Connections

Connections

Monday, March 26, 2012

The Finished Quilt


I can hardly believe I finally finished it. There were so many things that distracted me along the way and I must say that I finally see how much of a commitment there is to such an endeavor. There are so many stitches in this. And no there are no fancy stitches or perfectly lined up edges .. but it still manages to be a wonderful  quilt. The edge that I decided to go with was a recycled dyed t-shirt. The wonderful ochre/greenish color just seemed to be the perfect compliment to the black and grey and greens in the main parts of the quilt. It has an overall earthy feel to it and I just have to say .. I was really really pleased with the outcome.

Several of you have asked about the discharged leaves on the dark gray fabrics. Those were done using actual leaves in my yard. I either painted or sprayed the underside of a leaf where the veins are and then pressed onto the fabric and then the other images I simply used a branch of leaves as a stencil and sprayed the area around the leaves. This left a lovely impression of the leaf shapes. The center Leopard that you will see in the full finished quilt on the bottom was painted freehand by me with bleach also .. I have given some thought to creating an online class of my discharge techniques with more detail of my methods. Leave me a comment if you'd be interested in that.

Probably the most unexpected outcome of having done this quilt was the joy that I had in giving it away. I felt as though I learned a lesson. If you've never tried it .. you should!!

So here is the finished quilt. I had to climb up a ladder to see the whole thing. I suppose I could have put it up on a wall but I really don't have a good one for that. .. The very last thing that I had to do was wash it to make sure that everything stayed together and that any parts didn't shrink up and change everything. I was pleased that it washed up so nicely and it was even softer than before, a great cuddle blanket. I shipped it that same day and the owners have it and their son Royce loves it. And that made my day. Thanks everyone that came and posted on the previous blog post about this quilt. It's meant a lot to me to have your comments.
And please feel free to leave any for this one .. Goodness and light to all of you.

11 comments:

  1. Tammy! this is so stunning, love the way your leopard burns so bright like Blake's tiger in the night and those leaves...
    oh and yes please I am interested in learning how to do discharge painting on fabric very intriguing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tammy- Stunning is right! Boy, and you 'freehanded' that leopard?! Wow! Could you remind me how big it is? I bet Royce will love this for a very long time :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with Mo and Nancy: stunning is the right word Tammy!
    There will be a privileged and very happy person recieving this wonderful gift !!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. beautiful! the giving part is a great finishing touch. it always is.

    ReplyDelete
  5. so beautiful and dramatic. love all that stitching.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for stopping over, Mo Crow, Els, Nancy, Jude and Deanna. The only thing I don't like about Blogspot is the inability to respond to each comment individually. And now that someone asks about the size .. i realize I never measured it haha .. i'd say its about 5 ft x 5 ft give or take a few inches. And yes Jude .. the lesson in giving is profound. Much more than i expected!!! I hope to post more in the future now that the summer is nearly upon us. Yayyyyyyy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow...amazing..just stunningxxlynda

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful quilt! That leopard is amazing! I love the texture of all the stitching. And your thoughts on giving it away.
    I would be interested to learn more on your discharge techniques.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tammy,
    This quilt is so incredible. I love all of the parts and how they fit together and the imperfect perfection. Your story made me weepy. I am so grateful that you shared this work and the story, too. Thank you for being you and for the beauty you share with the world.
    Hug to you,
    Joy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Simply beautiful work! What dense stitching you do. I understand how time-consuming this type of work is, even on small pieces, because I do a great deal of handwork myself. I'm tempted to rename my blog, "However Long It Takes"!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You've had many comments ahead of me stating the obvious, Tammy, so I'll just add one more -- I'm sure there would have been a venue to show this piece...and I think many quilters/textile artists need to get out of the rut of the "art quilt show" and start looking at submitting to other calls. I sometimes look at stitching less as a way to show one's prowess as a seamstress and more as a vehicle to show one's intensity as an artist. What better way to say "I am here," than to leave a mark? Rules are meant to be broken. XO Amy

    ReplyDelete