Details

Over at Quilter in the Gap  there is an interesting survey posted about blogs.  One of her questions was about what you like to see on blogs.  The biggest thing I like is details.....inspiration, creative process, share problems and fixes, things that work and what doesn't.  Seeing a finished quilt is wonderful and fun, but I am very interested in the process--the journey to get to the end.  That's really why I began to blog.  I am very analytical---my clinical training, I guess---and  how I get to the end is as important to me as the finished result.  Plus, I never want to stop learning ---I might miss something special.  I know I keep doing variations of  watercolors---that is my niche---by working in value, and  I have enjoyed the journey to get here.  And there are lots more avenues in value to explore.  So, on  to a journal project I worked on last night.
The process:

  I played around with a photo I found on line and managed to get a muted effect like a painting. Picasa is a great free program, and you can get some neat effects.   I printed a small version of  it out  onto a scrap of Printed Treasures.  I save all the extra pieces of PT  and this piece was just about 3 inches by 4 inches.  To get good placement when I printed,  I first printed (in B&W)  on paper and then taped the scrap of PT on top of the image.  Then I ran it thru the printer again!

  Then I went thru a box or two of scraps, looking for value that would blend or match the colors in the photo. 

Here is a close up of the photo and the fabrics I chose to surround it with.  I decided to just use straight lines when attaching the extra fabrics.  The book on blending with photos teaches the technique of extending the curves and lines of the photo onto the quilt.  The values and colors  of the extra fabrics are very close.   But since this is so small and I was just using small bit and scraps, I decided to just try to fool the eye with value---straight lines or not.  A couple of pieces of fabric were just perfect, and others close.  I fused a clump of tree (from a printed scenic fabric) on the right to extend the photo out.    This section measured about 6 " by   6"....too small, need more fabric.

  I couldn't find a perfect fabric to extend the sky,  so a ended up with a scrap of my dyed fabric from last summer.  And just a couple of angles strips on the bottom and it begins to look like a landscape.

  Final :   I did find a piece I liked to create a border, or half of it anyway.  It's on the right and bottom...the colors are good for this.  It reminded me of barn siding.  Still not large enough,  need more fabric to finish this off. 

  The last border piece is a "brush stroke" type neutral....I was getting tired of hunting thru scraps.  A narrow side piece and a wider top.   I  am  going to ignore the wonky edges because I was watching Larry, the cable guy on TV and laughing so hard.  What's a crooked edge when you having a good belly laugh. 
  If you haven't checked out all the journal quilts on Flickr--click here.  There are all types of techniques and ideas used.  Great talent and inspiration in this album.
Happy stitching.