Wednesday 24 August 2016

Work in Progress

Today I wanted to show something that I've been busy with for another Hop that will be on me one of these days.
I couldn't decide which direction to go in, so I had to make more than one submission using different techniques.

This AQUARIUM mini is only 8x12" so that I could get a better idea of what I wanted to make
Its raw edge applique using Heat n Bond to 'stick' down pieces. I didn't sew anything down because it was only supposed to be a "lets see" kind of work, but it ended up getting an edging and now its on my daughter's wall.


I wanted to create something like the old vintage pop art posters.
This is a Kelp Forest at the Aquarium with the sun shining down into it from above.

 A few years ago we took our kids to the huge aquarium in Cape Town and we stood in front of the glass watching the kelp sway back and foward. So peaceful and yet made me feel sea sick. My kids thought it was hysterical.





For the background I used 3 different fabrics that were all turquoise and aqua and had patterns on them that suited the aquarium look.


Here you can also see the sweet seals swimming and also the jellyfish.


I made the kelp in different colours to get a feeling of depth. The lightest ones are the furthest away from you and as they get closer to you they're darker.










This is the bottom half, and a large fish is hiding in the kelp. Im sorry I didnt make it darker. Oh and the starfish in the bottom right....






 For the rays of light shining down I found a white fabric that is so thin I don't even know how its legal....

I bought it at a dress fabric shop - hmmmm - what kind of dress etc would you make with that kind of fabric???

ANyway, I used it because it would be so see through and it worked out really great.





I think the whole thing was to figure out when to add the little animals and sea creatures  and how much kelp before it looked like a 'forest'...



Can anyone tell me -
I used EQ7 to make each of these 'motifs' I needed to use but each is seen as a sepparate 'pattern'. Is there a way in EQ that you can then take all your motifs and 'layer' them onto a quilt to see what it would look like all together in EQ.






The PDF Pattern for the Aquarium is part of my SEW CUTE patterns in Craftsy.



Thanks for stopping by!





6 comments:

Annmarie said...

That is a beautiful work of art. Lovely to ponder. The colors are perfect, I can see all the sea creatures and the kelp comes alive the longer you look at it!

Yanicka said...

I really love it. I am also working in watery theme and I love how you made the sun rays....I might "steal" your idea :)

Kari said...

Hi Janeen,
If you created the motifs as EasyDraw Motifs, You can go to Layer 2 on the Quilt Worktable to set motifs (hold down Shift and drag with your mouse to draw a box for the motif to fit in - you can resize it later.)
If you created the motifs using "EasyDraw Block", there is probably a square block behind the motif. To get rid of it, select the motif on the Applique tab, then Copy (Ctrl-C); then go to the Block menu, select New Block and EasyDraw Motif; then Paste the motif (Ctrl-V). There is a button on the toolbar that allows you to align the motif to the center of the block if you want to.
Hope that's clear - you can email me if you have any questions! :)

Anonymous said...

Lovely work Janeen, I was going to post and tell you to drop an email to Kari, she would have the answer for your EQ7 question, but it looks like she beat me to it!

Cathy Melancon said...

WOW! Janeen, this is beautiful! It's amazing how much detail you got in an 8x12" block! I love the kelp and seaweed and the fantastic sea life! I understood the rays of sunlight right away and that thin white is perfect! And yes, I wonder what outfit could be made with that!! Great work as always! Really terrific!

CathyQuilts said...

Lovely and creative!