There’s always satisfaction when an art quilt is completed. Cleaning up the edges and putting on the binding, while not particularly gratifying artistically, “frames” the piece and gives your eye a place to stop. The black and white striped 2″ (5 cm) wide grograin ribbon that I used on this piece I will probably use again, as it was very easy to fold the middle black stripe right down the middle. However, while that folding worked well on the front of the quilt. on the back, the ribbon didn’t cover up the black thread stitches. To make for a neater back, I added on a border of 2″ (5 cm) white ribbon to cover up those stitches.
This detail photo shows how much the yellow background has been filled in since you saw it in the last posting about this quilt. The bumps and ridges in the background fabric flattened quite nicely with the extra seed beads. However, I do try and leave some of the original fabric showing, for future art historians to see what was there before the beading.
This view more towards the bottom of the quilt has some of the purple and black flocked velvet ribbon (far left and edge of far right). The roses on it has petals that spiraled around the center, and so I sewed on lavender seed beads to accentuate the shape. Slightly to the left of center, next to that ribbon, is a large rectangle of lavender fabric with olive green size 6 seed beads in the center of a circle of size 8 seed beads. (The smaller the number, the larger the size when you’re talking about seed beads.) Again, I like to tie together a composition by repeating similar sizes, shapes, and colors.
Since the title has the word “butterflies” in it, and they are some of my favorite creatures, I have liberally scattered butterfly pins and appliques throughout the surface. Even though most of the appliques are iron-on, I still sew them down, not trusting the glue to keep them fastened over time. As for the pins, i thread them through all 3 layers of the quilt sandwich, turn the little circle on the clasp to lock the pin in place, and then still sew though the clasp and around the post at the opposite end of the pin to make sure that the pins stay where I want then to.
So another art quilt has been completed, and now the promoting of it begins. I have more than enough jpg pics to use to enter this piece for consideration for exhibits. I’m also collecting writings and photos for an upcoming book that I want to pitch to some publishing houses. There’s a lot to marketing myself, by myself, to make enough money to feed my button and bead habit. While I love to write and do networking, it’s still the quiet hours at night that draw me to my needle and thread and as I stitch away, peace settles in.
How do you feel when you’ve completed a work of art? Is there the anticipation of what will come next, a let-down upon the competition, or some emotions that would fit in between?
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You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my healing work at www.hearthealing.net and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies), and Twitter.
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