Fabric Collage Finish Line: Online Submissions 21

What a great batch of Finish Line quilts we have to show you on this final Saturday of February! I hope you enjoy gazing at them and reading their stories—such as “Madam Butterfly” by Jenell Wright, detail above. I am continually amazed at the collage creations that my students and followers accomplish. And I’m thankful for their willingness to share their work with all of us.

Speaking of sharing: Currently we have enough submissions for only one more Finish Line post. So if you’ve been holding back, or keep forgetting to send in your finished collage quilt, now’s the time! Just click on the link below.

Submit Quilt for "Finish Line"

The submission process is simple and Tom will happily answer any questions you might have. Be sure to send “large” versions of your images (“full-size” aren’t necessary). Email programs often reduce the size of images in order to make them easier to transmit. We need large images, like the ones below, that really show off your work.

Thank you again for all current and future submissions!

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Christine Stern

Christine Stern of Bayfield, Wisconsin, has traveled to not one but three of my Maine quilt retreats! In her very first class with me in 2014, she created a collage of a blue-footed booby, which you can see in a Finish Line here. After that, she brought this bear to work on in two other Maine retreats—the bear in 2017 and then the background in 2018.

This image posed quite a few unique challenges such as: how do you render a floating bear? and how about underwater rays of light? Luckily, Chris was driven to tackle it all, and it’s so fun to see it completed. What a great interpretation of a painting with fabric as the medium. You can almost see that bear treading water and Chris did an excellent job with the fur, using a variety of prints for extra interest. I liked reading how she used layers of sheer tulle to soften, shade, and alter the background—especially the bubbles coming from the bear. Congratulations Chris—a job well done! Enjoy.

From Chris:

I saw the painting by Robert Bissell, at a fishing lodge in Alaska, and what I loved about it was the seemingly intense communication between the bear and the salmon. The bear seems to be in a state of bliss, and the fish looks like it’s smart enough to get away.

 

I did a lot of research on Alaska brown bear and salmon so that I could fill in more detail than the painting provided.

In addition to being with you in person (the best!), I have depended on your book, your blogs, your videos, and your Master Class for training and inspiration.

There are so many pieces, I opted to use sheers over everything: mostly yellow down the middle and lilac down the sides. There is a camouflage patterned sheer to add some vertical movement to the water in places. There is some sparkle sheer around the air bubbles and close to the surface of the water.

I quilted with variegated thread throughout, different color ways. It has a wrapped binding, hand-stitched on the back.

 

Thanks for keeping me motivated with your blogs and videos!

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Deb Crosby

This lion portrait by Deb Crosby, of Moncton, NB, Canada, got me smiling right off. And then I looked at the title, and had a chuckle. So what happens before the lion sleeps tonight? He yawns. Now set it to music, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh…. If you don’t follow what I’m singing to myself about, click here.

And then I was all the more delighted to read that Deb was one of the Canadians who was in one of the largest and enthusiastic audiences for a lecture of mine that I can remember. I was gobsmacked (and quite honored) at the distances that some of the ladies (such as Deb) had driven, in the snow, in minus 35 degree weather ( fun fact: at those temperatures, it’s about the same if you’re measuring in celsius or fahrenheit). Darn cold is darn cold.

Deb, I was actually thinking of that Calgary lecture this past Monday. As I prepared to give a virtual lecture to the Saskatoon Quilt Guild in Saskatchewan, I thought about those distances traveled in 2018 versus the ease of Zoom in 2021. But it doesn’t make for the same sort of story, does it.

Thanks for the story of perseverance and glad to hear you’re still collaging—and great use of the prints in your fabric, giving him a mighty mane.

From Deb:

Rowdy is my third attempt at collage, and I would like to say I’m self taught, but that’s simply not not true. Everything I think I know about collage, I have learned from you Susan; your blog, your books (I have two) and one trunk show (Calgary, Alberta – February 2018 – I drove 4-1/2 hours in a snowstorm to see you!).

 

I planned this collage as a 50th birthday gift to my niece who had given me the photo of Rowdy in what looked like a full roar, but was actually a yawn.

There were numerous starts, stops, and restarts. At one point when I thought I was almost there, I completely ripped out his mouth and started it again from scratch. Sadly, nothing happened with Rowdy for a several months as I simply did not know what to do next. Then my niece planned a trip home to Nova Scotia this Fall to be with family. She had to Covid isolate in a small motel room for 14 days, and I knew I had to finish Rowdy and give him to her while I could see her in person.

So back to work I went and everything fell into place. I had taken a class in July 2019 called Dancing Diamonds with the lovely #paullegerquilts instructing and I knew what my background would be.

Rowdy was once again yawning, the background was perfect, I found a fabric in the back of a bin that screamed binding … and away I went. The free motion quilting was completed unplanned – it may appear like grass or hair or some other mysterious thing, but it too fell into place.

 

With Covid travel restrictions in place, I ended up mailing Rowdy to my niece, and in December he finally arrived in his new home (only a year and a month late for her 50th!). My niece was very surprised and very happy with Rowdy. But, she informed me the original photo was not hers! Fortunately, she contacted the original photographer who gave permission for me to use his photo. So a very special thank you goes out to Reed Seaver who took the original photo in 1997 at the Toronto Zoo.

 

And that’s my tale. It’s a very long one, so please use only what you wish to use. And know how truly grateful I am Susan that you share your gift—your skills, knowledge, talent and love of creativity. Thank you.

 

PS. Santa gifted the Masterclass Manual to me and I’m really excited to have you in my home coaching me through the next collage.

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Delores Simpson

Delores Simpson of Big Rapids, Michigan merged a profile of her son-in-law with my Moon Pattern. This is a technique I demonstrated for both the Moon Pattern and Sun Pattern in two Thursday Night in My Studio Live! presentations. You can purchase recordings of these presentations here for the Sun, and here for the Moon, if you too would like to give it a try.

We’ve already received photos of two or three customized moon portrait quilts. I love how they’re turning out, and tickled by the individual touches, such as Bill in the Moon’s lock of hair and, I assume, his mustache and beard. The background makes me think I could pick out his astrological sign, if I only knew what it was.

Lovely work, Delores—can’t wait to see the collage of your daughter as a sun!

From Delores:

I have had both of Susan’s books for quite awhile, but it wasn’t until a friend of mine sent me a link to her blog that I really was encouraged to try this technique. Except for a trial spiral, this is my first attempt, and I love it!

 

I asked my son-in-law, Bill, to pose for a photo for me. I am going to make my daughter’s photo into the Celestial Sun pattern, and I think they will make the perfect pair!

 

There are three different “star” fabrics in the background, but they don’t really show up in the photo.

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Nancy Mccaffrey

I just can’t stop smiling as I go through these quilt submissions—what a fun portrait this is from Nancy Mccaffrey of East Moriches, NY. Nancy calls this portrait of her niece “sassy”—I saw, “a woman with personality,” possibly “fashion diva.” In any case, it sounds like Nancy is just beginning her journey with collage quilts, and what a fabulous beginning it is.

What I really like about what Nancy writes, is that she learned from this quilt, and is now ready to learn more. That’s exactly how it should be—each quilt teaches you something, even in it’s imperfection (though “perfect” is a matter of opinion). So take what you learn, and do more. Thanks for finishing and sharing, Nancy.

From Nancy:

I have taken one or two fabric collage classes in the past, the first being with Gloria Loughman. I also have read many books on it including Susan’s book Serendipity Quilts. These served as guides for the collage.

 

This quilt was based on a photograph of my niece. When I was shown the photo I immediately thought “ that would make a great portrait quilt.” It took me several months to complete and I still am not totally satisfied with some of it, but this was only my second portrait quilt and I will continue to learn as I go. I machine quilted it using free motion quilting and added some embellishments along the way.

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Jenell Wright

For those of us in the more northern areas of the Northern Hemisphere, this quilt is the color boost that our eyes are craving right now, as winter still has a month to go, and outdoor color is at least a couple months away. Thank you, Jenell Wright of Asheville, NC!

Jenell saturated her butterfly collage with color. A woman after my own heart. The royal purples and maroons—infused with warm oranges and pinks—are a treat to the eyes. Indeed, this butterfly seems to mesmerize with its set of eyespots on the wings. Note the photo of Jenell with the quilt below: she wasn’t afraid to “go big” and thus had lots of room to play with all her luscious fabrics. This is also a good example of quilting that follows the cut edges of the collaged fabrics, causing them to “pop” from the surface—giving a bit of an extra lift to this winged specimen. And by-the-way, I do love the fringe of bling.

From Jenell:

Swallowtail butterfly pattern provided by Susan Carlson. This is my second collage quilt. After completing the spiral I was ready to start another! I follow Susan’s blog posts, own the Master Class Manual and have attended several online classes.

This butterfly was so fun to create. During the pandemic I have been on a quest to use fabric I have on hand and that’s exactly what I did. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but I made sure that I had fun and I went bold! I am very happy with Madam Butterfly! Last step was adding the beaded fringe to the bottom for that extra bling.