Friday, July 11, 2014

poppy in progress

Yum! Look at all those shiny reflective silks in red!! I don't work in red enough! These came from my shopping spree in my silk drawer.
My friend Mary who just moved to CO sent this black and white fabric to me as a challenge. It's 9.5 inches square. She printed it with black paint on white fabric from the poppy pods left after they bloomed in her new yard.
I was so excited after seeing hers, I begged for a piece of the fabric!!
She sent this, and I want to make something fun with it instead of just hoarding it.
Here you see it with one of my scrap leaves and a scrap heart from the design wall, pretty isn't it?
I cut out some bits from each fabric, pieced them together, being careful of the hot iron while pressing.
I knew I wanted something textural and 3-d.
I couldn't find just the right reflective black in my silks drawer, but found this leftover from a lovely piece I made a few years back. It is one of my favorites and made from lots of slinky embossed fabrics. As I sat on the porch last night with my husband reading our fascinating book aloud, I took needle and thread in hand, and stitched the raw edged petals to the stuffed black circle so that when attached to a quilt, they will stand up around it.

I'm auditioning this black fabric, which has stars in circles in tan on black. All the fabrics I expected to look good, didn't work. Hmph. I kind of like this one and the orientation.
When you work originally and improvisationally there is no right answer, but it's very rewarding. I'll let you know what this turns into. I'm having a bit of trouble allowing myself to cover up so much of Mary's fabric!
LeeAnna

11 comments:

Gina said...

It's looking great. I love what you've done so far xx

Christine Staver said...

Love all those reds and what you are doing.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Just gorgeous reds!!!!!

Gwyned Trefethen said...

I assume you plan to appliqué the poppy to the black and white fabric. If so, you can cut away the anything under the poppy after it is stitched. Thus giving you a piece of that stunning black and white fabric for your next project.

carla said...

HI!!!!! Very pretty!!!!!

Joanne said...

Hi LeeAnna!
Gorgeous! Mix and match, a bit of this and that! What fun!
Green leaves, poppies, Summer 3D!
Take care,
Joanne

Kaja said...

I've had a self-seeded opium in my garden the last couple of weeks that looks just like this!

PugMom said...

What beautiful red silks you have my dear! I love the embossed fabric you added in the middle!

Nell's Quilts said...

The sheen on the silks is wonderful. Your friend is so talented. Love the black printed fabric. Looking forward to seeing how you solve your little challenge.

Lorna McMahon said...

What a gorgeous start! I love the look of the red and black against that special piece from Mary. A pretty poppy appliqued onto a poppy print!

Sheila said...

Beautiful red fabrics! It's going to be fun watching your project come together.