in a pale turquoise colour which I thought would give the feeling of light reflecting off white birds high in the sky.


acrylic birds_4

After looking at this for awhile I decided that these birds by themselves were too light so I threw a second darker group of birds into the mix.
freezerPaperWithAcrylic_5


Here is the same piece of freezer paper, re-ironed onto the fabric and painted with a darker grey paint.


wholeTopLast_6
This is the quilt top so far. I have been thinking of calling it: 'There is something of 'God' in the Ninth of Beethoven: Homage to Etty Hillesum', or maybe just 'Homage to Etty Hillesum'.


wholeTopLast_detail_7

Work in progress, detail


Next steps:

1) Create a sense of dense brush in the lower part of the fabric using both layered acrylic silhouettes of dead wood and underbrush, and by quilting large thorny vines into the forefront of the piece.

2) Batt, back and baste.

3) Quilt first around the windows and birds by hand, then add machine quilting to bring out the lines in the brush. Finally quilt two lines of barbed wire across the bottom half of the piece, always leaving the top half open. The last bit of quilting will probably be to free-motion machine stipple any remaining open spaces.


Related Post: TIF January 2008 - Part I

13 comments:

Joyce said...

I really like what you have done so far. Did you hand dye the background? It's gorgeous.

Thelma said...

Love what you are doing with the challenge, can't wait to see it finished.

Debbi Baker said...

Hi Juanita - this was my first visit to your blog (thanks to TIF!) and I just love it! Your January quilt is looking terrific and it is very inspiring to see you utilising techniques from "the Painted Quilt" - makes me realise I need to do more than just read it!!

Jane Carlstrom said...

Great description, it felt as though I was there in your workroom seeing the progress. The second set of darker birds made such a difference. Don't you enjoy how the piece calls for something, and how the response takes it beyond what you have first imagined?

Gwen said...

This is stunning, I love that you are describing your process, and showing such detailed photos. I love the colors, and can't wait to see your next photos.

verobirdie said...

Those birds are amazing and beautiful. This is going to be a nice TIF piece

Meg in Tennessee said...

Your quilt is great, I was trying to think about what I would do after I did some threadwork on my TIF, and I think that using a stencil and some paint will be perfect. Can't wait to see the next step on yours.

Anonymous said...

I look forward to seeing how you progress with this.

Ruth said...

Absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to see the finished piece.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the detailed account of your progress with this project, for people, like me, new to the fabric world, it provides invalauble information.

The quilt looks like a work of art that should be on the wall,looks like you have some painterly background to your craft work. Looking forward to seeing the end result.

juanita sim said...

Hi everyone, I'm thrilled to receive all of your generous comments. I am enjoying doing this month's TIF but don't know if I can keep working this intensely all year ;-) Joyce, the background fabric is a hand-dye by Elaine Quehl. Her fabric is beautiful. Glorious hats, I do love how a piece calls for something and then takes off all in its own direction. It's also nice that we can take ideas from each other's work. Have fun with your pieces!

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Juanita, I think the colours of your piece are wonderful and the
3D quality of the windows is fantastic.The quilting will add yet another dimension. Waiting to see the piece finished.

Anonymous said...

Hello Juanita. I really love your work!!! I also like what is happening with the blogs by the exchange of different techniques. Thank you for this progress and Congratulations on such a beautiful result!

Maria del Valle from Alicante Spain

Hola Juanita realmente me encanta su trabajo!!!también me gusta lo que sucede con los blog porque me enriquezco con el intercambio de diferentes tecnicas. Gracias por mostrarme éste progreso y Felicitaciones por tan bello resultado!!!