Sunbather

"Sunbather"

From Concept to PIQF

Here she is being displayed at PIQF in October 2016!  The making of her was a very long process.  I was pretty certain the entire time the work was progressing that "never again" would I attack such intricate work.   The process,  as taught by the ever so talented Melinda Bula at Asilomar in 2016, "would be my last" I declared boldly more than once.  That changed. I will most definitely work the process again choosing from one of the thousands of photos I've taken. In the end it was worth all the blood, sweat and labor that when into her.

 The Process

Prior to attending Melinda's workshop we were instructed to choose a picture.  I chose a photo of this beautiful Nasturtium.  It was among many photos taken  at various venues including home garden centers.  I've been known to take photos of flowers that attracted my attention at grocery stores. The idea being that one of these photos will make a great quilt "someday".

The photo was printed on 8 1/2 x 11 photo paper prior to class.  Marks were made on a second photo with a sharpie which delineated color variations.  Calculations were then made based on the size we wanted to have our finished quilt be and the marked off picture was enlarged based on the desired finished size.  

Additionally we were instructed to bring lots and lots of fabric!  Orange fabric hunting was on the radar for months leading up to the workshop.  Everywhere I went I was consumed by orange fabric. Never would I have guessed there was so much orange fabric on the market! Or that I'd need more then I brought!

After placing much of the large fabric details on to paper many background fabrics were auditioned.  In the end this lovely green batik was chosen.  It was very scary to lift the flower off the paper where assembly was taking place to plop it down on the background. The use of Steam a Seam 2 kept the flower surprisingly intact during the transfer.  This is the stage she was at when traveling home from the workshop.  She sat in this state for several months. The decision was made to finish her when I needed a quilt for my local quilt guild show that would fit the theme -California Dreaming- She won first place!

Never again will the use of black and white photos go un-used.  The process of pushing the photo to black and white allowed the depth to come into view.  The color brightness and darkness became more obvious.  Fabric selection became easier when looking at the black and white.

The Mess

Notice how neat the fabrics are, the floor has only a few pieces of fabric on it.  Progress was in the beginning phase.  Now how the fabrics are neat and tidy, the floor clean until.....

More detail on flower, more mess!

I wonder where my scissors are!

The layering of fabrics details the flower as the process was made. The flower is really beginning to take shape here.  Many fabrics were used. I lost count early on but I do know I had over 100 fabrics to choose from to start with.

Some of the colors on the petals were changed and fine details were eventually added.  The flower was coming alive.  It was about this point in time I began to love the process.  The 10 Emotional Stages of making a quilt as described by Kathy Mathews were in play here and I was beginning to like my quilt again.

The border took a lot of time to decide on.  Auditions for many color combinations over time took place.  The final decision was made based on the color wheel.   I used a triadic color combination when choosing the border color to help bring the orange and green together.

Some New Tools 

A few new tools of the trade were added to my studio.  The first is this pulley (really chain and clamp) type system which was attached to the shelf just to the left of my sewing machine.  The clamps hold the weight of the quilt while free motion quilting. I had no drag on the fabric making quilting a dream!

The clamps are easily in reach at all times making adjusting the weight of the quilt easy.


The black S clamps are user friendly, even for me.


It was less then 20.00 for this quick fix solution to the weight problem of the quilt.


Prior to this all my quilts were smaller and didn't need the weight "lifted" in order to quilt.

The second addition was two lights that have these great sturdy clamps on them.  I put one in front and one in back of my machine which provides me with maximum direct light.  

Staring, Staring and more Staring

Staring at the progress was time consuming!  From the sewing machine I could prop her here in this position and see all the detail.  After hours of quilting I'd sit back to analyze my work.  I think studying the piece and planning the next move is just as important as picking the fabrics.

And picking the threads!  I ended up with about 50 spools of orange thread!

The main part of the quilt was quilted to my satisfaction however, I didn't like the background at all so it was ripped out and re-done.

My constant companions in the studio  are friends -the seam ripper and tweezers!

No quilt is complete without a pretty back!  I like this fabric a lot.   It is heavier weight decorator fabric which helps the quilt hang smoothly.

I hope you enjoyed the journey of the making of Sunbather from concept to PIQF!  PIQF was my first judged show and I don't think will be my last.

Happy Sewing
Barbara