Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Reveal --finally and it still isn't "finished" (giveaway too!)

Some of you have been waiting for the reveal of the piece I have been working on. This is the one that has a fair amount of hand work in it. My right index finger bears the pain of this piece from pulling the needle through so many times.
I know you are thinking "Enough! Just show us." Ha ha...so I will


This is my version of the Windmill quilt from Laura Wasilowski's book "Fanciful Stitches- Colorful Quilts." By the way, you get the ebook version of this FREE as part of the class Hand Stitched Collage Quilts on Craftsy.   It still needs backed and bound in some manner.  I may also go in and add some machine quilting since I am now in love with Free Motion Quilting.
When I showed another art quilt, I was contacted by my friend and pusher hand dyed fabric vendor, Vicki Welsh.  She graciously offered some small pieces of her shibori dyed fabrics to use in my next art  quilt.   No hesitation on my part!  I was thrilled to try it.
So let me tell you about the fabrics in this piece:

  • The sky fabric came from my stash and I honestly don't know where it came from. 
  • The roof of the lighthouse is one of Vicki's gradient pieces -I forced myself to cut this right out of the middle of it.  (it didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would)
  • The walls of the lighthouse (orange) are from another gradient. Yes, I cut into that one too!
  • The ground is still another gradient.  (can you tell how much I love these gradients?  you get so much variety in one piece!) (the door came from that piece too.) 
  • The windows in the light house came from the same gradient as the orange walls.
  • The tulip blooms and the leaves are from a couple of shibori hand dyes.
  • The wonderful visual texture in the windmill blades come from a shibori also. 
Here are some other pictures:
 Windmill blade and the shibori fabric below that I used for it.

notice the lovely color variations in both the windows and the roof!

A great leaf Shibori

Detail of Blooms and Leaves

A great tulip Shibori (also good for other flowers!) 

I used several colors of Auriful wool in the hand stitching on the leaves, the windows and the round "thing" in the center of the windmill blades.  It was perfect to add a different texture to the piece. 

Aren't those fabrics wonderful?  Don't you wish you had some to put in a project? I know you do. 
If you would like to win your choice of one shibori fabric from Vicki's shop PLUS a Mistyfuse Goddess pressing sheet (and let me tell you - these are GREAT for use in fusing!) then you want to play along here.

Goddess Sheet  - a slick sheer teflon coated fiberglass pressing sheet for fusing fabric!

Go to Vicki's Shop in the Shibori section -come back here and tell me which piece is your favorite and why.  
Enter soon!  I will close entries on July 19th (midnight central time) and draw a winner soon after that.  I may not reply to all comments on this post if it gets a lot of response simply due to time limitations. 


Here are some other links to Vicki's blog and newsletter.  I love looking at Vicki's blog for inspiration

As an added bonus, Vicki is offering a special to my blog readers! 
"Coupon code: GENESHIP for free shipping on US domestic orders over $40. International buyers can enter the code in the comments and Vicki will refund $5.00 on their order. Coupon expires July 21"


Thanks for enduring this looooonnnnng post.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  good luck in the drawing!  Be sure we can contact you if you should win. 



Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible unless otherwise stated.

42 comments:

Barb said...

Gene, that is absoutely beautiful.....I am in awe!!

I have a pressing sheet, thanks for the giveaway!!

sew.darn.quilt said...

Your piece is amazing. I really like the movement created in the scene.
Just beautiful!
The fabric that caught my eye is
"TOMISATO". It makes me think of being within dense trees in the winter and the edges give it a day dreamy sensation. These fabrics are absolutely gorgeous.

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

What a gorgeous block! The colors are amazing and your hand stitching is perfect.

My favorite of the fabrics is Kumure. I can see so many uses for that color blend. Thanks for the opportunity to enter your great giveaway!

Anonymous said...

Your quilt reminds me of Holland MI, they have a tulip festival every year. There is a windmill there and tulips everywhere. Lovely. The fabric I like is the Inzia, it would work well for grass and trees etc. Thanks for the giveaway.

(smjohns63 at yahoo dot com)

Holee said...

What a wonderful piece. I've been to Holland. It took me right back there. I can see the man coming out the door with his pants rolled up and his metal bucket in hand. The fabric's are really wonderful.

I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone of neutrals and pastels. I do love red though!

I think I'm drawn to Nogata because it looks icy. With the coming of winter I usually go for the strikingly cool colors and this is one. Thanks for the give away...I'll be visiting often since I found you on Ravelly's blog.

Unknown said...

Gene it is wonderful....I can jsut feel the wind blowing... I just love when people do their version because it becomes more real. You did a great job, your stitching looks wonderful and well the fabric just beautimus!
Went o Vicki's blog and other than loving her fabric as usual i really have a wonderful feeling towards "Nikaho" It is beautiful the colors are just wonderful it just speaks to me....Ejoy your happy day of your big "reveal" it is well deserved...

Anonymous said...

I have a fascination with tulips and windmills- this is so perfect and pretty!!! I went to the Etsy shop- be still my heart - and she lives in VA not too far from me!!! Will add her to my Etsy circle and place an order as soon as I have some spare $$. Favorites were Iyo and Tagawa- it was really hard to pick just one!!!

Quilting Tangent said...

Nice wind effect in your quilt. I like the Hand Dyed Fabric Morning Glory Gradient - reminds me of sunrises and sunsets. Don't have a pressing sheet. I'm sure it would come in handy.

Beth said...

My favorite is Omuta, which surprises me cause I am usually more of a blue/green/purple girl.

hueisei said...

Beautiful block!!

I like Nikako... The colors so beautiful.

Rhonda said...

Oh wow Gene, your windmill is amazing...such details.
Now for my choice from Vicki' fabric...are you kidding me....LOL
I was very hard for me to pick, I took about 10 minutes going back and forth but finally I think my favorite is Yanagawa...it the orange/yellow like of tiger stripe one. I see so many possibilities with that one. Love it!!

Patty said...

Gene this absolutely beautiful! So pretty and whimsical!
My choice of fabric would be Seiyo it is so pretty and I think it could be used in a variety of ways in an art quilt. Thanks.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

I'm in love with the purple in her "Once Upon a Dream kit" I just love the kit......makes me feel free.

Love your windmill Gene..wonderful job.

Frog Quilter said...

Very nice Gene. Is it for me?

Janarama said...

Your windmill quilt is beautiful. I love the look of movement with the placement of the flowers and your hand quilting.

My favorite fabric in Vicki's etsy shop is all of them. LOL Actually it's her Hand Dyed Shibori Fabric - Sanmu because I like chevrons and the use of yellow and green together.

Jackie said...

I love it, especially the embroidery on the windmill! my fav fabric at Vicki's is the 'Glamour Girl'.. it is pink and funky=)

Teresa Quilts said...

Oh my goodness, Gene Black!!! This is awesome! It is sew beautiful! I think this is my favorite if not one of my favorite of your works.

Inch Worm Fabrics said...

Absolutely amazing and beautiful!! You have make something truly awesome! Thanks for sharing!

Gill said...

Fabulous Gene!
I love Vicki's fabrics - sanmu is my favourite though it was hard to choose!

elle said...

it has been a while since I've appliqued. I luv the leaves. so I picked a Chikugo but there are lots of other leafy greens! Great job on your windmill!

Anya said...

Lovely! And Vicki's fabrics are, too! I love the Yame...for the triangles. Thanks to both of you for the chance!

Margaret said...

love the windmill and tulips.
one of my favorite Vicki Shibori fabric is Sanmu, Love the greens

Thanks for the give away

c said...

love the windmill, the flowers of all kinds you have done in many pieces, and appreciate a chance at a giveaway. I would love to use the Mistyfuse sheet. thanks

aka kingcooper0001@aol.com

Sarah J. said...

I am visiting from Vicki's blog. I love her inspiration as well. Beautiful use of her hand-dyed fabrics in your piece. Very inspiring. I like her inzai shibori the best but I love them all! Thanks for the giveaway.

Becky in VA said...

You captured a wonderful feeling of movement and light in your quilt - Vicki's fabrics are awesome.

It was difficult to choose just one: Seiyo or Yame.

Happy Sewing!

Sarah said...

You just keep the fabulousness coming! I love those tulips :)

Linda Swanekamp said...

Nogata is my favorite. It reminds me of the wind rippling the water on a summer day. I love Vicki's fabric for my quilts.
Linda

Debbie said...

Your piece is amazing, Gene! I enjoy the extra details about your process. My favorite color is orange, so I am partial to Vicki's Yanagawa. But, all her work is fantastic.

Linda Kittmer said...

Great work Gene. I love your use of the beautiful shibori fabrics. I love the vibrant, deep colour in Vicki's Sabae piece (but it was really hard to choose a favourite!). My fingers are crossed!

Marjorie said...

Your work is beautiful. I love the way you used the fabrics--that's a gift. Love the Yanagawa Shibori. I have a couple of Vickie's hand dyes that I still haven't cut--they're beautiful. And the pressing sheet looks like a treasure. You inspired me to pull out my old pressing sheets instead of using parchment paper. The pressing sheets do keep the iron from getting so mucked up. Parchment paper has some kind of finish that leaves residue on my iron.

Tangos Treasures said...

Very pretty!!

patty a. said...

Vicki's Sabae is my choice. Your windmill piece is beautiful!

Annmarie said...

The blues in Nogata are outstanding - my favorite! Your Windmill is outstanding too!!

Average Quilter said...

Your windmill is awesome. The frabic just makes it. I like the Sabae piece - it would work well on a design I have going right now.

Parsley said...

I love your use of all these beautiful fabrics. I sometimes struggle to use these kinds of things, so this is good inspiration. My favorite of Vicki's shiboris is Inzai.

Unknown said...

It was hard to narrow down to just one, but I think my favorite is Nogata. I love the colors, and how the columns alternate between crisp and fuzzy lines. Thanks for the chance to win!

The windmill is a nice piece! I also have a problem cutting into fabrics I love. Every now and again I have to force myself to realize that they're not being seen and appreciated if they're in the stash, and I'll break down and cut one up.

Unknown said...

Hit "publish" before I got my contact info in. Sorry for the twitch fingers!

kmen3035 @ hotmail . com

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your win at the Fat Quarter Shop, your fabrics are great! I love Vicki's Nogata fabric, the aqua blue is so delicate and I have a granddaughter who would absolutely love it in a quilt! Thanks for the giveaway.

Jody said...

Love the movement and colors in your windmill piece. My favorite of the fabrics is tomisato--looks like hay just before baling--I miss those days!

Barbara said...

Wow they are all so great! I guess
I would have to pick Kurume. It reminds me of trees reflected in a Minnesota lake. All of her fabrics are wonderful.. I have yet to purchase any because I too have the problem that some fabrics are too wonderful to cut. To solve this problem now, I buy a larger piece than I need and cut up half of it and "look" at the other half.

soot said...

Your work is just beautiful, Gene. So glad to get acquainted with it. You're now in my Feedly.
Kathy in Beebeetown, IA

Richard Healey said...

Thank you for Linking Up to LAFF.

Richard and Tanya Quilts
Richard and Tanya Quilts on Craftsy