Great Egret Top is Done

Making progress and finally getting some color into the piece!  It was good to work with something other than gray.

Getting to do the Egret at last!  For some reason, I always do the background first.

Finally the top is all sewn together.  I am liking it!!  Still in a bit of a quandary about how to machine quilt the rocks (all the gray in the background).  I am not going to hurry the process so it will probably wait until I get back to Rochester.

Progress on the Great Egret

This is  one of my favorite pictures of a Great Egret taken at Carolina Beach Lake.

I have struggled with what to do about the rocks and finally just went with some random piecing and will try to suggest stones with the machine quilting.

This is the copy that sits next to me where I place each piece in a section before sewing together and pinning on the design wall.  I have noted colors and the numbers that appear on the freezer paper copy.

This is just the beginning of getting my feet wet!  One foot down.    As I finish a section, I pin it to the copy on the design wall.   It looks more complicated than it is.  It is a cinch to sew together after putting all the markings on the freezer paper templates -- a very necessary step in the process!  Getting the fabrics right is a little trickier, especially when you only have a limited selection down in this sewing room -- the bulk of my fabric is still in the north!  It has worked better than I thought it would thanks to some fabrics my sister gave me from her Hoffman stash (mostly black with some brown mixed in).

This was at the end of day 1 of piecing.  This is one of the outlines pinned on my design wall.  

This was at the end of day 2.  I am going to undo a little of this one as I don't like the emphasis of the grey strip going diagonally so will break it up.

My husband has left to go back north so no excuses for not getting it done (except for a guest this weekend) and my packing to get ready to head north as well in a couple of weeks.

Progress continues but I am removing the darkish piece on the left hand side as it sticks out too much.  Will replace it with something a little more subtle with just a touch of the darker color in a corner.

Evolution of the Little Green Heron

This is the photograph that was used to develop the small wall hanging..  The first time I did it, it was just the photo printed on fabric and then I quilted it.  I donated this to an auction supporting local nature efforts here in NC and was determined to do a more abstract version.. 

This is the image which is abstracted  a bit.  My first step had been to create a tracing of the original image and then to break it down.

I pin one of the images of which I had made 2 copies.  The other copy is colored and is numbered so I know which pieces go where.  I also have all the numbers on the freezer paper copy which I traced from my copies from Staples.

I have started sewing the pieces together.

Background is mostly done.

Lots of individual sections pinned up on the design wall.  All done except those most difficult part.

All sewn together but need a little bit of change so the bird shape is better.

Here I colored in the eye and appliqued a lighter green background piece near the tail.

It's all basted and ready to quilt.

All quilted.  I actually was doing some stippling in the background and undid the whole lot and went for the straightish lines in the background.

All bound and the sleeve added to the back.  I went with binding instead of facing as I felt that it needed to be pulled together a bit.  I used the same fabric that I used in the breast of the bird.

I am relatively pleased.  It was difficult as the backgrounds for these birds in the wild are so complex and the birds fade into the background.

My Interpretation of How to Do Pieced Interpretations and Appliqued Interpretations of a Photograph

I have freely borrowed from my class with Ruth McDowell although I have done my own interpretations.

 How to Do a Pieced Interpretation of a Picture

1. Choose your photograph.
2. Make sure you have at least an 8 ½ x 11 inch copy in color as you will want to refer to that when piecing.
3. Convert to black and white to see how much contrast you have
4. Posterize the photograph.  I use Picasa  but you could use Photoshop if  you have it.
5. Trace over the whole photograph trying to get all the key areas of changes in value resulting in a detailed outline.
6. Blow up the traced photograph to at least double size
7. Start deconstructing the image by determining the strongest and longest line you can draw. Continue to place lines in developing some large sections and no y seams.  Continue until you can start to see the original image somewhat. First you break down into big areas and then you sub-divide those large areas into smaller areas.
8. Take your now deconstructed image to Staples and get blown up to the size you want. They can only go to about 24 x 36 so you may need to break down your image if you want it bigger or use an online program to do this. I make two copies, one to use as a master copy and one to cut into sections as I work in sections.  Ruth McDowell auditions fabrics over the whole image which I don't do.  Mary at my art quilt group suggested putting the image in Excel which will tile it!  I had thought of it but didn't follow through.
9. Tape together enough freezer paper to complete cover your new image. Trace the image onto the shiny side of the freezer paper.
10. Turn the freezer paper over and mark the intersections of pieces with x's and put matching marks along the sides.
11. Outline the large sections with colored pencils or pens and slowly number each piece with a section letter and a number. The numbers should more or less correspond to piecing order. Number and outline the sections on your master copy. Also you can begin to hint at colors you want at this point.
12. Get into your stash and get as many fabrics as you can find that might work  in the piece.  You won't use them all but it's nice to have choices.  Ruth uses a lot of different interesting fabrics.  I tend to use a lot of my hand dyes and "create" fabrics by sewing a bunch of fabrics together and then using them like one fabric.
13. Decide which fabrics go where – make a guide if you need to.
14. Iron freezer paper onto the back side of colors you are using and roughly cut around leaving room. Trim to ¼ inch and then start assembling pieces.
15. Pin each assembled section onto the master pattern on a design wall of some kind.  Make adjustments in colors or pieces at this point.  Leave the freezer paper in as you may want to take out pieces and change.
16. Final assembly is sewing the big sections together.  

This is the back of the above piece (upside down which I didn't notice!).

If You Just Want to Use Raw Edge Applique of Your Picture  

1. Do Steps 1-4 Above.
2. Blow up the photograph to the size you want your final piece.
3. Trace key areas onto clear plastic.
4. Trace the clear plastic drawing onto the shiny side of freezer paper. If there are layers, you may need to trace onto more than one piece of freezer paper (face outline on one perhaps, with the features on another).
5. Number the pieces on the plastic as well as the back side of the freezer paper.
6. Iron freezer paper onto double sided fusible. Iron double sided fusible onto the back of appropriate pieces and trim.
7. Use the plastic copy on top of the background to make sure the pieces get placed in their proper positions. 

You can see the steps in the above piece which I called Colin Deconstructed.  It always amazes me with this piece that you can see Colin even in the very beginning panel.

For a closer look with some pictures, go to the blog entry called Picture Piecing Steps which is has a  link on the left side of the blog under Popular Blog Entries.  I use this myself to remind myself of how to do this.

A Little Dyeing Interlude

A beautiful sunset down at Ft. Fisher a couple of days ago.  You have to have just the right amount of clouds to get the best color.  I like it best when there is blue sky above all the color.  The thin white line is the Cape Fear River.

I spent one day last week dyeing some neutrals which I will need for the Great Egret.  I may have to do some more dyeing later to get some colors for the heron as well but concentrated on the egret this time.  I was very pleased overall with the lights and the variety.  The first row was just an overdye of some fuchsia I had which I didn't need.  I overdyed it with Strong Orange and loved the results.  It doesn't photograph well but the texture looks like flowers and reminds me of hibiscus which we have a lot of!  The blue is just a four step gradation of Basic Blue which is the only MX pure blue which tends to red rather than yellow.  The second row is a gradation of Cotton Black which I just got and wanted to see how it looked.  It is okay but a bit greenish in the darker hues.  The third row is a gradation of the pure Neutral Gray which is a weak color but just what I need.  You can see there is color when you place a piece of white fabric next to it.  The fourth row is a mix of Basic Brown and the Cotton Black -- even amounts of each.  

Just another view of the above!

Just another sunset view -- I  love the colors in this one particularly!!  These are un-retouched!!I

I have made progress on the heron and egret.  The "road maps" are complete for both of them and blown up to full sized and the lines have been transferred to the freezer paper.

Here is a first cut of the fabrics that will be used for the egrets.  Of course, I will not use all of them.  I haven't sorted out fabrics for the heron yet!  My biggest challenge will be to do justice to the rocks behind the egret and haven't yet decided how to approach this.  There may be some applique in this piece as I really want some interest in this negative space and the stark straight lines may not do it!

The Rug is Done and Onward to the Egret and Heron

I got my rug done from the Ruth Humphrey class despite my Bernina acting badly.  I think I may need to loosen the bobbin thread as the old 830 usually sews through anything.  I had to go over the outside row numerous times.  I am pretty pleased despite the randomness of the scraps.

You might recognize the next two pictures as I had them printed on fabric and then quilted them.  I gave those two projects recently to a silent auction supporting coastal nature efforts here in NC.  I had always wanted to take a more "Ruth McDowell" approach with them.  I volunteered to do a demo at our next art quilt group on the Ruth McDowell techniques so had to get started.

It has been a tough couple of weeks as I have had a horrible cold and no energy to do anything.  Didn't have a real meal until last night!  Husband is down with the same thing so he hasn't been nagging about "what's for dinner" like usual!

This is one of my favorites and did quite well at the auction I understand.  

 The first steps are to convert to black and white and make sure you have lots of contrast.  Then you use software to "posterize" it.  These are the two photos converted to that step.

This one posterized especially well I think if  you look at the Great Egret, you can see the delineations of white to grey.  

The next step is to trace around all the areas.  I put clear plastic on top of the image to do this.  Somehow I managed to have reversed both images but will take care of reversing them back later.  I then blew these images up to four times their current 8 1/2 x 11 size.  I used an online program to do this.  The one I used to use now charges for this.  

Now that I have these blown up images, the real work begins.  I will take tracing paper and place over the image and try to deconstruct it using straight lines.  You can use curves as well but I like to try to not copy nature entirely -- make it a little abstract!  I usually do my own thing in the backgrounds as well, sometimes creating my own (in fact usually creating my own!)

I did manage to get out of the house yesterday and ran into the small herd of deer that live in Ft. Fisher.  They nicely posed for me.  I counted eight in the herd.  A truck came in and disturbed them so here they are heading out.  

Here are six of them.  Look at the top of the tail on the one on the far left.  They all have this very dark top on their tails.  Some of them are very dark brown as well -- very striking.

There  have been Snowy Egrets down at Ft. Fisher the last couple of weeks and they are getting their summer feathers.

Posing on one of the posts!

It's Spring!

Coming up the street today, I could see that our front yard was ablaze with color from the crocus (croci?)! Warren tries to plant more each year and has since we moved in. Unfortunately a skunk ate most of last year's crop, but I am sure he will be at it again late summer. As the temps are supposed to be in the 80's this weekend, I know these will all be gone by Monday but they are at their peak of color today.

These are amongst my favorites as I love purple and orange together. Has to be a quilt in there somewhere.


And finally the beginnings of the Great Blue Heron!! Usually I piece the background first but decided to go for the bird first this time. Because the background looks kind of plain in the original photo, I have decided to do some piecing in those areas to make that negative space a little more interesting. I am calling this one something like "From a Fish's Perspective" as I am kind of looking up at him and there is some foreshortening of the neck because of this. He was sitting on a post in the original photo but will be in the water in the quilt -- ah, artistic license! I am using a lot of blues in this even though they read as grey or black as he is called the Great Blue Heron (even though he looks grey to me...).

Now I have to put this aside for a couple of days as I have homework to do for the weekend and I have cheated for half the assignment already. We were supposed to construct a series of blocks using exercises from a design book. I chose to use EQ6 and design them there instead of in cloth. (The good part of this was that I learned several new things I could do in Electric Quilt which is always a plus!) The second part of the exercises is to use specific paintings and create value studies from them. I will actually do that one in cloth (although fused instead of my usual piecing). So will have to hop to it!

Doing, Doing, Almost Done...

This is the back of the top with all the freezer paper templates still in place (almost). (Notice just as I like to confuse myself that I numbered them all upside down!)

The top is done and will be readying itself for quilting later today! It was clearly a learning experience in a number of ways! So now to go through 10,000 of my photographs on the computer to decide what else I want to convert into wall hangings (or maybe one of Lisa's photos). I still have one converted picture in the works -- a Great Blue Heron. It has been traced, converted to templates but will need some significant interference before it starts moving along -- the lines in it don't make a lot of sense in some places.


This is the top where it sits now but at the bottom of this note you will see what a little Photoshop will do and what I will probably try to do with the quilt top to make the middle flower stand out more.

However, I digress...

Things I have learned:

1. Focal point, focal point, focal point -- make sure that the area where you are drawing attention makes sense visually. Not sure I entirely did this on this piece. I think the focal point is the middle of the biggest flower.

2. Value is far more important than color -- I knew this but it was emphasized in this piece because yellow/orange was my main color family and there isn't a lot of value shift in these high value colors!

3. Fix your photograph eliminating extraneous stuff BEFORE you finish the quilt top (ask me how I know). That is why one takes 12 weeks of Photoshop class after all!

4. Forget the colors in the photograph - use the photo to set up where you want your lines and forms and use value to emphasize this -- again it has to make sense visually.

5. Don't try to copy the photo as you will only end up frustrated.

6. Try to ascertain where the light is coming from so you can make your decisions logically. Not sure I was successful here either.

7. Keep a roll of freezer paper next to you so that when you change the templates, you can easily create new ones.

8. After you have traced the templates onto the freezer paper from the tracing paper, back the tracing paper with freezer paper to stabilize it. This tracing paper image is where you will audition your fabrics.

9. Make at least two more copies of the whole template image . One is for working small sections at your sewing machine and one (which doesn't have to be full sized) is for general placement (so you don't have to keep unpinning your piece from the full sized image).

10. Avoid solid colored fabrics unless you really want to emphasize an area (if foreground).

I am sure there are a lot more lessons that I learned but those are just the ones that came quickly to me. Amazingly, I was not frustrated at all with this piece but really looked at it as a step forward and a challenge to make right.

I just loosely played with Photoshop a little and added a little darker coloring around a couple of the middle petals and eliminated some background petals (one above the top petal on the middle flower and one on left hand side of the bottom petal). I filled in with background. I also darkened one of the yellows in the bottom flower.

Now to decide whether I unpiece or whether I applique on the revisions....

A Quilting Kind of Week!

We had to bring in the begonias as we have had a couple of frosty nights. We decided to see if we could get them to winter over inside in pots. Warren grew them from seed and they were spectacular with huge blooms. This one is about 5 inches across.

This is the famous kitchen jungle. Warren has now built a frame 4' x 6' where all the hibiscus and assorted house plants spend the winter months. This year he is going to put in an automatic watering system as well. These hibiscus were cut down quite a bit before he brought them inside but are still over five feet!

The Mola Challenge quilt is done which is why there hasn't been any posts as we can't let the other participants who might see my blog know what I have done. It was fun but I question why I take the long road and piece things rather than just fusing away which would have been easier probably in the short run (except that I am a terrible fuser and would have had to do more machine work probably). It is okay although technically, it could have been a whole lot better. When I get near the end of a project like this, I just want to be done, done, done. This was my inspirational mola which I got from Priscilla. It comes from Panama and she purchases them directly from the makers and many times still on the blouses. You can see the hint of my quilt in the background.

Ah, but the current project is a lot more fun for me -- it is another pieced nature inspired wall quilt taken from one of my photos at QBL two or three years ago. They had the most gorgeous day lilies everywhere that year and I took lots of pictures knowing they would end up in a quilt some day. Of course I am using the Ruth McD techniques and am getting more of a handle on it with each quilt.

You can see the beginnings of the background getting placed.

Of course, the trick is to be able to abstract the image so that it can be pieced. Taking those drawings and making them just the "right" level of abstraction is the trick -- too abstract and they look like cartoons, too detailed and they look like photos!

Practice, practice, practice....

The background has almost all been placed and a few of the lily petals are starting to take shape. I actually managed to get two corners sewn together.

The process involves first making your drawing, tracing it to freezer paper and then use the freezer paper as the templates. I finally ironed on freezer paper to the back of my tissue paper as well as it was just too flimsy to work on. The tissue paper is the master pattern. I seem to remember that I should have made another copy but have decided to make individual copies of each section instead -- it is pieced in sections. This is about 3 feet by four feet long -- the biggest size that Staples can copy to!! It would be great to be able to make major progress on this over the weekend.

Terrific Tuesday!

It is always good to see Priscilla again and hear her travelling stories! She just returned from a wonderful trip to Las Vegas and then down to Phoenix. After this trip, she was off again to teach in Chicago and a whirlwind schedule which she writes all about in her blog! She definitely has been converted to a quilter though for 2009! This is an art quilt that Priscilla has made with leftovers from previous projects. I especially liked the small checkerboards that are spread throughout.
We had a wonderful day at Marcia's as usual in her very well lit and wonderful studio! The weather even cooperated! I got to show off my newest snow dyes and work on my next Ruth McDowell piece which is working out better than my last drawing by far. It is beginning to be more intuitive. Working in smaller sections really helped turn the corner for me so we shall see what happens.

The drawing on the left (believe it or not) contains no curves and measures about 3 feet by 4 feet!! It was from a picture of lillies that I took two years ago at QBL when stunning lillies were in bloom all over the campus. It will be fun to find some background fabric for this one -- may make my own out of various greens with some purples thrown in for good luck! I guess this will start defining my style. I seem to like intricate piecing and large clumps of one fabric just seems to demand breaking down. This gets a little tricky as you want it to kind of read the same and allow a little resting of the eyes but I do like it to be interesting. I think this lillies drawing will be a quilt before the Great Blue Heron is.