Operation Renovation:

My ongoing renovation project continues with today’s journal entry. Last week I shared the reincarnation of The Odd One, Art Piece # 17.

 

Up for discussion today is an item I finished back in July, 2017, known as Four Friends, Art Piece # 18.

Before:

Part of the fun of a renovation project is seeing the before and after photos. Let’s see what Four Friends looked like before I tackled her reinvention.

Downsizing:

Portions of this sweet little project were once part of a much larger one. When I decided to modify a number of my art pieces, this was one of the products to evolve. A total of 17 building blocks were harvested from three existing fiber art quilts. After shuffling them around to create new and improved specimens four blocks were chosen for this composition.

Redecorating:

Once the selection process was over I trimmed each of  the four blocks down to 4 1/2”x4 1/2”.  In their previous state, the stark white borders were just too boring for me; this time around I wanted to add more color.

To distract the attention from the dramatic white borders I added strips cut from a royal blue fabric printed with floating fish. The floating fish worked perfectly with the theme I was developing. Next I added a layer of batting and a backing. The entire sandwich was then quilted with straight-line quilting using a color coordinated variegated thread.

Choosing A Name:

My art pieces always have an assigned name; sometimes it’s chosen even before the fabrics are stitched together. For this item I new exactly what I would call it the minute I selected the blocks. All four were chosen to be together because they reminded me of a boat.  Since they were created using improvisational techniques I think it is amazing that this even occurred. A grouping of ugly quilt blocks were repeatedly cut apart and stitched back together with no intention of ending up with a boat image. How crazy is that!

The four little boats with their floating fish borders now had a nautical theme. To set them on a path for smooth sailing I chose to call them  Ahoy. Here is how they looked just before their maiden voyage.

Do you see what I am talking about?

Final Touches:

Once Ahoy was attached to the stretched canvas frame I added a layer of protection from dust and bugs with a paper backing. To make it easy to display the fiber art piece on a wall two d-rings and wire were added. I also attached silicone bumpers for ventilation and to help with stability. Ahoy, in its final form, measures 12”x12”x7/8”.

Thank You:

As always I am thrilled that you were able to spend time with me today! I hope that you enjoyed reading about my adventure as much as I did in sharing it. Let’s make a plan to do this again!

Best Wishes!

Cindy Anderson