Me, too! I haven’t blogged in a while because….let’s blame it on my husband who retired. This spring and summer, I’ve been to Md coast, to Tuscon and to Savannah (for the FIRST TIME.) Oh lovely Savannah! We’ll have to return when it’s not as hot, but those trees and beautiful houses. WOW!
This became the inspiration for my latest arty wall hanging. However, it was a real challenge. No REALLY, a “challenge”! I was using the six fat quarter batiks from the Keepsake Batik Challenge 2024. You must use four and may add only two. HMM. Can you find them?
The cloudy blue sky is a blue/white leaf print, not ideal except for color, but the other blue came mixed with the green, pink and yellow. I picked out the blue/green sections for the water and used the yellow for sand. I didn’t have enough pink for a full house, so I used pink and some blue. The green is a floral, but I cut out some of the flowers to applique under the tree, and cut up the fabric enough so that it just suggests the shading of green leaves instead of flowers
Another fabric was a fern–pinks and blues on purple. That was challenging, but I turned the ferns into a couple of small trees. I also cut up some of the ferns to make them look like boards on the cabins. I used some of the wine/garnet-colored rose fabric to make little yoyo flowers on the side of the house and the sailboat. The final fabric was little green vine-y flowers on navy. They don’t show up much, but I worked in some little pieces beside the tree and pink fern tree.
Most of the background–white, sky, sea, sand–I pieced in log cabin pieces, carefully fussy-cutting the colors to make sand, sea and clouds. I then stitched in the ditch to quilt the top area. The cabins I pieced separately and put them on fusible fleece to give them a little depth when I appliqueed them.
The tree was interesting. I ironed fusible web (Wonder Under) onto a big piece of brown. I hand-cut a tree on a big piece of wrapping paper for a general pattern, laid it down on the quilt to check it and tweaked it to make it fit properly. Then I was able to use it for a template for the trunk and branches. I fused web onto the green fabric, too, and just hand-cut the leaves in small “bunches.” Fortunately, live oaks have sparse, clumpy leaves because I barely had enough for leaves and some of the grass/bush/flowers in the foreground.
White sail against white is not ideal in order for the sailboat to be seen, so I backed it with fleece and folded the edges to make it stand out a bit. Other pieces like the rowboat, pier, and windows/doors, etc., were simply fused on, then machine appliqueed. I satin-stitched the trunk/branches, but just free-motion-quilted the leaves and flowers. I added rows of curved quilting for the beach and waves for fun and texture.
To make this the required 30″x30″ size, I had to add the white frame-like border. My white-on-white fabric was too thin, so again I fused a layer of fleece on it and took the trouble to miter the corners. (You just have to pin and fiddle to get them to fit correctly.) I liked binding it with the brown because the thin strip echoes the size of many of the limbs.
It probably won’t win the challenge, but it was a really fun project to take on. It’s currently on display in the Selma Art Guild Summer Show in Alabama and will go to several more art shows this year, so it’s well worth the effort.
This is NOT a pattern. However, I have some tips for creating “picture” wall hangings:
1) You can often buy pictorial fabrics like boards, grass, clouds, which is fine; however, don’t be afraid to use something unusual in a creative way.
2) Definitely use fusibles. They make life easier even if you later machine-stitch the edges.
3) Break the rules. Use different stitches, different quilting, whatever you like. The point is to be creative.
4) You can put a classic “sleeve” on the back to hang it, but I’ve found it really more convenient to use curtain hooks (rings with clips attached—see pic above) because you don’t even have to have a pole.
Now why not go make a picture of YOUR vacation? Trust me; it’s fun!
Playing and painting with fabric, Libby