This is the photo included in the slide show. I cropped the edges of the photo to give it a more finished look in the presentation but at the moment it is still all uneven raw edges while it is being quilted. Techniques include purpose painted fabric that was backed with fusible web, the 'rocks' were cut out and fused down along with curvy cut strips of batiks, hand dyes, and over painted hand dyes (scraps of hand dye or batik that I added Lumiere paint to 'renew' them.) The rocks are stitched down with a straight stitch and then I used garnet quilting in between, some of the 'bubbles' are painted in with the same colors used on the rock fabric. In the upper right corner of the main section of rocks, you can just make out some yarn that was needle felted in between the rocks. At this point there is no backing yet on this quilt.
This next photo shows the current state of the quilt. I have finished the yarn needle felting, added backing and begun quilting the different fabrics. All the dark pieces are quilted, which took more time because I was quilting in between all the rocks and yarns, lots of starts and stops. I had started on the colorful pieces and was quilting just fine one day, then the next day my machine decided suddenly it did not want to quilt anymore and started shredding threads. I have changed bobbins, re-threaded numerous times, changed needles several times and all those tricks we learn. Now it goes in to the machine doctor to be tuned up. I'll add more photos and updates as I continue working on this piece. I want to finish the quilting on the various fabric pieces so that I can start beading. I am also considering trimming this down a bit, taking off part of the top section to make it a bit more balanced. What do you think?
