Colorful Challenge

I received this text message recently; an unexpected connection with someone that encourages my creativeness. The framed piece was hanging on the wall as she waited for an appointment.

I found this rather boring. But it occurred to me that you could make something like this but much more exciting. 

It does have a zen-like quality. Thank you for the compliment - I always prefer a touch of whimsy.

And color

Yes!

I knew her birthday was in a couple of weeks - a milestone birthday that she was trying carefully to keep under the radar.

The search was on! Aqua / Turquoise are a favorite color as she spends time in Maui and periodic respites on her houseboat. I wanted to keep the triangle theme from the original Zen piece but I had some pretty whimsical fabric to sort through.

I found the perfect batik. And a favorite Italian Marble with Random Splatter called "Feather and Song" by Maggie Walker for Timeless Treasures Fabrics, Inc.

I assembled the fabric and fussy cut the various shapes. Then, I started sewing. It took about two hours to get to this point.

My goal was to wrap the completed piece on an archival quality 8"x8" stretched canvas. The white fabric would wrap around the kiln dried, beveled stretcher bars. I sewed a white fabric strip around the outside, careful to measure twice for seam allowance. Then, pinned my colorful square in the center.

The white fabric wrapped nicely around the back. I folded it under, pressed it with my fingers into place and then stapled it into final position. And, Voilà!

The whimsical birthday gift included my signature and birthday message written on the wood frame. She recognized the design immediately from the text she had sent me.

Total time for the entire project was approximately six hours. The Zen challenge piece provided great inspiration. The project would go more quickly by selecting random fabric, using fusible interfacing and making the canvas wrap ahead of time.

XOXOX

Wow, what a way to take inspiration and make it your own! I love the added color and the fussy cut fabric. Really a stroke of genius. 10/20/2019 Mary

Thank you for checking out my project, Mary. I wish that I had more time to take some classes. By challenging myself to create, I persevere and keep a list of techniques I'd like to learn in a classroom setting one day. Loved seeing your butterfly inspirations.