Art Quilt Reveal
Today is August 1st, the day for my art quilt reveal as part of The Endeavourers, an online art quilt group that I’ve been a part of for a few years. Wilbs is very curious about what I created. You too? I’m so excited to share this art quilt reveal with you today! Of all the art quilts I’ve made for the challenges, this one has been the most challenging. I enjoyed every minute!
The theme for this challenge was collage. I thought to do something simple, but wasn’t really sure what that would be. In the midst of this challenge, I started to move into my new quilt room. One of the first things moved over were my books. As I was organizing and shelving them, I came across this book that my daughter gave me awhile ago.
I tucked it away in my bookshelf, thinking I’d likely never make a collage quilt. Never say never! I paged through the book, and I was intrigued.
Meanwhile, Christian Dalbec, a photographer from northern Minnesota, posted a cropped image of this photo on his Instagram feed (@christiandalbecphoto_gallery). If you go check out that photo, cruise through his gallery – his wave photography is amazing! I messaged Christian and asked if I could use his photo as inspiration for my challenge quilt, and he said yes. I was committed.
You can see by the size of the scraps compared to the beak that I am working fairly small. I started by freehand sketching the hummingbird head onto some gray ombre fabric. Then I got to work playing with small fabric scraps. It made a huge mess, but I was fascinated by the process!
Of course, my trusty assistant was close at hand . . .
He really thought those pins sticking up were grand fun, and the smell of the glue was quite interesting. I pressed on.
The choices of fabric and their placement, the layering and the glue tacking took quite a bit of time (those tweezers came in handy!). It was interesting to pull out fabrics and see if they would work. I used batiks, Kaffe Fassett fabrics, Frond fabrics, and bits and pieces from my scraps. Often I would have something all set, then when I saw it the next day, I would change it. In the photo above, I was not happy with the hard line between the turquoise and the green fabrics. After sleeping on it, I added another layer, softening that line a bit.
And that’s how I continued to work, changing things, pinning it up, stepping back for another view. Sometimes I had to just leave it on the design wall for a day or two until I knew what to do next.
The white body is all low volume white scraps, cut in feather shapes. It took me quite awhile to get it set the way I liked it. That little bit of white feathering took almost as long to put together as the rest of the image.
I started work on this in early June and finished the quilting in mid-July. It felt like it took longer than that. I didn’t work on much else during that time; however, I did step away from the project now and then to work on something small and fun, just to give my brain a break. Oh, and during all this, I was also moving into my new quilt room. So it was a bit chaotic. Before I knew it, the quilt top was finished and ready for quilting. I spent a few days fussing over how to quilt the background. Once I settled on that, I got to work.
I used 12 thread colors for this project. The light gray for the background quilting, the rest for the thread painting of the hummingbird head. I have not done much thread painting, so it was interesting to see my starting point and ending point and how much I relaxed as I went along. It was quite enjoyable until I had to bury the threads! The view from the back give a little better idea, since I chose threads that matched the fabrics with the intent of hiding my quilting.
Here are a few close ups from the front.
The slightly wavy quilting in the background, done at an angle. I marked the lines with a hera marker.
The red throat is made almost entirely from flower petal fabric. I was delighted to find a few floral fabrics in my stash that had all those shades of red. If you look closely, you can see a little of the thread painting or quilting.
And the finish!
The finished quilt measures 18.5 inches by 26.5 inches. All of the fabrics and thread used were from my stash.
I have been so excited to show you my art quilt reveal after working on it for so long. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my process. Many thanks to Christian Dalbec Photography for the inspiration photo. I also want to say thanks for your patience while I finished this project!
Thanks, too, to The Endeavourers for the fun challenge!
Wendy
47 Comments
Tracie
Wow, your collage is fantastic! (This quilt and the portrait quilt are my favorites.) You’re really stretching and growing in your artistry. It’s so fun to see your progress.
Frédérique
Wow!! (sorry, same reaction than Tracie!) your hummingbird is gorgeous! You just chose the perfect scraps and mixed so well colors and textures. Love the quilting too. It’s a beautiful work!
Kathy
Amazing! It is beautiful Wendy! Loved that you showed us your progress along the way. I love how it turned out and you colors are fantastic for making the hummingbird look so real. And your thread painting added to it. Great Work!
Dorothy
Fabulous !!!
marissthequilter
Oh wow Wendy, this is fabulous. I can see why you were itching to share it. A marvellous introduction to your new quilt studio.
Your careful planning has paid off so beautifully. (When you said you slept on it I had this silly picture of you and Wilbur sleeping on those sticking out pins!!)
Stitchin at Home
Oh my Wendy this is gorgeous! The fabric colours worked great for this lovely hummingbird. Well done!
nanamickie
I love this quilt! Well done you!!! It’s a fantastic piece!
Quilting is in my Blood
I’m totally onboard with all the Wows!!! It is just amazing. Gosh, it would look SO good hanging at my house!
Katy Sweigart
This is incredible, Wendy! I’m in awe!
texasquiltgal
My goodness! I’m kind of blown away with your ability to capture the hummer in the photo! You got the curve of the beak just right. I’m still not clear on Thread Painting. Did you do it by hand? Apparently you did it so well I can’t see it – lol! I laughed out loud at Mariss’ comment about you and Wilbs sleeping on the little bits of fabric. 😀 And he obviously “pawed” a big part in keeping those little bits of fabric in place. 😉 Anyway, it’s just beautiful. Will it adorn your new space?
Joanna
You totally captured how Susan Carlson suggests you use fabric. Your feline companion is obviously convinced it’s a real bird and would like a feather or two.
Cheree Hull
Fantastic quilt! I’ve never tried it so I loved seeing the process, too. It looks like it would be a perfect project to lose on self in. I can only imagine the mess I’d make! Yours turned out really well! Going on the wall in your new room?
Karen
your bird is amazing!!
Vicki in MN
OMG awesome work! Love hummingbirds. I imagine it will hang in your new room?
Sally Johnson
Your pictures aren’t coming through?
Susan Salo
Just absolutely awesome! Your collage is well done and the thread painting adds the right touch. So glad Wilbs is working on his skills too!
Cindy Berry
Your work of art is exquisite and something to be proud of! Well done!
TextileRanger
This looks so great; one would think you have been using this technique for years! It is so detailed! I can’t imagine doing such intricate work. 🙂
Sandi
Your bird quilt is just beautiful!! You are really good at doing that. Hugs,
Judy
That is absolutely beautiful. Great job.
Linda P
Very cool and good work! Also found a different to me fabric. Frond. Interesting
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
The time you took to step back and think about all of the fabric placements was well worth it; what a stunning collage and art quilt this turned into! I sure hope you plan to hang this proudly somewhere to see daily.
laura bruno lilly
Wowzer! (How’s that for a variant of others’ remarks?)
A hummingbird’s iridescent feathering is hard to capture…I think you did it, though. The many facets of coloration depending upon angles of view – the essence & value if not the shiny-ness.
Well done!
Kate
Wow! It’s really an amazing project. You did such a great job with the fabric blending and the thread painting. Congratulations on your gorgeous finish.
ShelteringHaven
Absolutely gorgeous!!
aquilterstable
Truly incredible. I’m in awe. 😉 I hope you shared your finish with the photographer.
Sandi Scarlett
Your art quilt is gorgeous! I did my first collage quilt a few months ago and it’s very tedious and challenging but it also was a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.
Kay Welch
Love your hummingbird. Great colors and fabric choices. I made one using Susan Carlson’s collage technique in 2022. It was for my contemporary group’s Telephone challenge. I was great fun. Mine was limited to 16-inch square, so my pieces were smaller. I want to do more of the collages – thinking of doing one set on a low volume traditionally pieced background. Quilt experiementing is so freeing. Never know what will happen.
Eva
Your endeavorers group is a very good group and you gone far out of your comfort zone. So perfect done!
as all the others said.. wow wow wow
The result is fantastic – and that is the best – you can be very proud with this work. It will make you smile whenever you go to your new sewing room. And your assistant was very good and you know … a boss is always as good as his assistance.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful work. I think the most complicated thing was to find the lines for the sections.
Thanks for the inspiration sharing the book cover. there is a snowbell flower I want to make for years and this could be the method to do – with glue!! :-))
Rochelle Summers
Woo Hoo! Absolutely beautiful. The fabric selection and cutting those small pieces, the precise placement, the PATIENCE!!! This is absolutely magnificent. You should be so proud of this collage. Congratulations. I am amazed that you had all those fabrics in your stash. And Wilbs was happy to supervise.
LA Paylor
applause!! well done Wendy. Our Maryland book study group took on that book, and I have a UFO to prove it. Your choices are great, love the intensity.
Laura
Love your choice of fabrics to get just the perfect textures. Bravo!
Wanda Hanson
You did a great job capturing the colors and finding the right fabrics to flow together. I admire you for tackling Susan’s method.
Diane Cannon
Perfect humming bird–what neat detail–love him–hugs, di
Diann@LittlePenguinQuilts
Oh, that is beautiful, Wendy! You really chose the perfect fabrics, shapes, and colors for each section. I like the fussy cut leaves, too! Your quilting looks great to me. I’ve never tried thread painting – can you do that using a walking foot (or dual feed foot like my machine has) or does it require FMQ? It has a great effect!
Celtic Thistle Stitches
Your fabric choices are just perfect for this beautiful hummingbird Wendy. Everything about this is amazing!
MichelleinScotland
I love your college; it is absolutely fabulous. I have that book and my local textile group recently had a talk from a lady that had used Susan’s technique to make quite few quilts. I really must get round to trying it myself. I hope mine is half a good as yours.
Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting
Breathtaking, Wendy!!! Simply stunning! Loved reading your process, too. Those pins and Wilbs–haha!!!
Laura
I spotted the hummingbird in the very first photo and I knew what the challenge was! Love, love, love it! I have made several collage projects and totally enjoyed them from start to finish. Very well done, Wendy! I bet I see more of this style from you in the future! 🙂
gayle coots
Another beautiful piece Wendy. I also have this book on my shelf and I WANT to collage, but fear (and time) is holding me back. Perhaps now that I am retired I will take that leap! Thanks once again for the inspiration.
Bernie
Stunning – Just incredible. I have been intimidated by the idea of collage but the idea to do a ‘smaller’ project is helpful. I had been looking at things like the Laura Heine patterns which are big.
Yours is soooo lovely. Excellent finish.
Kathleen McCormick
I am so impressed with this stunningly beautiful hummingbird. I love the way you made changes and softened the lines and found feathers in all sorts of fabrics. It is magnificent. You did fabulous – considering your studio was in chaos. Congratulations on a fabulous quilt!
Sally
So very cool! That hummingbird is magnificent!
Sandra Walker
Wendy this is incredible, just gorgeous! What an heirloom. I just showed it to my husband and was he ever impressed too, especially when I explained how you made it feather by feather. I love the quilting and the photo with that array of threads! I think you should do one of Wilbs one of these days.
Helen
Holy Moly! This is a whole new level of the wow-factor. Wow! Beyond impressed… In awe! I bet that photographer is pleased.
Vicki Welsh
Wendy, it’s fabulous!
Janine @ Rainbow Hare
This is a fantastic collage and it also looks great from the back. I really enjoyed seeing all the details of how you put it together. You really did choose perfect fabrics and arranged them all just right 🙂