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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

Terry Grant said...

Love the color and the shape of the pods, as Brenda pointed out, is so distinctive.

Gerrie said...

I am so intrigued with the lovely simplicity of this. The stitching is right down my alley!! The colors are wonderful.

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 :)

Kristin L said...

How fun to see the pods in such vibrant colors.

Françoise said...

It's lovely. I like the simple shape and stitching, and the colours of course.

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.

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