I’ve made a few pet portrait quilts for my friends and family and decided to make one for myself. I went poking through the pictures on my phone and ran across a picture of my dog Dug, laying in the middle of my garden bed. It’s so typical of him when the weather starts to get warm – I don’t know if it’s a throw back to his days as a stray in the summer in Alabama, dig a hole and lay in it to stay cool….
I decided to challenge myself and include the flowers and shrubs that are in my garden to see how I do…..
Of course, I started with Dug. It may sound crazy but I need there to be a face there so I feel like I’m bringing my fabric to life. So here are some of my steps along the way:
I first try to make sure I capture the personality and in this case he knew he was caught in the act of tearing up some of the hostas in the garden and wasn’t quite sure whether he was going to get in trouble.
I just keep building from the face on out. I have to say that after being a stained glass artisan for many years, having to work with a limited palette available in glass, I’m am OVER THE MOON to see all of the various colors and patterns and textures available in fabric. I am in LOVE with batiks…..some of the most amazing colors – I want to buy them all….
This portrait quilt is like watching my gardens grow in the spring. You see the progress and it is exciting. Like gardening, if there is something you don’t like….a week, a wayward plant…. fabric collage is similar – you just yank out the piece you don’t like!!!
Little by little, I’ve made progress….
Do you see how it grows like a garden…..hostas get added, daylilies pop up and the hydrangea is in bloom.
When I was happy with the progress and finished with the collage, I added a border and started my free motion quilting. Unfortunately, the novice sewing machine user in me came out and I hit the wrong button on the touchscreen by accident while sewing my husband’s shorts and threw my machine out of whack. I was told the timing was off and it had to visit the technician….I will continue this post when my machine comes home and I get further on the quilting. Keep your fingers crossed that I don’t mess up my sewing machine again….live and learn!
At least the no-sewing-machine days has allowed me to challenge myself again. I decided to try to collage a bright pink peony flower but this the progress of this fabric collage will be saved for another day! Here is my start:
