Friday, October 30, 2009

Windblown Dinner




Windblown Dinner
Gail Myrhorodsky



I finished just over the limit this time! Hope you like my little hungry bird who came to dinner. The flowers and bird are direct FM embroidery. Vines and leaves are quilted and painted. It actually started as a much larger piece about 36" square. I cropped it down to about 14"h by about 12" w. Background fabrics are some of my hand-dyes. Hope you like it.

14 comments:

Nina Marie said...

I love the composition of this design. The placement of the flower and bird really work well together. I also like the irregular edges. I do find the flower on the left a little distracting - maybe with a stronger line within it would be better. Still the softness of the colors and value changes work really well! Nice piece!

Michele/TextileTraveler said...

I love this! What a wonderful mix of textures. The lower right corner seems a little empty; my eye is drawn to the fiber, but then I feel like something is missing there. What if you repeated the colors in the sunflower in that section? Not as large as the sunflower so that it doesn't detract from the focal point, but just a splash to carry the oranges all the way through? Your FM embroidery is awesome!

janice pd said...

I agree with what is said so far. Very nice piece but IMO the yarns hanging on the border distract from the softness you have created. The color on my monitor may be off but they don't relate to any of the design. What would happen if you took this off the border?

LAQuilts said...

I love your ghost leaves. I think you did great in cropping the quilt down.

Cherie in Del Mar said...

What a great job creating the feel of wind! The movement in this quilt is wonderful...I love it!
Cherie

Vivien Zepf said...

I'm glad you cropped your piece; this seems like the perfect size. I also agree that the lower right hand portion of the piece still needs something. Perhaps the hint of another flower?

Roberta Ranney said...

Hi Gail - I really like the way you've built this quilt from the background out. The thread color changes in the background quilting really add dimension and movement to your hungry bird.

I also think the hanging yarns are not quite right - they seem too dark and heavy on such a soft and gentle piece although I think the couched yarn makes a very nice edge finish.

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Hi Gail, beautiful delicate work! I'd like to see another flower or two for balance in the lower right...a couple gold sunflowers would be a lovely addition. I really like the shape of the piece, though I do agree about the handing fibers.
Good job!
Cynthia

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

wow, this is gorgeous. I love all the textures and movement in this piece. Your border treatment really fits the overall feel of the work. Love it!

"Rhojo" Baldwin said...

Very nice thread painting. Do you use a larger needle in the machine for your technique? I've had trouble with this technique breaking threads all the time.

fastfriday said...

I appreciate all your comments and suggestions. Frankly I'm usually not one to go back and re-work a piece because of what someone else thinks it's not quite right. HOWEVER, after hearing some suggestions from you-all, I was in agreement after taking that umpteenth look at the photo. Tonight I worked on bringing a little yellow/orange into that bottom right corner (although the lighter right "border" area does have some pale yellow), and I chopped off the hanging tassle of yarns (which is actually a better green/pink/gold that it appears here). I'll try to get another pic done and post by tomorrow. Gail M

fastfriday said...

Rhonda, I use a size 14 Topstitch needle and quilt through a layer of cotton batting with a med. wt. stabilizer behind it (like a tear-away). Gail M

Kathy Angel Lee said...

Bringing in another hint of yellow, possibly in the lower right corner would help the eye move around the piece. That being said, I really like the gentleness of this piece. THe threadwork on the bird and flowers is great. I agree with others about the hanging tassels.

Wen said...

The quilting really makes this piece. Nice edge treatment