Making Gun Barrels

Woohoo, the background of my current quilt is finally complete!  Composed and glued and ready for stitching, (but without the green hexie in the center of the photo.)

In the photo above, I was considering adding some hexies to the background.  Just because I’ve been making a lot of them and to give a nod to traditional quilts.  Here’s a better look at them in the sky.

They were kinda interesting, but I eventually decided that they drew attention to the background, making it look overly chunky.  I didn’t think either aspect would help the quilt, so I left them out.

On to making guns. Here’s Ricky’s finished.

Actually, I had to tweak it a little.  The grey on the barrel was too high contrast, so I went over it with a little light grey pastel.  Also, I decided that the barrel was not properly aligned with the stock, so I straightened that out. (See the improvements below.)

On to Todd’s gun.  Due to the angle at which they’re holding their guns, the barrel of his appears longer than Ricky’s.

I composed the guns onto muslin, with glue.  I think I should have fused them, since some of the pieces are pretty small and could ravel.  Next time.

Don’t they look handsome?  Just like themselves, I think: relaxed and at ease.  Next, I’ll get to place them on the background.  I think their orientation is about right above, but I know I’ll need to do some tweaking.

I’m getting excited with these results!

Ellen Lindner