Ok, so I have some photos now. I've completely finished the background. I just need to put in the tree in blossom. Funny that the most important part has ended up being the last thing to go in.
I've put in some more closeups of the different quilting patterns. I was really pleased with the brown rocks. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to do rocky, I knew I wanted sharp and irregular but for some reason it wasn't coming together. The angular stipple seems to do the job nicely. I used a variation of it for the underside of the bridge, but there I made it less pointy. The underside of the bridge would be smoother and wet, I wanted the quilting to say that.
The rather strange blob in the water is some sort of plant. You will have to believe me it is pretty accurate. Even the quilting with the curly tops. Don't know what it is but I kinda like it.
I couldn't unwind the quilt from the frame enough to show the whole quilt, so I have just photographed the lower part of it. It's a shame as the top of the bridge is the better bit (more of the bottom will be covered by blossom). Still it should give you the idea.
Now to cut my branches and start getting them in place.
6 comments:
It looks like it is coming together beautifully- some of the detail pictures are better than others, I wish I could see the angular stipple you talked about better.
I'm curious- how large are the fabric pieces you are using? I've only seen one other artist do a quilt completely on the longarm- a Japanese quilter whose name escapes me. She used what I call fabric confetti.
Can't wait to see the finished product!
I may try and get another picture. I have a very wide angle lense on and the built in flash doesn't go around it. I need to get a seperate flash really but until then I have to find work arounds.
The pieces are about an inch square, very aproximately. I am finding there are many ways to make the quilt entirely on the longarm and I like most of them.
There is a down side though, I only see a narrow band of the quilt at a time. I only see the full picture when I photograph it for the blog. It makes staying focused on the design as a whole quite tricky.
I can't get over the speed that this is coming together, but it must be very difficult only seeing a bit at a time. I have to build things bit by bit and see the relation between those bits before I know where to go next - is this a problem for you? or do you already have a master plan before you start?
I would like to be able to see it all as I work, but I am getting used to not being able to. Even things like Miss Baltimore are too big for me to lay out anywhere in the house so I have learned to work blind. I always have a plan but it tends to wiggle as I progress. The tree and blossom were not on my source photo so they were just grown onto the quilt. It was hard making the tree a secion at a time, but I don't think you can tell from the finished piece that that is how I did it.
I like to work fast, just get into something and get it done. I have been working 12 + hours a day to get this finished. It is also the only way I can do as much as I want in a year.
Stunning!!!
I am so impressed about how hard you work too. Do you collapse into a heap at the end of a project like this or do you just keep going?
It depends. Usually I just keep going. I always have more things planned than I can do and if a project ends well I am on a high and can get a good start on the next thing.
On the other hand I have days when I just crash and can't do anything. This can happen anytime. If it hits at the end of a project it really is a problem as I don't have any momentum to carry me through it. So I tend to miss the next deadline I was aiming for. At some point I get my act together again and off we go.
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