3.22.2011

Fiber Art Junkie in the Making

Monika, this is for you!  You've created a fiber art junkie!!

My sweet friend Monika, from My Sweet Prairie, put a magazine in my hands yesterday that really got my creative juices overflowing!  Thank you again for doing that... I am so lucky to count you as my friend!

It was the perfect reason to drop everything else (ironing included) and start making my first real fiber art piece.

And just so you know up front... it did pass it's first quality inspection!


So, how did I get there... first step was to pick a picture to work from.  I landed on this one of Katie to start with.


Next grab some fabric to be your background.  I am using a white linen as the base and then some khaki cotton -- it's just two strips I had left over.  I sewed around the edges of both of them. 

I did omit using a fabric stabilizer... as I'm still trying figure out what that even is... *blushing*  I did mention I have a lot to learn, right?


Next, I added a base body and head and sewed around those shapes.  I have used my normal walking foot so far for all of this.  This fabric is more burlap-esque.  Really cool texture and it has that perfect golden shine!


Next, I added the ears.  Here is one.  All the pieces are free hand cut using regular fabric scissors.  The ear is made from a more velvety fabric.


Here is an idea of what it looks like under the needle.


Before I started sewing, I cut a lot of the pieces I wanted out and laid them out together to see what they would look like.


I sewed the rest of the pieces down.  Aren't those eye brows just to die for!!


A closer look at the textures and shapes!


Time to measure it up to the real thing.  Katie did her normal two sniffs and then licked it.  Her mark of approval!


Hmmm.  Not a bad start.  I have a lot of ideas for other details I would like to add like the whites of her eyes, the wisps of hair on her ears, chest, and shoulders.  Whiskers, nostrils... all that good stuff that will make this more recognizable.


In the spirit of full disclosure.... this is a messy messy craft.  For some reason I didn't anticipate the amount if little fabric pieces I would have on my desk after.  Looks like I went a little scissor happy.


The last thing I did was to add two lighter shapes to Katie's body to reflect the lighter bands of fur she has.  I'm really liking the different textures together!


Tonight, I think I will be putting on my free motion quilting foot and starting to shade in certain areas to add fur detailing.  I'm really looking forward to the challenge and it's refreshing to work on a small piece before I dive into my next big quilt.

So, what do you think?  Have you tried any sort of fiber art?  Any tips you could pass on?  Should I eventually put batting behind this and sandwich it like a normal quilt?

Hug the ones you love dolls. 

I'll be back later today with a precious photo of flowers in the snow!  Yes, we got some snow yesterday.  But, this picture will make you want some, just you can photo flowers in the white stuff!

-- I am joining Fabric Tuesday at Quiltsory --
日本のための多くの愛
Much love for Japan

14 comments:

monika@mysweetprairie.ca said...

SWEET! It's perfect! It's awesome! (and isn't it fun?) An oh I should have told you, it's messy. It's crazy what a HUGE mess I can make doing a 4x6 inch postcard. But that's the only downside to fibre art. You rock girl!!

(ps. stabilizer is a stiffer fabric layer to put underdeath the whole thing if you are overstitching it or threadpainting. It keeps the the whole thing from warping and buckling. That's all it is.) You may not even need it.

Are you using batting & backing? Then you can finish the edge any way you like and it can hang on the wall! : ) Or you can leave it and frame it. Or stick the square into a pillow or quilt.

Lucky Katie.

Whoopee for you!!
~Monika

Beka said...

I made appliques like this with my fashion class 2 years ago. They each designed a quilt square and then I sewed them all together. It came out awesome (well most of the squares did).

Carol said...

I love your quality control inspection - little did I know at first that it was to be a portrait. What fun!

My Fabric Tuesday link is http://carolburris.com/quilting/in-the-finishing-mood/ ‎

Seaweed and Raine said...

Hey babe! Cute fibre art :)
I suspect fabric stabiliser is rather like interfacing... here is a page that might explain it a bit better :D http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4631/making-sense-of-stabilizers
Besdies that, keep having fun with it!

Rhinestone Beagle said...

So cute! We did something similar with construction paper. If you look at our blog banner at the top of the page you can see the result. There's also a tutorial on our tutes page.
Sending dog love your way!
Anita

Jeannette StG said...

A dog quilt...your creativity knows no bounds! This doggie must be patient wanting to pose for you:)

Gemma Wiseman said...

Very creative! Love the layering of materials and contrast colours!

Suburban Girl said...

A striking resemblance! I love it.

Oxford Impressions said...

Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog post today about my dog's birthday. Love your dog portrait quilt. Very creative. I will add this idea to my to do list. Just wish I had enough time to create all the many things bobbling through my brain !

Dianne said...

I think it should either be a dog bed cover or a wall hanging
really a wall hanging since it's prob not washable

I love your quality inspector!! he's clearly qualified

Golden Woofs! SUGAR said...

Woof! Woof! LOVE LOVE this ... totally will borrow this idea. Golden Thanks. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

Jim said...

Looking good, Christi! I think Katie will like the finished product. I don't think I would put whiskers, etc, on it. :)
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My MidWeek Blues at Jim's Little Blog
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Quiltstory said...

Ah! That is so sweet and cute!! Love it Christie! Thanks for linking to Fabric Tuesday :)

Stacey - Elle Belle said...

I really like the variety of textures you used! It turned out so well!

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