Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Crow

I have a thing for crows and have made quite a few crow quilts, but so far not one for any of my 12 x 12 pieces. I also love, love, love the spicy colors Helen chose for this challenge. I have a lot of good spicy fabrics in my stash to choose from, so I decided to pull some of them for a spicy background, using the fused and over-stitched technique I have been enjoying.

I was comfortably ensconced right in the middle of my comfort zone, both in color and subject matter, but once it was all together it seemed a little lacking. I remembered some wonderful bone beads that I bought a couple years ago for another project and tried adding just a few, including one as the eye of the crow. I am not a big fan of beads on quilts generally, but sometimes they really work. In this instance I think they added just the bits of texture and interest that I needed.

12 comments:

Susan Turney said...

I love everything about this one! Especially your fabric choices for the crow...and the background. Lol, everything!

kirsten said...

Those beads are a perfect addition -so appropriate with a crow, in my opinion. This is lovely. Very much to my taste :)

Lisa Flowers Ross said...

The beads add a lot, especially that crow eye.

Diane Perin said...

I was really looking forward to seeing what you would do, Terry, as I know these colors are among your favorites. I love how this combines so many of your favorite things. You've got a great balance between the background detail with the bits and stitching (I love where you are going with this) and the large, solid crow. And I agree, the beads are just right.

JB said...

The background fabric is so lush, a perfect setting for the focus of your creation. Did you dye or paint the background or is it a commercial fabric? The juxtaposition of the squares and the crow is unexpected yet delightful.

Karen said...

I love the background on this, I know you used this technique in the past and it is really interesting. The crow is perfect, the wavy lines that outline him make him look very real.

Deborah Boschert said...

I just love the doodley free motion details. I also love the contrast of the abstract background with the crow. He's so handsome!

Kristin L said...

The simplicity of the crow is a great foil for the energy of the background. My mind went to magpie though! I see a proud magpie in front of her stash of sparkly treasure (including wonderful beads of course).

Elizabeth said...

Your crow is fantastic and I love how you SPICED up the spice squares with the white stitching- brilliant!!!

Terri Stegmiller said...

This quilt looks like the blending of two of your techniques into one...and it's turned out wonderfully.

Brenda Gael Smith said...

The jazzy, beaded background is a perfect complement to the presence of the black crow. Apparently crows are particularly intelligent. Maybe it's playing sudoku or completing a crossword or some other puzzle.

Renate said...

This piece seems to draw me in for closer inspection. The background fabric intrigues me. Did you dye this? Your choice of spicy squares really sets off the somberness (is that a word?) of the crow.