Garden Quilt: Painting and Progress (?)

Back to my garden quilt.  A couple of weeks ago, I started painting it.  (This was my plan all along.)  I knew the paint would only catch in the raised areas, leaving the stitched areas untouched, and hoped that this would create an interesting effect. 

In the photo below, I added white, gray, and pink, along with a little burgundy and black.

Click any image for a larger view


At this point I began to wonder if the whole thing would look like a cartoon.  Since I was mostly painting inside the quilting lines, would the stitched texture  even matter?  I began to consider options.

Still, I painted away.

And, eventually, I ended up with this:

 

The picture doesn’t begin to do justice to just how hideous this quilt truly is!  TRUST ME.  As feared, it does look like a cartoon.  Ugh.  I spent hours and hours to get this?!?

But, remember, I was already thinking about Plan B.  A pretty radical one:  over painting the entire thing with white paint!  I auditioned my idea with  some sheer white fabrics.

 

Hmm.  Could I be that brave?  I knew the paint wouldn’t get down into the stitched grooves, so some of the image would still show.  Maybe that’s just what this cartoon needed.  And, what if I then emphasized the flowers with sheer fabrics?  Maybe.

At this point, I figured I had nothing to lose.

But, since this quilt will be unveiled at a special exhibit in March, I’m now required to put it’s construction under wraps.  So, look for the finished quilt in March, and see what became of my Plan B idea.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  I have done some pretty fearless alterations to some of my pieces over the years.  Like this extreme makeover.