When I saw Kate Wilhelm’s photo of a zebra in her calendar
of South African images, I knew that was what I wanted to use as my inspiration
for contrast. Despite a very involved
process of messages and e-mails I went through to contact Kate (including
finding another photographer named Kate Wilhelm and a fiber artist too), I was
able to get her permission.
Following the suggestions from many of you Mavens, I tried to use
water soluble stabilizer but it was fruitless – it gave me fits as I did not
have an embroidery hoop in my transported supplies in Maine and I was not happy with the warped results. I thank you all for your help, but I started to thread paint
the zebra using my own difficult process.
I outlined the copy of the photo with a sharpie and then printed it onto
traditional stabilizer ironed to freezer paper and put in the
printer. I began the tedious job of
straight stitching to fill in the sections of the zebra in black and white
thread because I was too afraid to use free motion stitching as I knew it would
twist and distort the shape. After what seemed like weeks of stitching and diligent pressing to maintain the shape without distortion, I had my zebra
“colored” in. Amazingly with my careful process it was only slightly mishapen. I then satin stitched it
to the background and continued to fill in with free motion stitching for more
depth and shading. White tuille was used
on the hind quarter of the zebra to replicate the shading in Kate’s photo. Hand stitching with white DMC thread contrasts
with the fine black lines in the background fabric. The red print seemed to be the perfect frame
for the zebra, but when finished it still seemed to need something. I hand stitched a bit
more with black DMC thread and added a few black beads for a little more
contrast. I hope Kate sees my
rendition as she asked for a photo and the link to our website which I’ll give
her.
Here is the website if you’d like to see the photo I used –
the zebra is on the November page of the calendar.
Nedra, I cannot tell you how much I admire your perseverance in the construction of this quilt! All of your diligent labor paid off and resulted in a wonderful interpretation of this theme!
ReplyDeleteNedra - This zebra has so much personality! Your attention to detail is always remarkable, and it's the perfect choice for contrast! Like the red border choice, it really frames the whole quilt nicely! Lovely!
ReplyDeleteSuch contrast! I always love looking at zebra's. Your colors are perfect. Nicely done
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice Zebra! Great rendition.
ReplyDeleteOh Nedra, this turned out so well. I went to the website as you suggested, and I think your rendition is just perfect! How patient you must be to do all of this careful stitching! Well done!
ReplyDeleteWOW ! What a great quilt, and a perfect interpretation of "Contrast !" Your 'thread painting' is a total success, and yes.... thread painting is tedious and your eyes can go crazy, but truly, the successes we share are worth every minute of effort :-D I loved how you used tulle to shade the thread work (which also provided contrast !) And isn't it nice that all of us have the option of switching back and forth between 12 x 12, and 11 x 14 when making our quilts !
ReplyDeleteALSO ! The patterns in your red border fabric made me think of "ZENTANGLE" another art form that I'm crazy about :-D
Your choice of subject matter, a zebra, is a perfect illustration of contrast. You did a great job with a technique that sounds as painful as it was effective. Great shading
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I love red, black and white quilts. It is on my list of things to do. This is beautiful and a reminder that we need to get permission for copyrighted material before we use it. I asked to use a picture of Sherlock Holmes on the back of my quilt last year for Mystery. The artist said that was fine but what was a quilt. I've had people also say no to using lyrics and you have to respect their decision. You did a great job and it looks straight as an arrow to me.
ReplyDeleteYour zebra seems to be saying, "O.K. ladies, this is what contrast is supposed to look like." He has a wonderful, sassy look of attitude on his face. Great job! Having done thread painting, I am very impressed at your work ethic with his piece.
ReplyDeleteWOW...a zebra is a perfect example of contrast, and the red border a great addition. I agree with Alice that
ReplyDeleteyour perseverance really paid off. I hope you are happy with the results!
What wonderful work! Thread painting is very effective but very tedious. Keeping it in a smaller format is necessary for me.
ReplyDeleteI love your zebra. He is gorgeous and the epitome of contrast.
I love black, white and red and this is stunning! You put so much work into the zebra and it came out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love those beads on the border! Great work!
Thanks Judy. I really appreciate your comments!
DeleteIt was a lot of work but fun to do.
Beautifully done! My gosh you made this zebra perfect. Not only did you hit contrast spot on with the zebra, but to have machine stitching and hand quilting in the piece is wonderful. The beads in the border are a really nice touch.
ReplyDelete