Fantabulous Sunday With Pamela

We worked on a larger scale; a portrait or face; and we worked on the same piece all day which was so much less hectic than the 5 pieces on Friday. Each of the pieces I worked on this weekend have bits of my handpainted fabric in them -- my personal touch. This piece is also personal to me as it's going to be all about the changes in my life regarding diet. The weighing, counting, measuring. The numbers. The tape measure. I may quilt sections of my food diary into the red background.

I always think these are clear and then they are blurry and I apologize. That's my painted polka dot fabric center stage in this photo along with 34 pounds and 56 pounds. I found the measuring tape fabric in one of the vendor booths. Love it. Pamela saw it and went straight down to get some for herself.

The neckline with red tape measure fabric. I think it is marketed along with the Dick and Jane stuff. A fellow student gave me two shades of organza for the head. Thank you!

I never did learn anything about embellishment in either of the classes. What I did learn was to make a background that says something. Interior, exterior, perspective, landscape. Then and only then begin making shapes for the subject of the quilt. And by this time the quilt may have other ideas on what that subject is. Your first idea is always the worst idea.

After the big shapes are in start hand stitching them down. Don't fiddle with the little bits. The big bits need doing first. Your hand stitching is like your handwriting. Each of us has their own personal style. Use it to your advantage. Say something. With the stitches. With the thread color.

Now begin to develop the big shapes. Divide. If something isn't showing up--cut a light or dark shape with scissors and place it behind. Leave it there if it works. Replace it if it doesn't. Cut 25 bits till you get the one that does the job. Hang the piece on the wall. Stand back. What bothers you? Change it. Fix it. Remove it. Make it bigger. Make it a different color.

Stand with scissors in hand. Work at free hand cutting of shapes. Trim on the quilt surface. Keep cutting and replacing until you get it right or decide to throw that whole section on the floor and stamp on it. Make something else. I really think it would be best to have 2 and possibly 3 pieces in different stages of development and move back and forth between them.

Quilt. Machine quilt with themes that mean something. In her hot flash quilt, Pamela has little fire engines complete with ladders and hoses racing to the "fire". Do word association to come up with things relating to your subject. In my quilt: measuring, scales, food diary, numbers, walking etc. Don't just make squiggles. NO echo quilting.

Bind.

And I guess this is where the embellishment happens. Pamela took an angel or fairy quilt and made it into a tooth fairy quilt with the addition of two boxes. One holds a nickle coin. One holds a tooth. The fairy has a crown made of dental mirrors. The story: the tooth fairy doesn't pay very well anymore. A nickle doesn't cover two tooth implants that Pamela needs.

So when it comes to embellishment I have been a "Premature Embellisher". I have cute stuff and want to make a quilt to use all that stuff. WRONG. When the quilt is all DONE it will let me know what it needs in the way of embellishment. I will just have to LEARN to WAIT. Well, damn!