Nellie"s Needles

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Mountain Quilt Finished

I thought you may like to see the stages to complete this "ortwork" collage piece that features the Smoky Mountains. The background pieces from my scrap bag were laid out to establish the basic placement of the mountains, groves of trees, and sky during the Friday afternoon demonstration at the gallery in Gatlinburg. I had in mind to portray the new growth that I had observed on the drive to the mountains. This step is akin to doing an "under painting".
Friday evening at home I added details with more bits of fabric scraps. There was a lot of cutting with scissors and the rotary blade. Angora yarn and wool roving was used to soften and blend areas.
A pale, muted red-violet tulle was laid over the surface to trap all those bits and pieces in place. Lots of pins held this sandwich of backing, batting, scraps, wool, and tulle together. I used a variety of threads, many of them variegated, to quilt patterns that suited each area of the scene. I like to use the zig-zag stitch setting for free-motion quilting of the trees.
It was then pinned to the design wall. Oil stick pastels were used to highlight and define shapes and edges. This is a slow process. After adding a touch of color or shading I need to leave the room or do something else before I can assess it with a "fresh eye" to see if the addition is convincing. A black permanent ink brush tipped marker was used to add more tree trunks and branches to the grove of trees in the foreground. To set the pastels the piece was sprayed with Krylon's clear acrylic. I use the one that has a UV ray protection to help guard against fading over time.
I squared it up trimming away the unfinished edges. You may recognize the fabric frame from the large mountain piece recently completed. I had intentionally made more than was needed for that piece, just in case I goofed cutting a mitered corner. Sure enough, I did ... and still had enough leftover to frame this one.

"Spring from Morton's Overlook" (2009)
20"x 18"
To see the other four "ortwork" collage pieces featuring this same view click on the Smoky Mountain Quilts lable.

12 comments:

Deborah OHare said...

Thank you for sharing this. I feel inspired to have a go at something similar.

Heather said...

Another work of art Nellie - they just keep coming. I don't know how you manage to keep all areas working together at the same time. It's wonderful. As for mitred corners, well they are scarey!!

Joyce said...

Amazing! It already looked great in the first photo. The border is perfect.

Vicki W said...

Thanks for sharing your process. I love all of these peices that you do!

Teodo said...

Another quilt fantastic Nellie.
ciao ciao

Dolores said...

And I thought your first one was framed in wood... Now I know.

Julie said...

This is fascinating, Nellie. Thank you for showing us how you make these great collages. They are on my 'must try this' list, especailly as I never throw any scraps away either.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nellie, thank for shopwing your process. This is very generous of you!

Unknown said...

It's fascinating to see your work in progress, Nellie, thanks!

Trish said...

Every time I visit your blog I am just blown away! You are so creative!...and talented. I thoroughly enjoyed observing the stages of creation.
"Spring from Morton's Overlook" is just beautiful!

Maggie R said...

Nellie your work is outstanding... I love this one especially. Thanks for sharing the process..
xoxo
((((hugs)))))
Maggie

ArtPropelled said...

Beautiful! I'm drawn to your Lake series photographs in the sidebar. Amazing to think they are constructed with tiny fragmnets of fabric.