Monet's Waterlillies inspired Art Quilt - version 2

This weekend I finished up a little project - this one was a 10x12.5" art quilt, inspired by Monet's Waterlillies. On this piece I tried a few different things - in preparation for the stitching I'll be doing on a 30x60" art quilt - I wanted to try some different overstitching and cutting techniques to create shapes for flowers and foliage. I think it worked out pretty well - I was getting a little tired of the same old "confetti" quilts with just "squares" - with this piece I created the Lilly pads with cut sections of a really neat sheer textured fabric - cut into oval shapes instead of tiny squares. Also with the "weeping willows" I tried cutting the fabrics in longer sort of elongated tear-drop shapes - it worked out really well!

Also - after taking a class awhile back with Lenore Crawford, I've been trying really hard to focus more on lights and darks in my work - so in this piece I took a "leap of faith" and actually added WHITE to the background with the blues - I was really afraid to do it - I covered it up with blue and then uncovered it again - I'm just not quite used to the extreme contrast - but it turned out really well!! So I also added much darker blues in the bottom section beneath the lillies in the water - I like the depth this gives as well. I think it will take a lot more practice to really blend it the way Lenore does - but I'm starting to get the general idea - and stepping outside my "comfort zone" really seemed to work this time! : )

Here are some photographs to see my newest version of this image - one of my all-time favorite Monet paintings. How can a person NOT be inspired by his work?? : )

The "binding" is just a simple silk sari ribbon "frame" - the vibrant colors in the silk really brings out the colors in the art quilt. This was my mom's idea - brilliant!! : )

Close up of the flowers, and Lily Pads - with overstitching:

Vertical closeup shot - how I cut the fabric into long curved strips for the willow trees, and the use of WHITE for contrast in the background:

PS - One last thng I changed in this version - I've started using more Kreinik threads and "Rainbow Blending filament" vs. just the Angelina Fibers. I unravel a whole mess of these sparkly threads, wad them into a loose ball, then start chopping it apart with scissors or a rotary cutter then sprinkle it on. Since I'm not using the heat properties of Angelina, I thought I'd try to find more - and less expensive ways to get the "sparkle" or "sunlight" effect that the Angelina gives. I used 4 colors of Angelina threads - very sparsely - but I'm also really happy with the variety of sparkling threads vs. only Angelina - also gives it more depth.

Enjoy!! : )