INSIGHT IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Several months ago a friend emailed me and asked me to do a baby quilt.

She gave me a rough draft of the beach, banana tree, monkey, lion, and wanted me to add a turtle.

The rest was up to me.

Since she lives in Amerika Samoa I felt that you have to have a lot of sun.  If the sun is not shining it is raining.

For me, nothing is better than Island Batik Fabrics for blending and applique so I went to my scrap ben of Island Batik fabrics.

As you can see here I have done a sun with rays.  I used paper piecing for this. 

 Actually I just got a piece of paper about the width I wanted and then started from the middle.

  I worked from the inside out  with the middle strip, then placing right sides together I sewed a 1/4" seam down one side...flipped it over, ironed down....sewed another piece of fabric onto that one and just continued on that way to one side then I repeated the same process on the other side.  I would just cut the strips the way I wanted them.....if it was not slanted enough...I would just cut away.

I auditioned fabrics for the ocean.

Then sand.

If you will noticed the finished product, I cut down the light blue waves, didn't like the look of it so I cut it before I sewed it down.

Here we are auditioning for border fabrics, this is where I let my friend decide on what fabric she wanted for the border (notice the smaller light blue waves).

I went to coloring book pages online...  I would write in monkey coloring book page.  Did the same thing for everything else.

I had two monkeys I was torn between, finally decided on this monkey.

I can draw but there are some things I can not.  If I do take from coloring book pages for a quilt I do not make it a pattern to sell.

Here I am trying to decide on the fabric for the lettering.

Using my Cricut I cut out the letters in cardboard and then drew the letters backwards on the Heat N Bond.  Then ironed onto the backside of the fabric, then cut.

Finally finished.  This process took me about 3 months.  I was stumped for a while and sick.

I wasn't sure about the background so I let it sit hanging from my longarm so I could see it and think.

Lots and Lots of thinking.

My friend wanted a pink turtle for a sibling that was lost before birth.

I hope she likes it.  I do believe thinking is the major part of the process....