Spain II, or, How to Color Your Summer Vacation

Several weeks ago, I showed how the medieval rock walls in Spain inspired me to do some freemotion quilting.  I basically stared at my vacation photos, then sketched out the major lines. It took me 2-4 rounds (per photo) of practice sketching and stitching to get decent results.

All my pieces had batting on the back, so that the freemotion quilting created contours.  Once the outlining was done, I selectively colored some of the pieces. Then I zig-zagged them together.

 ...Added turquoise binding to cover the seams.

 Put felt on the back, and covered the edges with strips of felt (though in hindsight, I probably should have done a simple zigzag edging or traditional binding).

 Done!

I gave that one away, and wanted another one to keep. So once again, I stitched out some of my favorite photos.

...Which caused me to reflect on the fact that, no matter how many decades I've been freemotion quilting, I still need to practice with any particular image or motif immediately before the final run. Practicing the week before, or even the day before, only counts a little. You also really have to do it moments before. (Or at least, I do.)

For this round, I did more coloring.

 Here's what I have so far for quilt #2.

Here's a procedure for turning your vacation photos into a coloring book quilt:

1. Take lots of photos, so you have lots to choose from.
   
   
2. Pick favorites.
   
   
3. Sketch out the major lines of the photo on paper. Or print out your photos and trace the major lines onto fabric.
   
   
4. Strive to connect all the lines. The less you cut the thread, the better, because coloring can dislodge thread ends. At the very least, strive to begin and end at the edges of your piece (rather than the center).
   
   
5. Draw it again, and maybe a third time. Then stitch a practice round.
   
   
6. Choose a light-colored fabric with very dark thread (I used dark brown thread on an assortment of tan and gold fabrics). Back the front fabric with batting and (optional) a backing fabric. To minimize tension agony, use the same thread in the top and bottom. 
   
   
7. Go for it. Stitch out your design.
   
   
8. Gently color inside the stitched lines. You can use school supplies - Crayola crayons and markers work fine.* If you're an art supply snob use the good stuff - for these drawings I used Caran d'Ache Neocolor II water soluble crayons; Prismacolor colored pencils; and some low-quality no-name watercolor pencils which I don't recommend because the points kept breaking. UPDATE: I took a wonderful class from quilter Ana Buzzalino on coloring fabric with Derwent Inktense pencils (and fabric medium (or aloe) to make the color permanent). There are several tutorials now online for "coloring fabric with Inktense pencils," along with the classes Buzzalino teaches here.
   
   
9. If you used watercolor crayons or pencils, and are ready to start the bleeding, use a tiny brush and small amounts of water. Don't paint all the way up to your stitched lines, or the paint might bleed across the boundary.
   My two villa drawings below are colored in watercolor crayons, and I proceeded very, very cautiously in wetting the boundary areas with my teeny brush. 

Each finished portrait can turn into a separate wall-hanging. Or, zig zag them together, cover the seams with binding, add a backing and binding around the circumference. Have fun! Let me know how it goes!

* Find a tutorial on coloring fabric with crayons at: 
http://sew-whats-new.com/group/welovetoquilt/forum/topics/color-on-fabric-using-crayons
http://www.urbanthreads.com/tutorials.aspx?t=crayon+tinting

Rocks, Paper, Scenery: Freemotion Quilt a Spanish Vacation

We just returned from the trip of a lifetime, a reunion vacation with friends in rural Spain, north of  Barcelona, in the Costa Brava region. We saw, ate, and drank many beautiful things, but what I found most fascinating - as a quilter and an American - were the stones.

The medieval walls and streets proudly show their age with layers of rock-and-brick patchwork. Like this one...

...and this...

...and...

Here's the villa where we stayed: 

I thoroughly enjoyed the ten days of friends, wine, cheese and cappucino, but I could hardly wait to get home to try some rock-inspired freemotion quilting. After a joyful reunion with my sewing machine, I propped my laptop next to it, and looked at each photo while stitching:

Do not follow my example and place your coffee cup on your sewing table. It's asking for trouble.

For my first experiment, I used a trapezoidal piece of scrap muslin that happened to be lying around, with batting between two layers, and red thread. I picked seven favorite photos, and stitched them out serially...

One was this photo:

First try:

I also stitched or wrote the name and number of the photo on top of each image. 

Wow, that's awful! I did the next round in pen:

Third time in fabric, again: 

Gee, practice helps a LOT! The most challenging part was making the rocks uneven sizes. In all my years of FMQ, I have mostly focused on making the repeated designs - loops leaves, squares, whatever - consistent sizes. But that's not how rocks look in ancient Spanish structures! The same wall can contain everything from tiny misshapen blobs to long pencil-shaped pieces to plump rectangles. It was surprisingly difficult for me to vary the sizes irregularly, and distribute them asymmetrically.

Next, a metal vine window grating, surrounded by bricks, then rocks:

First draft, stitched...

...Second draft in ink...

This was a wonderful arch, with family strolling underneath:

Rocks are much easier to sketch than relatives, so I left the family out of my interpretations. First version:

Second:

Third, another fabric practice: 

Check out this awesome window (door?) frame that had been completely filled in.

First try, stitched:

Second, drawn:

(I skipped the hard part). Third, stitched again:

 Here are the pieces I have so far.

 And here's my best version (so far) of the villa, colored with watercolor pastel crayons (Caran d'ache Neocolor II).

Meanwhile, here are some more quilty sights (and sites) from Costa Brava. Our villa featured an affectionate burro named Rudolpha.

We bonded deeply, but unfortunately, she wouldn't fit into the overhead compartment on the airplane. Next, a café ceiling - OMG, those are flying geese!

Across from the cafe, a building with a graphic sun dial. I believe those dark brown metal cross stitches are holding the structure together (not religious icons). 

Next, an apartment building painted with rectangles that look a lot like...business envelopes with all the lower triangular flaps colored in!?

Is this a traditional Spanish symbol? Anyone?

Check out this rock mosaic pattern from the middle of a street: 

My friend Gary took an even better picture of it (Thanks, Gary!). See the clamshell motif?

In the next image, I love the people, and the wall behind them almost as much. Hmm, I could just print this photograph onto fabric, and follow the rock lines with freemotion quilting...

OK, you're sick of looking at rocks. There were also startling color schemes. Here's my glorious friend Maria, in front of an almost-as-glorious bougainvillea. 

Thank you, Maria and Dave, for organizing such a fantastic vacation!

A golden street corner: 

(Later, in the Dali Museum, I spotted a collage which echoed that corner's colors: 

.)

A yummy gazpacho, which I'd just about finished when a golden visitor wafted down into it.

Below, a wall that looks like an island map. The window shades are a deep forest green....

And speaking of green and blue....

Sorry, that was more rocks. Don't get me even started on the inspiration at the Salvador Dali museum. One of Dali's famous pieces, "50 Abstract Paintings," made in 1962, is totally quilt-ish: 

OK, not totally. It's hiding distorted images of a Bengal tiger and Lenin (the Russian dictator, not John the Beatle). The layout reminded me of a less edgy but no less enthralling 1970 quilt, "Falling Blocks", made by quilting engineer Ernest Haight of Nebraska.

(Read about Haight here. He has nothing to do with Spain.) And I'm also singling out the Dali painting below because it's embellished with...yes, I believe those are dangling ESPADRILLES. 

Bless you, Dali, for giving me permission to hang shoes from my quilts! How about flip-flops dangling from a beach-themed quilt?

Will you be quilting your summer vacation?