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.
