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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Living Green Art Quilt is Done!

If today is Animal Wednesday then my birds are the animals for today! You can find them on the re-purposed hand dyed drier sheet leaves around and throughout this woven art quilt. I did a lot of hand embroidery stitches and beading on the leaves and around the outside of this piece. The beads and birds came off an old broken necklace I found at a flea market some time ago.
There is a combination of top free motion sewing/thread painting and hand embroidery to highlight the leaves and borders of this quilt. The hand embroidery is done with metallic threads that my sewing machine balks at using easily. But I wanted them so I used my hands.
Fabrics used were two new (fat quarters from MN quilt shop); all the rest are re-purposed fabrics found in thrift stores or remnant bins, cottons and satins, and mesh, many with a gold shine to them. And of course the dryer sheets that I dyed using green acrylic paint as taught by Natalya.
When I went around the ends of the top fabric strips they looked like a skyline of buildings to me thus the name Living Green. I sewed windows on the top most strips adding to the building theme. You of course may see it very differently and I am open to your take on it.
Unfortunately, this one is not photographing it's true colors well. The outside binding is a bright shiny gold fabric that sings, but my camera (with and without flash/indoors and out) refused to show it off to it's full glory. You will just have to take my word for it.
It measures 45" X 27" in size. The back was black but the stitches looked too messy so I covered the entire back with a sheet of dark green satiny fabric adding a hanging sleeve in the same fabric. It looks very neat and clean now.
click to enlarge photos to see details if you want to

10 comments:

  1. This is just fablous Lynn. I love seeing the intricate work up close. HAW.

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  2. This is an amazing quilt and you can see all the work that went into it. works for me as AW so HAW to you and your wonderful new living green quilt.

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  3. this is spectacular! I especially love the buildings

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  4. That quilt is absolutely beautiful, I love the textures and the reflective-shiny fabric. I know, it doesn't photogragh well.

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  5. Well, it looks fab to me Lynn! I love the colours and the beads - in fact everything about it :o)
    Beautiful work!

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  6. Wow.. thats fantastic. and just think.. we arent getting the whole benefit from you camera either.
    I see Central park with buildings around it.
    Thats amazing all that work you put into it sewing on the beads and birds and thread. Marvelous Darlin' as Billy Crystal would say. :))

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  7. Thank you all for your kind words.
    Cris, I love your seeing Central Park surrounded by buildings! YES!!! That's it. Wow.

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  8. Wonderful !!!
    All these little birds on the leaves, love such little details!

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  9. Beautiful work! Easy to see a city landscape, too.

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  10. lovely. It reminds me of a row of houses with doors opening onto the village green, well I am from England so I see something different. I like it!

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Thanks for leaving your comments as I love hearing from you. Your words of encouragement are why I continue to draw!