Neocolor II Portrait......Lilly

Success is not final,

Failure is not fatal,

It is the Courage to continue that counts

Winston Churchill

I have been planning this portrait for months...

My sister took this photo of her grandchild, Lilly, and it captured my attention

and also created a desire in me to quilt it.

Click Images to Enlarge:

After months of struggling with self-doubt and my abilities,

I altered the image in Photoshop Elements...

and colored it with Neocolor II Crayons.

It sat for a few weeks.....waiting for me

to get up the courage to put a needle into it...

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by

each experience in which we really stop

and look fear in the face,

we must do that which we think we cannot.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I marched out to the Thread Shed.

I decided to begin auditioning background fabrics.

This is Gel Glue Resist Fabric I painted 2 summers ago

It is playful, like a child and the blue goes well.

Another Gel Glue Resist Painted Fabric.

Too overwhelming and busy...

One more Gel Glue Resist Painted Fabric.

Fun....but too Geometric

Hand painted fabric I made last summer

Soft color.....but too much contrast.

Hand Painted Clean Up Cloth from last summer.

I love the watercolor look,

but the blues don't go together.

Hand Painted Cheesecloth

I love the texture here

Hand Painted Clean Up Cloth

Well.....it's just too blue !

Hand Painted Fabric I made last summer.

I love the way the green in the fabric

draws you right into those GREEN EYES.

We have a Winner !

Now, do I dare put this under the needle?

That little voice of self-doubt in my abilities is speaking up again.

You will never do anything in this world without courage.

It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

Aristotle

I chose my quilting thread...

Took a deep breath...

and put this under the needle:

The quilting on her face is done...

Yes, I am relieved and thrilled.

Bottom Line Thread by Superior Threads

was quilted on her face.

YLI Variations Teddy Brown Thread

is quilted on her hair.

Here is the completed portrait,

still under the machine:

What is most important about this portrait,

is that it is a birthday gift for my sister.

Happy Birthday Tinker

All of our dreams can come true,

if we have the courage to pursue them.

Walt Disney

LuAnn & Tinker

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor Zinnia Portrait

CLICK HERE to view Gunnr's Portrait #1

CLICK HERE to view Flowers for My Sissy Slideshow

CLICK HERE to view ALL Neocolor Portraits

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portrait Tutorial

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Grampa's Shirt........Needs Buttons

This isn't really a story about buttons,

but you will see lots of them here:

Click Images to Enlarge

One of my strongest memories as a child was when I was greeted at the door of my grandparents home with a BIG hug from Grampa.

I can still feel his whiskers rubbing on my cheeks.

Sometimes my sisters and I would spend the night with

Gramma & Grampa.

I remember Grampa holding my hand to help guide me down the stairs in the morning to the kitchen....we had to be really quiet so we wouldn't wake up Gramma.

We enjoyed a delightful breakfast of

Tea & Toast.

We would dunk our toast in the tea,

eat the corners off the toast until it looked

like a bird house.

In the summer I remember sunny days and

walking through Grampa's garden...

We would sit under the grape arbor and eat grapes

warmed by the sun.

Little did I know that when I was grown,

I would live 3,000 miles away from Grampa.

I married and had two young children of my own.

I made them tea and toast and taught them to dunk and make birdhouses

from their toast.

We also have a grape arbor in the backyard, and each fall

when the grapes are full and plump

I pick and eat them and think of Grampa.

This is Grampa's shirt.

I have been wearing it for 20 years now...

I wear it out to work in the Thread Shed most days.

I wear it when I mow the lawn and work in the yard.

And, when I don't feel so good or I am tired,

I reach for this shirt to comfort me.

The collar is worn and a bit rough...

Sometimes when I turn my head to the side and brush up against the collar

I can feel Grampa's whiskers on my face again.

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Neocolor II Portrait..... Baby Goat Quilting

This Baby Goat Portrait is ready...

to go under the needle today:

This is one of last year's babies...

We have lots of new babies in the goat barn right now.

What is the difference between

A Good Quilt

and

A Great Quilt?

Here is a hint...

If you guessed a Seam Ripper...

You are right.

I am not pleased with the brown thread

I quilted on this babies white facial hair...

The brown thread has been removed from the left side so far...

It looks much better, so I will continue ripping.

All of the brown thread has been removed from the

center of the baby goat's face...

It took about an hour to remove all of those tiny free motion stitches but I feel so much better now.

Just outside the Thread Shed Window...

The yearling calves kept me company while I removed all of those stitches.

I quilted with white thread on the white hair:

Baby Goat

13 x 16 inches

Neocolor II Portrait

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portrait Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view A day at the Goat Barn

CLICK HERE to view Inktense Portraits

CLICK HERE to view my Binding Techniques

CLICK HERE to view Life on the Farm

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Inktense Portrait......Rose

It is baseball season again...

While my favorite guy watches the games...

I sit next to him with my lap desk and color with

Inktense Pencils

Life is Good !

Lastnight I colored and painted this rose.

It grows on our patio out back.

It was great fun to do all the shading on this flower

Border Fabric Audition 1

Paintstik Surface Design on Black Fabric

Border Fabric Audition 2

Hand Painted Fabric

I do like the watercolor appearance of this...

However, I just can't resist all the drama here !

Be sure to cover the Inktense Pencils & Paintstik with

Parchment Paper

It will protect your iron

I am using 2 layers of very thin batting...

Everyone is in their places...

We are ready start Machine Quilting:

Suzy & Gunnr sleep underneath the sewing machine table.

I plan to quilt this simply...

Let the gorgeous flower do all the talking:

I am outlining the rose petals in

24 KT Gold Rayon Thread

by Robinson Anton

Click Images to Enlarge:

The doubled batting helps the petals pop out.

I quilted a few wavy lines in the border area:

I didn't want the 24 Kt Gold Thread to compete with the

Paintstik surface design on the black border fabric

so I kept the border quilting simple.

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portraits

CLICK HERE to view Inktense Sparrow Portrait

CLICK HERE for a Good Belly Laugh (turn up the volume)

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Neocolor II Portrait.......Iris...Metallic Thread

Last week I completed the quilting on this

Neocolor II Iris Portrait

I lived with it for a few days and it just looked dull...

I recently purchased some

Madeira SuperTwist Metallic Thread...

The SuperTwist just makes this flower twinkle!

Now.....the Quilting is Done.

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view all Neocolor II Portraits

CLICK HERE to view Neocolor II Portrait Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Baby Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Zipper Bag Tutorial

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn