Friday, May 18, 2012

Bloggers Quilt Festival 2012

Welcome to  the Bloggers Quilt Festival !  Thank you, Amy for hosting this.

  Persistence is a small wall hanging, but right now in my life it has huge meaning .   Persist, stay the course, hang in there, don't give up......you get the idea.  This is day 28 of the broken shoulder event, and  each morning I  when I see this wall hanging  I am reminded to hold on one more day.  Healing  is a slow process.  I am impatient.  I am tired of having this sling hold me down.  I want to sew and create.  I want to do the things I love.   Not yet.   Persist one more day, it will be better.   And that is why I chose to show this water color for the festival.



 The background is done in floral fabrics using the watercolor technique of 2 inch squares on gridded interfacing.  It's my favorite form of expression in quilting.  I enjoy working with color and value and finding the impact in their arrangement.
    The central area of the lightest fabrics glows  and blends into the surrounding foliage and flowers of the garden.  Perched on a branch is a Goldfinch.  I often watch these beautiful birds from the window in the sun-room.
    My Goldfinch is thread painted onto several layers of  tulle and stabilizer .  I used about 4 shades of yellow and a touch of gold thread for the body.....lots and lots of thread.   The branch is also thread painted.  I mainly use a zigzag stitch for thread painting.....using a side to side motion to achieve good blending of color.   Once the thread painting was finished,  both were cut out just beyond the thread line and machine stitched to the background.



I finished off  the edge with a filet inset strip that is very narrow, about 1/4".  I love how the yellow really makes the Goldfinch pop.  And then  I added the border to complete and quilt.  


                                                                           Persistence 
                                                                          18" by 26"  
Persistence....The ability  of taking one day at a time as you hang on till it is done or in my case, healed.  A good character trait to have.   And remember to avoid the holes in life.
  Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the festival.   Visit  Amy's Creative Side  to view all the entries and to be inspired.  Happy stitching.

47 comments:

Geta Grama said...

A beautiful quilt, I love the watercolor background. You did a fabulous thread painting on the bird.

Pat said...

Beautiful quilt. Hope your healing doesn't take too long so you can get back to creating.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Beautiful blending of watercolor and thred painting. Just a wonderful quilt that surely does have meaning.

Angie in SoCal said...

Gorgeous. This would be my number one favorite if I was voting today.

Ashlea Tenner said...

This is beautiful!

CitricSugar said...

This is beautiful. I have only started to get interested in thread-painting and you've definitely encouraged my interest!

Take care of that shoulder. I hope it heals more quickly for you!

beth said...

holy cow, that is gorgeous! i love the goldfinch.

Marika said...

Quilting is very nice work :)

Sarcastic Quilter said...

It's beautiful and persistence is a wonderful thing to have. As is patience, but both are hard, right?

A lovely quilt and a great reminder for us all.

carol fun said...

This is such a pretty piece! And the reminder to persist is a great one!

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

A gorgeous piece!!

Mom said...

gorgeous gradations!

Margaret
http://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/

Susan J Barker said...

I have long admired those with the ability to choose just the right fabrics for a "watercolour quilt"! Gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! You have such a great eye for value, a true artist!

Texas JennyWren said...

Love the gold finch in your quilt. I love all birds in general, but this one is beautiful. Persistence is something I NEED right now as well. Unemployment and other issues makes me feel like this hard time will never end. So I have to try to endure one day at a time.

Janet O. said...

Very beautiful job, Debbie. I have watched my Mother go through the process of selecting fabrics for a watercolor quilt. I know how challenging it can be to find just the right thing. You have done an amazing job on this--the thread painting is incredible.

Barbara said...

Really lovely.

Auntie Em said...

Gosh, that is beautiful! The goldfinch is outstanding!
Sorry about the shoulder. I recently had a bout with bursitis in my shoulder and had to put all crafting on hold for a while. I can understand the frustration. Hope your shoulder is healthy again soon!

straythreads said...

beautiful quilt love the goldfinch
Ann

Janet said...

This is lovely! I haven't tried the watercolour technique but I think you have moved me to try it.

Karen said...

Fabulous job!! You've given me an idea for my watercolor. Hope you're healing quickly.

Nicki said...

What a beautiful quilt. I love what you did with the goldfinch in the center. Your thread painting is fantastic. I love all the florals you used in it. The goldfinch is surrounded by a garden of beauty.

Your persistene will pay off in the long run. Before you know it you will be back to quilting like you've never quilted before.

Cheryl said...

Of course you have done it again !!! I just love this one, it really shows lots of talent ,I have got to start doing more watercolor quilts and then try my hand at thread painting, I have done lots of appliques so many different ways, but not this yet, Maybe I will try one on a pillow or handbag first.
Keep up the wonderful work that you do !

Shontelle said...

Hi Debbie, Your quilt is so pretty. I love the yellow sashing it really sets it off. I hope your shoulder is better soon and you are back doing the things you love.

Emma said...

This is a fantastic colourwash quilt!

Eileen said...

such a lovely quilt! thread painting is a neat concept! like it all a lot. thanks for sharing and have a great day

StitchinByTheLake said...

This is an absolutely stunning piece. I've bought the gridded fabric to make a water color but have never tackled it. I'm not good with color but I'm hoping this will help me learn a little more. Yours is a great inspiration. blessings, marlene

quilthexle said...

Oh I love this quilt! The watercolor effect of the background is wonderful, and the bird is just amazing. Thanks for sharing !

Sandra said...

Great job, love seeing watercolor quilts again. The bird is just perfect.

Come see my entries 64 (repro. applique) and 85 (antique appliques).

LizA. said...

Beautiful watercolor. You have my deepest sympathies with the broken shoulder--been there, done that 12 years ago. I ended up with two fractures at the head of the humerous. I also ended up with a frozen shoulder and it was my right arm. Add to that I also have Lupus. It was a long, long recovery and I still have some range of motion issues with it. Hope your recovery is less eventful....I know how frustrating it is to want to do things with one arm. My husband took away the rotary cutters when he saw me trying to use them left handed!

Dana Gaffney said...

OMG Debbie, this is one of the most beautiful quilts I've seen. I really love the bird it adds such feeling to the quilt. Awesome!

Jolanda said...

What a lovely quilt. I adore watercolor quilts, it's one of my next projects I would like to try.

Queenie Believe said...

Beautiful and magic quilt. I love the watercolor style!! Sending toughts and prayers for your shoulder recovery... Soon it will be a distant memory.
Have a great day.
Always, Queenie

Kati from Kati's Quilting said...

What a lovely quilt, I love the watercolor background and the thread painted birdie!

Jean said...

What an amazing quilt. It even caught my husband's eye. And my son, who loves birds, says "WOW".

tusen said...

So lovely, it looks like a painting. I didn't know about the watercolour technique, it looks perfect in your quilt.

Jaye said...

Love your watercolor quilt....makes me want to do one!!!

Jaye said...

Love your watercolor quilt....makes me want to do one!!!

Chancy said...

So beautiful!

The Quilt Ladies said...

Just wonderful, I love the bird !

rrjane011749 said...

Beautifully mindblowing! Hope you win!

M-R Charbonneau said...

It's gorgeous, Debbie! Congrats!

sonia said...

Congratulations on your win. It's amazing!

Kati from Kati's Quilting said...

Congratulations!!

Lynne said...

Congratulations on your win at BQF. I am so honoured to have one of your quilts hanging right here in front of me!

Anonymous said...

Just gorgeous! Congratulations on your win! You deserve it!

Anonymous said...

Just gorgeous! Congratulations on your win! You deserve it!

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