This was actually a challenge piece I made in 2007 for our CCC fiber group. We had to make some type of art work using metal. Metal in a quilt! Well, I was game!
For the fabric, I used two pieces of shibori. The brown is a silk shibori piece my daughter gave me and a bleach resist shibori piece for the border. The black bleach shibori was from a shibori exchange we did several, several, years ago. The branches were reverse appliqued using black commercial fabric. After I free motion quilted the piece, the leaves were added by stitching with my machine. I used an old needle, most likely 80 or 90.
For the metal leaves, I honestly don't remember which weight of metal foil I used. It was either Maid-o-Metal decorator foil (36 or 38 gauge) or the foil you can purchase from Michael's. I traced a leaf onto the metal and cut the leaves out with craft scissors. It's so lightweight and easy to cut through and sew through. I scored veins on each leaf then added some black, green, brown paints on top, wiping the paint off before the leaf totally dried. Knowing me, I would have just grabbed acrylic or even fabric paints..whatever I had on hand at the time.
You can't see it very well in these pictures but I also made a freezer paper stencil of the leaf and using my Shiva Paint stick in black, colored under some of the leaves to give a shadow. I think on the larger picture you can see some of the shadow on the upper left leaf. I like that you can bend the metal leaves which is fun for this piece.
Fun to work with some new from time to time! Yes, I get bored so I'm always up for trying something new! I'm still working on the spring cleaning around here and getting close to the end. I'll be putting some of it off (e.g. closets, drawers) so I can get working on my 'Eyes' quilt due the end of this month! I started it in Florida but I'm a long way from the finish! Mr. Blue is waiting for some work too but he's been waiting for a year so a few more weeks or months won't bother him! Nor me!
Hey….thanks for the indepth look at your banner quilt…..you are so clever. What a great eye-catching piece to display in your living room!
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered about your blog heading...so unique....so glad you shared the process with us. Using metal must have been quite a challenge and you handled it beautifully....really a stunning and very unique piece.
ReplyDeleteI have always admired your blog banner and knowing more about how you created it really makes it special. Every detail you do truly enhances the entire quilt. Love how you even shadowed the metal leaves. Gorgeous Work of HeArt Dear...<3
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the process! I love leaf quilts and this piece is soooooo beautiful! Also, it gives me an idea of what to do with some freestanding fabric leaves I've been fooling with.
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