Thursday, April 16, 2009

Owl Anatomy

One of the things I love on Biddy Brain, one of the blogs I read, is when Ronnie shows her process of putting a painting together. She inspired this process post.

First, I liked this vintage pin. I think I must have seen it on Etsy's front page.


I sketched it in a tiny corner of a scrap of paper. I didn't photograph the whole paper because it contains important information like my grocery list and the dimensions of the bag I was making that day. I will leave you to guess what the 428 stands for.

Next it became a pillow plan. The one on the left is for the love birds. I'll post a photo of that when it's done.

Full sized sketch on pattern making fabric.

The first three pieces of the applique on the kona cotton background.

Stitching the details.

I went for non realistic eyes because I wanted them to show up.

Quilted around the outline of the owl.

I used tailors chalk to draw my quilting design on the back, and I quilted it from the back. Next time, I am going to make 6 pillows at a time and quilt them all together from the front on the Gammill. I like the ability to be more freeform than I can on my Viking. My hands get too tired to use the free motion stitching on a quilt this size.

After the cording and the back were added, here he sits. Gabrielle says he belongs to her, but I think he is destined for the aircraft carrier. Rory really likes him too. I think he looks great next to the patchwork pillow. When I put this out in pattern form, the instructions will obviously be more detailed. Check out my favorites for more vintage owl brooches.

12 comments:

lauren said...

That is so cool, I totally love that pillow, you're so talented!

Ruhammie said...

Wow! That was very creative! He turned out so cool! This was an inspiring post for me. I enjoy your talent.

Anonymous said...

Cherie, you've inspired me to try this with elephants! So cute!

glentwistle said...

Cherie this was wonderful to read. I love seeing how someone gets their vision to reality.

Rosie's Whimsy said...

What a marvelous creation! I love putting fabrics together. I should try something like this. Thanks for the inspiration :-)

Ronnie said...

Cherie!
He is a great looking OWL!
So glad you did the process. I'm weak in sewing and even weaker in applique and quilting. I'm sewing a chenille fish today and he is giving me a heck of a time getting his fins stuck inside and sewn on. Had to stuff them first.
A lot of swearing going on here!
I am flattered by your mention of my blog. Thanks for that!
I have a nephew on an aircraft carrier. Was on the Kitty Hawk, now the George Washington.
ALSO, I found a professional photographer that is following MY OWLS! Here...www.JCKnoll.com
Look for his owls and owlets. That's them.

Regina Moore said...

Love the pillow! So cute and creative!

StudioCherie said...

Ronnie, I noticed the owls on your blog, how cool is that? Ginny, yes, elephants, I have to add them to my list too. If you do it, put it up on Flickr and I will blog about it. Dueling elephants...not that I am competitive or anything. Gail, I had to make it because I was talking to a friend of mine at the fabric shop and telling her about my idea for the owl, so I had to prove I wasn't all talk. When I brought the pillow in I told her about the next 3 pillows, oh, boy. I better get back to work.

StudioCherie said...

By the way, our aircraft carrier is our family room sectional.

elsie said...

This post is amazing, watching your talent evolve from sweet scribbles to a fully formed work of handmade art - I am in awe!! Thanks for sharing your process!!

Jillian Frances said...

I love it! Thank you so much for sharing your creative process. I love seeing how artists work.

Anonymous said...

It's adorable! I love patchwork applique like this. Of course anything with lots of prints catches my eye!