I've been busy lately so haven't been on here much, but finally managed to finish one of the many projects I'm working on. Absolutely LOVED doing this one and I'm looking forward to doing a series of something like this.
I found the "Jaunty Rooster" free pattern online from Bernartex but the rest of the wall quilt is my own idea. I've re-named mine "Something to Crow About." Did some thread painting for the grass...first time for me and it was fun. I learned a lot about thread painting, mostly to make sure you have enough stabilizer behind it before beginning, because if not, the stitching pulls the fabric out of shape! How do I know this? Well, I HAD stabilizer behind the grass and simply stitched the outline, then tore it off because I thought I was done, but ended up adding more and never thought to add more stabilizer til it was too later. Oh, well, he turned out OK in the end.
All the border is paper-pieced on adding machine paper. The beige backing is muslin with slubs which added a bit of texture. All the rest is completely scrap fabric. I used C & C embroidery thread in the top and Gutermann's in the bobbin, adjusting the tension on scrap fabric, and with heavy stabilizer behind everything. The eye was a piece of black fabric with white dots on it and a white swirl, so I just followed that swirl when stitching. The flowers were highlighted using Derwent Inktense pencils and water.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]444205[/ATTACH] The bottom right corner looks wonky, but it's all square. The flange also looks wonky here and there and ended up stitching it down. As I said, I learned a lot and would have made sure that corner had straighter seams like the other three corners if I'd thought about it when doing it. Oh, well.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]444206[/ATTACH] Close up of the quilting etc. The ladybug and flower pot were my hubby's idea, so have to give him that credit. They definitely helped make the quilt so I'll keep him around a bit longer!
