My favorite subjects!

Do you have favorite subjects when you are creating a wall hanging? Flowers? Landscapes? Mountains? Seascapes? Geometrics? I have discovered in my quilting journey that I am at my best when I have a subject that interests me. We all have a project occasionally that we have to finish for someone else that just doesn't grab us. I find that I can do those when I know that I have one of my favorites to return to afterwards. 

The photos above are several of my favorite subjects, DOGS! Especially the pups in my life. Like you(if you are a pet person) I probably have countless pictures of my pooches on my phone. They are so expressive and just plain fun. I was struck by this even more so as I watched the Queen's funeral this week. As the royal hearse carrying her body reached Windsor Castle for the commitment service, there were two of her staff standing outside the castle holding her beloved corgis. I read that over her life she had thirty different corgis beginning with her first when she was just seven years old. There have been several cartoons honoring the queen showing her corgis and their lament at losing their royal mum. 

Long before the funeral I had been making simple raw edge likenesses of dogs in my life. I watched a zoom lecture by someone who suggested using batiks to make these as raw edged batik does not fray as much. So I began making Bugsy who is top left. Her ears make me laugh so I made the "fabric" Bugsy have ears that are a bit exaggerated. I made a simple paper drawing and traced it on to freezer paper. I cut the pieces and sewed them on using a thinner pearl cotton about 1/8-1/4 inch from the edges. I fussy cut the flowers from a batik I liked and did not really have a pattern. Same for the leaves. I layered with batting and backing and created a hashing in the background again using the pearl cotton. It was freeing to be without creating EXACT measurements. 

​After Bugsy, I decided to try to make Einstein. 

This picture was taken during the COVID days of quarantine. Christa was working from home and Einstein would sit on her lap at meetings sometimes so I made him a tie to wear to the meeting.

In March 2022, this beautiful 15 year old pup passed away. I wanted to capture this picture of him as a gift to the kids. I decided to try something different to make Einstein. I pulled out some white grunge fabric that I had and thought why not? 

I used the same freezer paper process as with Bugsy, but I wanted to be sure that fraying would not occur. I bought some inexpensive children's paintbrushes at the craft store. I used some fray stop around the edges applying it with the brush. It dries clear so it was not even noticeable. The result is above in the center. I made Christa cry for sure. This time I also added some additional simple embroidery to create some "fur" on his head. 

This is my latest muse, Floppy. She belongs to my children in NY, Like Einstein, she is a cutie.

For Floppy, I am mixing the fabrics up a bit. I am still working on her and hope to finish her by Thanksgiving when we visit the kids. 

Working on these subjects makes me smile every time. Lately with the world news, it has been hard to find subjects to smile about very much. That is one of the best parts of any crafting, be it quilting, drawing, writing, painting, etc. I can go to my sewing room and be in my world of creativity. I am grateful to have found this art and all of the wonderful people that share my love of fabric. 

What are your favorite subjects? What is your muse? Write me and tell me. I would love to hear what you are working on. 

I will leave you with my very first dog quilt. I made this to remember our first greyhound, Fonzi. It is hand appliqued and embellished to celebrate all the months of the year. I created each block individually and my best quilting buddy, Barbara, did an amazing job finishing it off for me. I still miss him so very much. But I pass this quilt everyday to remind me of his sweet face.

Piecefully, 
Trisha
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