Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Past the point of no return

Part of me is still very unsure what on Earth I have done. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I was certain that this section of vinework (in the purple) needed a punch. It needed emphasizing, somehow, some way. I tested out gold gel pens, gold pencils, and then gold paint. On my sample purple fabric, the paint looked just as I envisioned. It would be tedious, but the floral vines would stand out in gold as I want them to.
So, last weekend, while the quilt was still on the blocking boards (albeit fully dry), I started painting. I have never painted on a quilt, but I am wise enough to have done lots of research in recent months about how to do it in order to make it permanent. Yes, permanent. Now that it is started, part of me thinks it will be ok...thinks that I can eventually give these leaves and flowers enough subtle shading to look more natural. Oh really??? (that's my sane and usually wiser alter ego). It's bold, alright. I am not certain that the gold vines completely meld with the style of the quilt, but hey - all I can do now is make them look good and pretend that they were supposed to be there!!

If you are curious to laugh at my end result, this quilt will be at MQX in April.

5 comments:

Sewing Junkie said...

Looks grand to me. I am a skeptic also and I wouldn't dream of trying it, but your efforts look fine. Chris

annlp said...

I actually like it and I'm not a gold and glittery kind of gal...

Furball Farm Quilting said...

It looks great from this side of the world!

dq said...

The most amazing part to me is the fact that you dared to paint on a completed and "quilted" quilt. I would have been scared.

I would dare do it to an unquilted project because if I messed up I could always pick out the piece and replace it.

I really like your gold leaf painted edition to your quilt.

You have guts.

greelyrita said...

Looks like it might be stunning so far!