Portrait Quilt........Completed

This Portrait is going under the needle today...

Click Images to Enlarge:

I pulled out some of my favorite quilting threads:

Bottom Line by Superior Threads

Variations by YLI

The Thread Section of this blog

will explain more about these threads.

I have narrowed the thread choices down to these...

Bottom Line Black for her eyes.

Variations Teddy Brown for her hair.

Bottom Line Tan for her face and hands.

Robinson Anton 24 KT Gold Rayon

for the birds and flowers

YLI Variations Meadow Green for the background.

The portrait in the center of the quilt is sewn on top of the backing fabric.

It is not pieced into the green fabric.

I didn't want seams to distract from the thermofax printing on the green fabric.

To sew the portrait down on top of the green background,

I used a decorative stitch and green thread.

I am pleased with the quilting on the face...

I matched the thread colors as much as possible to the portrait.

From a distance the thread work is subtle.

As you get closer, you can appreciate the quilting stitches.

They create lots of texture and movement in the background.

I will finish this off with a Cord Bound Edge Treatment.

" Day Dreaming"

Portrait in Fabric

19 x 25 inches

If you are interested in learning to work with

Neocolor II Crayons and Inktense Pencils

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Adventures in Portrait Quilts

Saturday, June 18, 2011

JanniLou Creations Quilt Shop

1243 Main Street

Philomath, OR 97343

541-929-3795

Call to Register for Class

CLICK HERE to view Beginner Portrait Quilt Class Information

CLICK HERE to view the earlier work done on this portrait

CLICK HERE to view Learning to Fly Portrait

CLICK HERE to view Cord Bound Edge Treatment Tutorial

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Neocolor II Portrait......Learning to Fly

This portrait has been painted for a few months now.

Today is the day it goes under the needle...

Click Images to Enlarge:

I took this photo of my niece.

She came running into the house with this baby bird.

She found it in the backyard and was concerned the dogs or cats would get it.

It was perched on her arm and she would bring it up by her face to gently caress it and bring it some comfort.

I have a ritual before I put anything under the needle:

I remove the throat plate and clean the feed dogs.

I install the straight stitch throat plate for machine quilting.

I put grease-less hand cream on my hands for better grip.

I pop in a minty piece of gum...

I fill a bobbin with Bottom Line Thread.

Then I adjust the screw on the bobbin housing to accommodate the very fine thread.

Then I warm up...

Writing your name is a great way to warm up...

Gets the eye hand coordination going good.

Also, great practice for signing your quilts.

I have completed my ritual and now I begin:

I quilted her hair first.

Why?

Because it was easy and relaxed me.

Then I quilted her shirt because it was fun.

Then I quilted her arm....then her face.

By the time I got to her face...

I was warmed up, confident and into it.

JanniLou Creations Quilt Shop

asked me to test out this new Sulky Thread...

It is a very fine 60 wt polyester variegated thread...

It was perfect for the blue background on this quilt.

I am pleased with this thread.

It is fine and yummy and melts right into the fabric.

The subtle variegation of color is wonderful.

It is so fine that you could do detailed thread work without any build up.

It would be wonderful for bobbin thread too.

Perfect for these portrait quilts.

Similar to Bottom Line by Superior, but a bit thicker.

This new thread will definitely become part of my stash soon!

" Learning to Fly "

13 x 18 inches

Neocolor II Portrait

Cord Bound Edge Treatment

Did I mention this was an old photo?

This 7 year old girl is now almost 22 years of age.

Glad I held onto the photo and the inspiration to

turn this image into a quilted portrait.

CLICK HERE to view this class

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portrait Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Full Curl

CLICK HERE to view a Review of Neocolor II Crayons

CLICK HERE to Watch Me work on projects

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full of Portraits,

LuAnn

Inktense.......Grape Leaf

I am still testing out the new pack of

Inktense Pencils

This is an image I took last year of our Grape Arbor

Let's see how the Inktense works:

Click Images to Enlarge

Grape Leaf

The grape leaf image was altered in Photoshop Elements 4

then printed out on white fabric.

My favorite fabric to print on is White Cotton Sateen

My Epson printer uses Durabrite Inks

They are a pigment based ink and are water resistant,

which means they don't bleed when wet.

I am just beginning to add Inktense Pencils to the leaf.

I have all of the yellow and green color added so far...

The inktense pencils look rather dull at this stage...

Half way done adding red...

The entire grape leaf is colored in...

I decided to be true to the photo and color the background black.

I was tempted to color in a pretty blue sky, but I resisted.

Now to paint the fabric:

The yellow and green areas have been painted

and are much more vibrant now.

I paint over the Inktense Pencils with

half water & half textile medium.

This helps me control the paint.

I have just started painting the red...

you can see how much more vibrant the top left side is.

All of the leaf has been painted...

Next comes the background

The black Inktense Pencil adds so much drama to this leaf.

It is now ready to be basted and quilted.

I will post images as I continue to work on this piece.

I found this video tutorial on You Tube

It will give you an idea of just how to use the Inktense Pencils

CLICK HERE to view

CLICK HERE to view a Neocolor II Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view my Traditional Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Sun Dyeing

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn