DRAGONFLY POND: Updoing an Old Project

Top made in a Getaway Class 2004-5

 I started this top in a workshop that I took at the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society Getaway. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact date of the workshop, but I think it was around 2004-05.
It was a workshop on machine piecing diamonds in strips and working with multiple prints.  Well, I got home, and not being real excited about the results, which you can see in the top photo, I stuck the top away.

The past two years or so, I've been getting out unfinished and old projects and either redoing some of them or finishing them in unexpected ways.  It's a great way to experiment with products and techniques. That's what this piece is all about now.

This top now has a large dragonfly on it. It will depend on the viewer as to whether or not they see a dragonfly's shadow or a black dragonfly. I also added four fish. They are cut out of a piece of silk/linen fabric that I mono-printed with acrylic paints.

With dragonfly and fish fused on

I then quilted the whole piece in order to stabilize it, before adding fins to the fish, and quilting the Dragonfly. I used a squiggly square design that I found in a book of Japanese stencils. It was an easy design to work with since I did not have to mark anything. The quilting is pretty dense as I wanted it to look like the ripples in water. I used the same color variegated, tri-lobal, polyester thread for all of the quilting.

Quilted with a squiggly square design

After quilting the whole top, and sewing the Dragonfly and fish into place, I painted the whole thing in swirls, using Dyna-Flo paints that had been diluted with Golden Fabric medium. The paints dried darker than I had thought they would, but I got the movement that I wanted.

Painted with Dyna-Flo paints

 

After that, I mixed up equal amounts of Seta Color Transparent white and white glitter paint with some Golden Fabric Medium.  I then used a sponge to speckle paint the whole top. I was trying to get the look of the sun glinting off of the water. This photo only shows half of the top speckle painted. You can see the additional movement that it is giving to the design.

Speckle painted with white

I have now decided to call this piece "Dragonfly Pond" but it is looking too empty of life for me. It needs rocks and water plants and more fish. Yes?

So, last night, I cut out and painted some Water Nasturtium leaves. The leaves are cut out of Evolon, that has been backed with Misty Fuse.  I painted them using Dyna-Flo yellow, green and blue paints. I love the way these paints flow together and are not at all heavy on the fabric. I also added one more fish and a few fins to the fish. I"m using the new Steam a Seam for the fins.

It's looking a little more lively now.

Leaves, a rock and more fish

I am going to add more leaves and the rock will have at least a frog bead on it. That's all for now though.  I'm very curious about how this is going to turn out. The one thing I'm sure of is that I am really going to like it!!

Joyfully Creating in Nonesuch,

Karen
ksrquilter@gmail.com

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