I'm trying to embrace the rain and gray this year instead of hating it, so this week I started a "Rainy Day" quilt by painting some cotton and cheesecloth (above).
Before reading more, you need to get in the mood by clicking on Jimi's "Rainy Day Dream Away." As I painted, that song kept popping into my head until I finally just put in on. (You know he was from this rainy part of the country.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVqJl-FOYIA
I got impatient waiting for the fabric to dry, so I finished it off with the blow dryer, ironed it, and then pulled out some other fabric from my stash that I thought might go with it. I ended up only using a piece of black tulle, but the pile is still on my floor.
It's a pretty pile.
I tore the painted piece into rectangles and pinned them on a piece of batting and black backing ...
... then I started sewing with silver thread in the needle and bobbin.
I started by tacking down the smaller rectangles with a zigzag stitch and leaving long silver thread tails, pulling the bobbin tails to the front for more shimmer.
Back on the design board, the piece looked washed out, so I added black tulle to the top and bottom of the center rectangle for more contrast.
This is where I am right now, and as soon as I finish this post I'll add the final quilting and do an edge treatment. And yes, it's rainy outside.
Have a colorful (if rainy) day
5 comments:
Very evocative of a rainy day! Even the pile of fabrics has the shine of wet pavement.
Ooo I like! Looks like fog in the valleys, mountains rising above. Very ethereal and calming. I like the dark tulle added at the base of the larger rectangle, not so sure how I feel about the dark around the smaller ones, but I get your point about the washed out look. The cheesecloth draped over the large rectangle looks very drippy I realize. Looking forward to your final resolutions.
Had to laugh at your pile of fabric on the floor. Looks a lot like my masterpieces. Rain or shine, it is really looking good. Keep going.
Love your process! Here I am in sunny Western Australia, just ready to launch ino fabric painting to extend my quilting repertoire. My mom lives at Merrill Gardens assisted living in Gig Harbour, so I can call her today and say with confidence that I know it's raining! Cheers from Kath Balfour in Perth.
Thanks, everyone, for your comments! Taxingwoman -- Merrill Gardens is just a few miles from my house and I sold my scarves there in November at a craft bazaar! What a small world.
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