January 1, 2012

Barbara's Tentative Beginnings


Hi All, I have some tentative beginnings on my St. Francis piece.  I have a lingering flu that I can't shake, so I haven't gotten as much done as I'd hoped, but I feel like I have enough to begin.  I transferred this image of St. Francis onto a hankie, which is basted onto a 15 inch square of fabric.  I may later swap this out for another transfer onto a napkin, as I'm not thrilled with the resolution of the image.   We'll see.


I pulled a lot of my block fabrics from my stash of suit samples.  Most of the fabrics in this bin are silk, linen and blends.


Here's the palette of fabrics, augmented with some cottons.


Here's where I'm going with the composition.  The white background under the hankie is a flexible border where I can add embroidery or trim, and also play with the size of the blocks.


This is my favorite block so far.  I'm going for a wildflowers and birds theme. These are 8 inch (unfinished) blocks.


The textured fabrics are meant to suggest a rustic feel.


I also stopped piecing new blocks because I felt like they were coming out too similar.  I will likely go back and add a couple of additional pieces to some of these blocks to give them more variety, especially the one on the left here.

I also picked up a couple of fat quarters on Friday: more birds, and some sunflowers on a red background.  I want a few hits of red in the composition, to balance that crane on the red background.

Before I forget, please come to my regular blog and see the Madonna piece I finished last week.

8 comments:

Debra Dixon said...

Super Start! You are definitely getting the rustic look with your fabrics. I like your St. Francis image too.

Peacock said...

Your Madonna quilt is amazing! Personally, I like the St. Francis image: the resolution gives him a ghostly and spiritual feel to me, implying that we might not always see him clearly, but his presence can be found in all of these things that surround us. :)
I hope you shake the remnants of your flu and feel fully restored soon!

Connie Eyberg Originals said...

I like that you have tied the bird theme into your St. Francis image. It will be interesting to watch your pieces develop. Sorry you are under the weather. It does look like you have accomplished a lot.

jenclair said...

I like the St. Francis image, too, and like the way the flowers show through in a muted way.

Barbara C said...

One of the reasons I like to use image transfers over vintage fabric is because I like the layering of images. I'll probably embroider over the flowers that his robe almost obscure.

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

It looks like a fabulous beginning! St Francis is one of my favorite saints and I really like the flowers he is surrounded by. The rustic fabrics remind me that he gave up much wealth to wear the coarse and simple robe of a monk. Wonderful!

Judy S. said...

Your block is just perfect as is, Barbara. I like that it's somewhat muted, and the earthy fabrics work well, too. Can't wait to see what comes next!

Susan said...

I love the idea of pairing St. Francis with the bird blocks. The fabrics you've chosen to use are just perfect for the man's life.