The first step was to figure out how to place seam lines that would integrate the deer into the whole. I did this by tracing the print to freezer paper and aligning it with the full sized freezer paper pattern on the wall. Then I could plot out the seam lines to be able to cut and sew it to fit into the scene. I wanted to fracture the panel and make some changes in the placement of the deer.

Luckily, the freezer paper allowed enough of the print to show through so that I could trace the basic outline of the deer!

I started the piecing with the bottom of the tree area, so that I would have a base on which to add the deer.

It has not been without drama though. After several day’s work, I was not happy with some aspects. I decided that the tree needed to be lower, more behind the deer allowing me to add more branches to the top of the tree to balance the composition.

I reworked parts and now I have the problem of fitting already pieced elements into a revised whole, but it will work out, I’m sure. I ordered more fabric from two different sources, as I found some sky and some coordinating foreground prints that might work in. The first arrived yesterday and the second is due any day now. It’s a little difficult to plan without the fabric here so I am working on the parts where I feel safe, knowing I may have to tweak later. This has enough challenges to keep it interesting for me!

To be continued……….

So yesterday I was going to post an update, but when I went to download the photos my camera batteries were dead.

I had mentioned that I thought that the elk’s butt might need to be lighter

but I decided that the original was light enough.

Notice that I did tweak the antlers a bit! They are smoother now.

Filling in some background, I will use some lighter yellow areas of the hand dyed green. I think this dark shoulder is a little too much, it needs to be lighter.

This one is too light, though.

I think this one will work. But that highlight is too light and will need fixing.

This morning I was reminded that a challenge I had committed to was due soon – like next week I think!!

This is the fat quarter that I have to use:

Funny how the background, which is light blue with yellow spots reads about the same as my gray design wall. My piece has no info on it as to the designer or the fabric company, but it is certainly an interesting bit of fabric that must have piqued my interest at the time.

Accepting the free fat quarter meant that I accepted the challenge to make a small wall hanging  no larger than 18 x 24″ to donate to the guild’s charity silent auction.  I decided that I could get a butterfly out of it so yesterday I did a sketch and made a pattern for a fantasy butterfly that I hope to start today. The elk will have to take a back seat for the time being!

My husband is doing well but is of course quite bored! I am finding out how much he really did for me before, which made it possible for me to do the quilting things that I love to do. I have been so busy doing all of the routine things, cooking, cleaning, even cleaning the pump and filters for the fish pond that I have had very little time to sew.

I had finished the freezer paper pattern which involves converting the printout of the original photograph by Tammy Patterson (click on “Elk” in the tags to go back to info about the photo and the “why” of this piece) to the large format before the accident. First I enlarged that and converted it to black and white and with tracing paper figured out where the sewing lines could be. That was enlarged again and transferred to overhead projector film.

This was projected up on the freezer paper which had been prepared to the final dimensions – I think about 41 x 46 ish. All of the lines are then copied to the paper side of the freezer paper in the mirror image of the finished piece so that when these pieces are cut out and ironed onto the wrong side of the fabric, you will get the proper orientation.

These are the fabrics that I pulled from my stash to start with. I will not use them all and may add different ones as I go along but I don’t think I will need to shop for more this time.

This past week I have not had a lot of time to sew, but I am pretty happy with what I have made so far.

A few years ago, I took this picture at the 4-H Fair of an engaging young goat looking for attention. I thought it might make a nice subject for an art quilt.

But then David Taylor made a prize winning goat picture quilt and I filed mine away, not wanting to seem to be copying.

Now, however, I have decided to go ahead with it. His is an Alpine goat done in applique. Mine is a Nubian, pieced. A goat is a goat, no one holds the copyright on goats as far as I know, except maybe God! But still, I expect someone will say I copied his idea even though I took my own photo before he made his quilt, so I consider mine to be original.

It’s about half done, so stay tuned!

The most recent Coneflowers top is in the process of being quilted now, and here is a shot of it before I removed all of the freezer paper and layered it yesterday.

You may notice that I changed a few things. I usually do. It was hard to find a fabric in the stash to go with the strange piece I had selected for the sky. Once I settled on this one, I felt I needed to incorporate some of it somewhere else, so I unsewed two pieces and recut them in the new fabric. It only took a half an hour to change them out and I think it was well worth it. Don’t be scared to make changes even if you have already sewn something!

I’ll bet I auditioned 10 fabrics for the accent strip before settling on this one! It’s a batik that had good color and design for this piece I think. I believe I used it in “Bittersweet Memories” and only have a few scraps left! Luckily this process uses small bits well.

Searching through the stash is a good thing. I was reconnected to stuff I forgot I had, pulled some out for future projects in the planning stages, and got some more ideas!

Wednesday I taught a hand quilting class. It seemed strange, felt like it ought to be Saturday! But the class went well and was fun. I think it actually jump started me and I got started on a new design. This beautiful poppy was in the park in Vancouver – don’t you love the way light plays with flower petals?

This will probably be a new pattern. I have just started to cut the fabric; still have not sewn anything though.

Other accomplishments last week were finishing up the books to date for sales tax and getting a quilt sent off to the Asheville NC show. Because it was very late coming home from being in Florida for the I-4 Corridor Exhibit, I was forced to pay $85.00 to ship “Watermelon Wine” Next Day Air in order to get it there on time. But since it had been accepted, I felt obligated to have it get there if at all possible. I think keeping one’s word is very important and I only wish everyone felt that way as I had specifically checked before entering it to be sure it could be home on time. I had assurance that my quilt would go out as soon as the show closed, instead it didn’t go out til the 8th, arriving home on Friday afternoon. Not only was this an unnecessary monetary drain, it was very stressful. Not very professional at all!

This fun site just came to my attention for all you animal lovers out there. Just click here
and answer an easy quiz question to provide free kibble to shelter animals!