Friday, June 15, 2012

The Phoenix Rises (Part 2)


Hello Out There In Quiltyland!

I’ll bet you thought that I had totally fallen down on the Phoenix, that I had already bailed out.  Not so!  I have been sewing, but not documenting.  So here is a little catch up on the method I am using.

When last we met, I showed some references I was adapting to get the Phoenix picture I want.  Here is a picture of the Hoffman print I liked so much, cut out and mounted on cardboard. 


Then I added about 6 more feathers.  This image is of the print with its extras.  The original print was very horizontal, so I added feathers at the bottom.  Also, this does not include a lavish tail, which I will sketch and add to the final image.

After I plastered together this “Phoenix and a half,” I took it to a photo place and had it blown up to the size I needed.  I had two copies made so I could cut one up for patterns.

Holding picture so you could get an idea of the size.


To begin with, I cut one feather at full size and chopped a piece of silk the approximate correct size. 


I then ironed on Floriani medium weight stabilizer on the back of the silk. 

I traced the pattern (reversed on the back of the stabilizer and sewed around the outer edge to make a permanent outline on top. 

In these pictures I cut the feather out completely before I began to sew, but I no longer do that.  It makes the satin stitch edge too hard to control.  I now leave an inch all around the edge and trim it later.  I’ll have more pictures next time.

It’s kind of interesting, the changes I have already made.  I started with some sample feathers in pale colors and discarded them.  Too pale.  I was not going to do gold edging, but as my friend Bo Fan remarked, it is the gold that pulls all the colors together.  So I’m edging like mad even though it is SO IRRITATING to do.

The real fun part is the detailing.  More on that next time!  Wish me luck!

Love, Mary Anne

1 comment:

Susan B said...

I really appreciate seeing where you pull design ideas from and how you are working out the details.

Susan in ga