Sadie’s Background…Iteration #2

Yesterday I showed the original background that I started on for Sadie, the Saddle Billed Stork….

…but it wasn’t working!!!

Now I decided to take smaller pieces of fabric and build the background up, much in the same way that I collaged the stork…..

I kept going until the bottom section was finished…..

I ironed it down onto the fusible interfacing and then used some watered-down glue to hold the edges down…..

But…..I JUST DIDN’T LIKE IT!!!!

So, I packed it all up into a basket and started over again……

Come back tomorrow for try number three!!!!

Sadie’s background….iteration #1

Now that I had Sadie looking okay….

…..it was time to think about a background for her.

One of the things that I noticed at the International Quilt Festival was that the best quilts didn’t just stop with the main portrait but took it further and added an amazing background. As an example……

I am pretty sure that I want to add a lot of thread painting and other embellishments to the marsh around her feet, much like this quilt from Houston…..

So, the question for me to tackle was….”What kind of fabric background will best show up the threadwork and quilting that I want to employ.

I had attended a guild lecture the night before I started the process and she talked about using a “square” system to get your design onto the background rather than physically tracing it, so I marked out the squares and gave it a try….

It isn’t wonderful but it will get me started!!

Then I pulled out TONS of fabrics that I thought might work…..

…and I started placing single pieces of fabric in each of the spots…..

But it didn’t do it for me!!!!

There was no way to grade from one fabric into the other and it looked too stark……not “stork” (HAHA)

Come back tomorrow for the second try!!

Sadie goes on a diet

When I left you on Thursday, I had finished the collage of Sadie, the Saddle-Billed Stork…..

…but she was a bit chunky!!

When I turned her over, I could see the outline that I had drawn on the interfacing….

It was super easy to cut along the lines…..

…and a very svelt Sadie emerged…….

I am VERY pleased with how she looks and happy that the process was so easy!!!

Now I need to think about the background and, honestly, I have TOO many ideas!!

Come back for more!!!

PATTERN UPDATE…Have you checked out my pattern for "Crumbs for the Geese".  To purchase, simply click on the "Patterns for Sale" tab at the top of this page.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Yesterday, I posted about fixing a mistake on the body of “Sadie the Saddle-Billed Stork”.

Today I am moving onto the neck and head.

I started working my way up the neck, drawing some of the shapes onto fabric using a wash-out marker…..

As I progressed up the neck, I used skinny pins to hold the pieces in place…..

….and when I was happy with it, I used my mini iron…..

…..to fuse them in place.

The only problem that I encountered was with fabric shadowing behind the yellow…..

I ended up doubling the fabric and that took care of most of the shadows. I figure that, once I have heavily stitched the area, it won’t be a problem!!

Before I knew it, Sadie had some personality…..

Next, it was time to move to her legs, starting with the knees first…..

Aren’t they cute!!!

Then I added the Hammies (hamstrings)…..

….and finished her gams with some shapely thighs…..

She is looking a bit chunky!!

stay tuned coming soon modern style background design

Fixing the bird….

And no, I am NOT talking about the Thanksgiving bird!!!

Last week I posted about making a start on “Sadie the Saddlebill Stork”. When I ended the post, I asked if you could see my mistake??

Here it is……

This white piece is in the wrong place. I should be further down and more to the center.

I noticed it just as I was finishing up for the day and gnashed over it in my mind until I could return to the studio. I had already ironed these pieces down so it wasn’t going to be easy to replace.

Then I had an epiphany…..since the piece now needed to be black, why don’t I just color it!!!

Out came the Fabrico markers and, in a matter of minutes, the correction was made!!!

Now I needed to add the white to the correct area, so I peeled back the edges…..

and inserted a white fabric…..

Problem solved!!

Come back tomorrow for the neck and head!!

PATTERN UPDATE…Have you checked out my pattern for “Crumbs for the Geese”. To purchase, simply click on the “Patterns for Sale” tab at the top of this page.