The Phoebe Quilt

The Phoebe Quilt was my first ever 'crumb' quilt. 

That's probably not the correct term, 

but anyway I created the image from tiny bits of fabric, 

then quilted the mess out of it. 

I started with a photo that I broke down into 3 values (light, medium, dark).

Using that as a template I filled in each value range with random fabric scraps.

I separated out my scraps into cool darks, and medium warms, 

and let the background muslin be the light.

It was maniac work! 

I had so many mishaps with my process... too much to write about here - but I learned a LOT!

Just when I felt the face was finished, I realized the background looked bland. I had two choices - either add more to the image with scraps or do maybe add some painted texture. I picked paint because I wanted my stitching to show when I quilted. Whew! 

I love the abstract quality and playful nature of this quilt. 

FYI all of the quilting was done on my little Husqvarna Freesia 425 (the mightiest warrior machine ever made) because my other (way more deluxe & larger) machines are all in the shop. 

Where's the longarm fairy when you need them?