TWELVE BY TWELVE: Cocoa Beans

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Cocoa Beans

This was a very hard topic for me! I wanted to be a little untraditional, and go right to the source of the subject, and I really wanted to avoid using brown. The bean in the upper right corner appears brown here, but in person it is really a dark orange.

I used hand-dyed cotton/silk blend for all the fabrics, couched some yarn around the edge of each one, then did some hand stitching to finish it off.

12 comments:

Deborah Boschert said...: Wow... the couching and hand stitching add such nice detail and texture. Great job.; January 31, 2008 at 7:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Am I the only one who can't see a small image on screen? Please let me know if you also have this problem and I can go in and insert a replacement image. (The big version looks fabulous but is a killer for anyone on dialup.); January 31, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Diane Perin said...: Karen, this is fabulous! (I can't see the small image either but I can get a large version by clicking the box to get the big imaage.) The shading and detail look great, and you've used the simple shape of the bean so well.; January 31, 2008 at 8:05 PM
Terri Stegmiller said...: I didn't see any image until I found I could click the blank space. It's fabulous Karen. Love the colors you used and the stitched details are perfect.; January 31, 2008 at 8:20 PM
Brenda said...: After seeing the "chocolate tree" in the Phipps conservatory in Pittsburgh (see my earlier post)I immediately recognised these pods. I love your colour selection and the hand stitching is a perfect touch.; January 31, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Terry Grant said...: Love the color and the shape of the pods, as Brenda pointed out, is so distinctive.; January 31, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Gerrie said...: I am so intrigued with the lovely simplicity of this. The stitching is right down my alley!! The colors are wonderful.; January 31, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Given my passion for rows of colours, for me you've created a very appealing quilt. And I love that there is no brown :); January 31, 2008 at 11:41 PM
Kristin L said...: How fun to see the pods in such vibrant colors.; February 1, 2008 at 12:19 AM
Françoise said...: It's lovely. I like the simple shape and stitching, and the colours of course.; February 1, 2008 at 4:11 AM
Nikki said...: Excellent job depicting chocolate without brown! That was my first desire, but I just couldn't do it.

I love the touch of hand stitching and yarn.; February 1, 2008 at 8:47 AM
jpsam said...: When I first read about your chocolate challenge, I wasn't that interested in making a brown quilt, either! I am so interested in your comment about the orange pod--do we love chocolate/brown because of all of the colors that go into making it? And what it does to make the other pods sing!
joan; February 2, 2008 at 9:39 AM