Sunday, July 15, 2012

Carolyn's Daydream: Lost in Andalusia




My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Portugal and Spain. On the night of our 53rd anniversary, we went to a flamenco performance in Andalusia, the region that includes Granada and Sevilla.  I have always loved to dance, and my quilt is reminiscent of my daydreams as I watched the exuberant flamenco dancers.

I remembered a painting of a woman's profile that I saw in a little Spanish cafe.  I sketched the design with pencil, and because I saw so many Spanish women with fans, decided to add her hand holding a fan.

A lovely Sky Dyes hand-dyed fabric became my background.  All other fabrics are batiks.  The objects in the quilt were appliquéd using Wonder


Under.  I used a zig-zag rotary blade to cut out the fan and dress.  I shaded the face, eyebrow ear, hand and eyelashes with Prismacolor pencils which I set with heat.  I attached the quilt to cotton batting and then to Timtek using Wonder Under.  Then I added embroidery stitches to the fan, bracelet, and flower using hand-dyed threads from Artfabrik.  To give the quilt a dreamy effect, I covered the entire piece with silver tulle.  The next step was to outline everything, including her hair, hand, and the zig-zag designs with machine stitching.  When that was completed, I machine quilted the clouds and sky in the background fabric and added the binding.

8 comments:

  1. The true artist in you comes out in this lovely piece, Carolyn! Your Spanish dancer is beautiful, and all the special techniques enhance her and the quilt. I am impressed by your expert use of such materials as the Prismacolor pencils and the hand-dyed embroidery threads. Well-done!

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  2. So very beautiful ! I loved your explanation of all the techniques you used and that you named the products you used in constructing the quilt. Your story is enchanting, as is the beautiful dream you invited us to share with you ! Bravo !

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  3. Carolyn,
    You hit this one out of the ballpark. WOW! This is just so beautiful. Thanks for the info on what you did. The silver tulle sure gives the perfect effect to the piece. Love the colors you chose and all the special techniques you did. This quilt is so serene and wonderful. Love looking at it!

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  4. First of all, congratulations on your 53rd Anniversary. :) Your story magnified the beauty of your quilt. So many details here to appreciate and wish I could view this in person. Fabric and stitching choices are fantastic and I agree, the tulle softened the contrast into a nice dreamy luster.

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  5. Carolyn, This is beautiful! The bun, earring, fan, flower and bracelet - such details you executed so cleverly and well. The tulle finishes it off perfectly as does the machine stitching in the sky. Congratulations - Wow 53 years!!!

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  6. Carolyn...what a gorgeous quilt & I would imagine, a lovely way to remember your visit to a Spanish cafe on your 53rd wedding anniversary trip. I love the colors and all the details in her accessories, and I especially love her eyelashes! Great use of the Skydye fabric background and I think what makes this such a dramatic and elegant piece is that you allowed the background to remain open and "airy".

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  7. What a beautiful quilt. The detail is amazing. I never would have thought of using the zig-zag rotary cutter. That would have worked wonderfully for my piece as well. Maybe next time?

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