Thursday, August 4, 2011

Getting real (istic)

My work tends to be more stylized than realistic, suns with wavy rays and little spirals for waves. I'm absolutely amazed and impressed at the very realistic works many quilters make, but don't have the desire (or maybe it's patience) to try those types of pieces myself.

But, I have been experimenting with something in between. After finally getting my Singer 500 fixed, I've been trying out thread painting using zigzag stitches. It's a completely different effect than I get with my straight-stitch Singer 15-30 treadle. And after making a couple of different lighthouses, I decided to try a more realistic version.

So here's my newest piece. The lighthouse and the boat were outlined on white batik fabric fused onto white felt. They were thread painted on my 15-30, and a tiny bit of fabric paint applied in the open area of the railing.

The trees were thread painted using my Singer 500, set on a simple zigzag. I used a tulle base in a hoop.

The background was pieced, using my favorite batiks, and quilted, then the components appliqued on.

The first one is finished and a second one in progress.

I'm debating what to start on next. More sea turtles or something different?

 More later.