I joined this group hoping that I would teach myself just to jump right in and quickly do a small project. I'm afraid this one took me a while longer because I had to figure out how to accomplish it....and I had so many ideas, it was very hard to pick just one.Quite some time ago, I was a Chinese watercolor painting showing the moon reflecting on a goldfish pond. When I lived in Connecticut, I saw the moon reflected perfectly on our swimming pool. I thought I'd try to recreate this in a small quilt, using the shots I took of my goldfish prior to May 13 of this year.
At first, I thought I'd use the metallic lame sheer, the one which reflects irridescent. That didn't really work very well, so I tried a number of things and finally chose the sheet form of Angelina (the name for this product escapes me at the moment). I discovered that if I did it completely round, it really didn't give the feeling, so I added some Angelina fibers sticking out around it.
I originally was going to use a piece of blue organza over the top to darken it to make it look like night on the water. However, the organza and other dress sheers were too opaque. I finally settled on two layers of navy tulle. That alone seemed a little flat, so I ripped up pieces of sparkle illusion in a turquoise color and layered these underneath.
The water plants are made from eyelash yarn. The goldfish are fused and painted with Dyna-flo paints and their fins are a silk organza which I stitched over.
One of the fun things about this piece is that I realized that it can be viewed from any direction, so I am going to put hanging pockets on all sides.
I can't decide how I'm going to bind this. I usually like to use a traditional binding. I have only done one facing, and I wasn't pleased how it looked on the back of the quilt. Any suggestions or discussion of which would be better (faced, bound, or even satin stitched) is especially welcome. The measurement of this piece is 18 3/4" H x 13 5/8".
Thanks! Lisa Broberg Quintana
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11 comments:
I think this needs to be faced or have a binding in the same blue so that it does not detract from the lovely water scene. You shouldn't worry about how the back of an art quilt looks as long as your facings are the same size and stitched neatly. My opinion!!
You have created a lovely shimmering water scene.
This is a great composition. The swirly fabric and the fish bodies take you round the whole design, pausing to enjoy the moonlight before continuing round.
I agree with Gerrie that you need to do something unobtrusive to edge it, in the same blue fabric if you still have some. I don't think satin stitch would be a good option here. The eyelash green is a vague possibility.
Julia in Nz
The blues are lovely. I would do a pillowcase type backing with no border. The eyelash yarn is nicely balanced, and it all stands on its own, so go simple as far as binding it.
Hi Lisa, This is really lovely! The fish show up great against the blue background, the sparkle reflects beautifully, and the plants add some contrasting texture and interest...great job!
Cynthia
Wow! The swirly blue background gives depth to the water and the balance of the design is delightful. I agree with a facing or pillowcase finish. Keep it simple -- no need to distract from the design. Good job!
Thanks for your kind words...One question for you all who do facings...do you just apply the sleeves afterward? Or is there a trick that you can put it on when doing the facings like when you do traditional binding.
If I did the traditional binding, it would be a plain blue pretty much the same as the background, but without a print...I am leaning toward a facing, but I have to say, the neatness factor was extremely lacking on my Great Blue Heron!
Lisa, This looks great. I, too, think facing it would be better than a binding. You solved the moon problem wonderfully. Beautiful.
This is a beautiful piece, with good composition, great fabric choices, and lovely images.
Nice job, I can see the glimmer of the moon and your choice of background fabrics is just right. Also nice composition with the moon off center and the movement of the fish.
I recently had art quilts judged in a traditional show. All of them were faced or edged with other than traditional binding. They were all noted that the facing was appropriate for the quilt form....so I vot for facing!
wonderfull wcomposition and great movement in the fish and water
Peaceful piece! Nicely done
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