"On The First Day Of Christmas"
4" x 6"
ColorfulArtGirl from California has begun a monthly postcard challenge through her blog; she wrote to tell me about it when she read about my own personal postcard journey. I love the idea of having a prompt to jumpstart the creativity, so here goes:
The Inspiration Words for January were “bird” and “yellow” – and my mind immediately went to A Partridge in a Pear Tree (it was still close to Christmas, you see . . .). Long ago, I had purchased a fabulous book titled “Appliqué Art,” by Stewart Merrett; in it, this incredibly talented artist demonstrates how he has transformed silks and velvets into quilted masterpieces. I immediately began collecting all sorts of specialty fabrics, including velvets, satins, and upholstery silks, and I planned to try every project in his book.
I adapted one of his designs for a pear and added my own tiny partridge to the composition. She seemed to need some ornamentation when I was finished, so I added a feathered crown (I’m fairly certain that partridges don’t really look like this, so I ask your indulgence). The materials are velvets and suedes, and the picture doesn’t really do them justice – the piece glistens as you view it from different angles. The satin stitching (yes, I abandoned my usual flat zigzag stitch) is done with 40-weight rayon thread to add to the sheen.
This was a lot of fun – I can’t wait to try it again. Be sure to visit here if you'd like to join in the challenge.
Diane
11 comments:
Lovely and touchable. When you click to enlarge it you can see how soft it looks.
Very cute! And yes it does look quite inviting for a touch.
It's lovely Diane! Just wonderful. Sounds like a great idea too!
Very sweet... put a smile right on my face!
this is absolutely wonderful! what interesting fabrics. the colors are so vibrant and i especially love how you did the 'shading' on the leaves and the bottom of the pear. and I think it does look like a dove ! =)
ps I love that you put some background on how you got into using those fabrics
Oh it's so pretty! I love it. Artistic license is yours to take. That's what makes your card special.
LOVE this card!...the textures of all those different fabrics really adds dimension to this piece.
I can absolutely "feel" that pear leaf.
How fun to find a new way to do postcards. I love velvets and silks and all the lovely textured fabrics that are usually not used for quilting. What a wonderful way to be able to use them. Your postcard is just beautiful!
Nice work! Thanks for the info about Stewart Merrett, I haven't heard of his work/books before.
This is one of those pieces you really want to touch! It looks so plush!.
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