Thursday, August 4, 2011

Matt's House...Stitching Finished

This sample for my "Home Portraits" classes at the Victorian Stitchery Retreat in Wichita, Kansas next November is all stitched up now.  I've decided not to actually finish the piece until after class, so students can see the back.  (Don't you always want to see the back of a stitching project?  I do.)

My brother has lived in this little bungalow for 20 years now and I always love going to see him there.  Working on his home portrait was almost like a visit...

I'll start with some detail shots and then show the whole thing.

More and more, I love including writing on my quilts.

A tiny bit of silver thread brings those windchimes to life, doesn't it?

I wanted to create a foreground to put the house "in context".  I used cut out printed fabric flowers, some vintage appliques, and a few vintage millinery leaves.  It was a fun compositional problem, and quite simple to execute, as it was all done by machine.....

...and I had to sign it.

The whole piece is 12" X 14".

What a great porch that is...and the roses in their pots are so welcoming...

There are actually a lot of design issues that I tried to build into this sample for the purpose of class discussion.  I am so looking forward to working with my students as they create their own "home portraits"!

8 comments :

Summerset said...

Lovely - the stitching and embellishments are just an extension of the scene and don't take away from it.

Elizabeth said...

What a lovely piece!!! I would so love to be in this class! Actually, any class with you!!!

Marty52 said...

This is lovely, Allie... I especially like the additions in the foreground so the cottage is set back in space. That looks like an awesome porch to sit on with a nice glass of iced tea... or something a little stronger, maybe! ;0)

Angela said...

This is wonderful.

Quiltgal said...

It is very pretty

Barbara C said...

This is really lovely. The flowers in the foreground add a magical feeling to the piece.

Pamela Kellogg said...

I see something very familiar here! ;) Always beautiful!

JoWynn Johns said...

I so enjoy your home quilts, Allie. Matt's is another great addition to this series.