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Monday, July 22, 2019

Artsy Fartsy - Patience, The Art

The July Challenge for the Island Batik Ambassadors is
Artsy Fartsy.

Today is my day to show
Patience - The Art


As Island Batik Ambassadors,
we are to get fancy with the Aurifil Artsy Fartsy Challenge!
Fabric is our canvas and Aurifil thread our paint!
The challenge is to
create a one of a kind art quilt or project with 3 different weights of Aurifil thread.


Well that sounded easy enough... NOT.
It's not that using different thread weights is hard, it's coming up with an artsy idea.

I went through magazines, books, and web pages
and still, I had no ideas.
I was even thinking about doing one of my favorite past projects again
only in a new size. But even that was a struggle. I was losing my patience.

Then it hit me, why not take some time, take the camera out in the yard
and see if anything (maybe flowers) inspired me.

I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed the afternoon in my own back yard.
Mostly the pictures were of flowers and bugs, but as
I sat on the dock at our pond, I noticed there were eyes everywhere watching me.




OK, maybe they weren't interested in me at all.
The frogs just sit and wait so "patiently".

These were the eyes that inspired my
Island Batik
Artsy Fartsy Challenge Quilt.


What a great model, right?  
Just sitting all day with his head out of the water waiting for something to come by.

So patient.

I sketched him out and used HeatnBond Lite Fusible Adhesive to applique the frog.
I used green, brown, and creme Island Batik fabrics I had from the Ambassador box for the frog's body and eyes.


Next, I chose the most perfect Island Batik fabrics for the background,
Forrest and Eucalyptus in the Batik Foundations Basics.


I used my new skill from the June ambassador challenge to add a soft improvised pieced curve to the top and bottom to make it look like the shore of the pond.
I sandwiched Hobbs Heirloom Natural Cotton Batting between the top and backing fabric


Now, it was time to play with Aurifil thread.

I painted the frog with Aurifil 50 wt thread in 2 shades of green (#2882 and #2890),
 brown (#4012), cream (#2310), yellow (#2134), and black (#2692).


Once the frog had all its make-up on, I quilted the "water" with 
Aurifil 12 wt (#8730) in wavy lines.  I used 50 wt thread in the bobbin with the 12 wt on top
and I really like the heavier thread for quilting.



When I was out visiting the pond, there were flying bugs of all colors and sizes enjoying the pond, so I took that idea and added flying bugs to the corners of the quilt with Aurifil 28 wt thread in a red/orange color (#2395).  I used the machine to stitch the bugs and used a 50 wt thread in the bobbin.  I like to print my design on StitchnSew EZ Print Quilt Block Sheets and stitch right on the design. Then I just tear away the quilt block sheets.


The 28 wt thread is perfect for embroidery and is strong and shiny.


Patience - The Art
finished at 16" x 17 1/2"

I started this challenge with dread and I ended it with so many more ideas for thread.
I have more inspiration in my own backyard.
I need to spend a little more time there
and
learn to be more patient like a frog.



You can find the full list of Island Batik ambassadors posting for the 
Aurifil Artsy Fartsy Challenge

by clicking HERE.



I had a blast adding make-up to my frog with thread and can't wait to try it again.
Thank you Aurifil Thread!


Ok, one more picture - I'm in love...



23 comments:

Anita said...

Stunning, Carla, you caught the essence of this guy! He's really looking back at you. So many gorgeous details in this mini!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

This is just fabulous! You sure did catch this guy looking at you.

Deb M said...

I love your quilt! You did an amazing job!

Carol Swift said...

You are really Artsy Fartsy with this one...it is gorgeous! I love all the inspiration photos you took. Great job on this challenge, Carla.

Julie Kaye from KS said...

Super cute quilt. You did a fantastic job of showing depth with this one.

grammajudyb said...

WOW!! Just amazing!

Kathleen said...

Wonderful frog! Nice job turning the photo into an artsy fartsy quilt!

Scrapatches said...

This is very artsy and well done. Based on this, I think they should have called this the "Arsty, Not Fartsy Challenge" ... just saying ... ;) Pat

Vicki in MN said...

You rose to the challenge in a fine way Carla!

Pamela Arbour said...

Love the color, fabrics, and the quilting! Beautiful

Barb said...

Totally adorable, I love your creative process

Nancy said...

This is a gorgeous art piece. Wow!

works4me said...

So great to find the perfect, patient inspiration in your own back yard. Fabulous artsy project.

Kathleen said...

This looks amazing!! If this is a contest, your piece should be a winner. You should enter it in something.
Kathleen,
kakingsbury at verizon dot net

Calicojoan said...

That really is amazing and a great lesson in stopping and looking around you. This was a tough challenge for me, but now i want to play more myself. Great inspiration!

Brandy said...

That is an awesome frog Carla! You nailed the perspective and the half in/half out of the water look. Superb!

Needled Mom said...

I LOVE this! Your design, construction, and fabric choices are spot on for an Artsy Fartsy challenge. The thread work on it is really stunning and finishes off the mini perfectly. Of course, I could be partial since I am a frog collector. lol

Carol said...

Carla, this is really neat! You captured the frog just right and the pond looks great. I haven't tried 28 wt or 12 wt thread in my quilting yet--I see I need to do that. Thanks for the inspiration.

Leah said...

This is fantastic! The fabric choices and the threads are perfect together! Amazing!

Elizabeth V Kelbaugh said...

Fabulous frog art piece from great photos. Love it.

For the love of geese said...

It is so cute. The detail in the frog is fabulous, I cant say I would have thought of that. This was a fun challenge.

Lori Smanski said...

this is wonderful. you used the fabrics so well. i love the bugs you added to it to give it more of a pond feel

Machelle said...

Lovely!