3 Dogs in Applique: Golden

I purchased these Whole Country Caboodle dog kits on sale at Keepsake Quilting.  The fabrics come as a pre-cut fusible applique kit, so all you have to do is pick your own background, and lay out the pieces, fuse and stitch them down.  It went remarkably fast! Reminded me of doing Journal Quilts back in the day ...

They had all the favorite dog breeds for my family ... Golden Retrievers, French Bull Dogs, and last but certainly not the least: Newfies. 

The batting was pulled from my stash, unlabeled.  I think it's Warm and Natural, with zero loft. It will stay stable, not never sag.

I'll show you the details of the Golden Retriver here, and leave the other 2 for their own posts, otherwise this will get too long.  Each dog deserves it's own post!

Golden Retriever for my Dad on a background of evergreen trees, because he has a Christmas Tree Farm.

Thread choices.

 

Stitching and thread painting from the back.  It's a lot like drawing with a needle.

  

I had to study dog noses, to figure out what to do with that piece.  

Here's a practice drawing before stitching it out. 

 

Detail of the Golden Retriever. 

 

Detail of the background stitching.  Each dog got a slightly different treatment.  Dad's Golden got a loop-de-loop with stars. 

Even though these are all Christmas presents, I don't mind posting them here, because the recipients don't look at my blog, so I'm not worried about anyone spilling the beans ahead of time. ;-) 

See separate posts about all 3 Dog Quilties:         Golden          French Bull Dog       Newfie

Water : Week 12 Let's do 52

Water Abstract

Water

I am participating in Denise Love's 2017 "Let's Do 52 : 52 Weeks of Photo Prompts" to kick start the lull in my photography.   If you'd like to join us, find out more at the link above.  The more the merrier!

Texture Tuesday : Your Move

Your Move

Photo Processing Recipe :
Layer 1) Background image
Layer 2) Copy Layer 1 - Screen 14%
Layer 3) Kim Klassen's Flourish Magic - Soft Light 16%
Layer 4) Coffee Shop Burn Action (applied last)
Layer 5) 2LO Junkyard 2 - Soft Light 67%
Layer 6) 2LO Ancient Times 1 - Soft Light 54%

And just because it's a song with a Chess theme, and I've always loved it, "It's Your Move" by Yes :




Sharing with Texture Artists FaceBook Group and Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.

Golden Rumbelle Magic

It feels like forever since I worked up an image!  This one has been percolating in my mind ever since Once Upon a Time's Belle was pushed over the town line and lost her memory.  For those of you who don't know the story, Belle and Rumplestiltskin are living out a Beauty & the Beast storyline in the show.    A few week's ago, their story took a tragic turn soap opera-style.  Now Belle is terrified of Rumple because she doesn't recognize him AND he uses this freaky thing called magic.  And poor Rumple--Belle is the one person in the world who could see his heart-of-gold and now she no longer recognizes him.  It's just so heart-breakingly sad!

However, I know in my heart-of-hearts that they will regain the love they once had for each other--and make more!  Their lives are intertwined as much as yarn spun by any spinner.  This is just a temporary setback in their story. Let's hope it won't take another 30 years to overcome!

Photo-processing Layer by Layer :
Background Layer : a Frosty February window at my house a few weeks ago
      Copy background layer - Soft Light 51%
Regular Jane's beautiful Raining Light Bokeh Texture - Soft Light 100%
Text - Jellyka Le Grande Saut Font with a Royal Gold Style (?)
          Quote by Rumi
Jinterwas's Sparklng Stars Golden Texture - Soft Light  100%
      Copy Jinterwas's Golden Texture - Soft Light 48%
Hue Saturation Adjustment to lighten things up - It was getting a little too red
Rumbelle Pic - Overlay 100%
Spinning Wheel Brush (made by me!) - Overlay 100%
          Copy Spinning Wheel Brush layer
Swan Brush by Vandelay - Overlay 79%
             
I know--I know the Swan is Emma's symbol.  But aren't we all ugly duckings looking for our tribe?  I needed something to tie Rumbelle to the spinning wheel visually, and I wasn't coming up with any golden threads ... although, there must be some light streaks out there that would work ...    Rumbelle are mated for life, so the Swan works for them, too.

I know, you're asking what about the chipped cup?  Belle shattered it when she threw it against the wall.  And besides, it's just a cup.  Their Love is the real treasure, not the cup.

Lastly, I couldn't resist adding this wise woman to the post.  It's just such a nicely done photo!
Photo from Wikimedia Commons.  Maybe she's one of the Spinsters who raised Rumple after his father ran off?