It's Four-In-Art reveal day! So without further ado, here is my latest installment of Literature: Fairy Tales
I'm sure you've gotten the reference to Cinderella with the glass slipper, mice and pumpkin. Perhaps you are wondering about the lizards? I read the French version of Cinderella, by Charles Perrault from this book:
This particular version uses mice, rats, and lizards for the horses, coachmen, and footmen. I even looked up what kind of
lizards live in France so I could get the coloring right. (can't help but be literal, even in my art)
One of the notes says that every culture has a "Cinderella story" of rags to riches. In this version she is originally called Cinder-tail for her habit of sitting in the ashes, but the nicer step-sister changes it to Cinder Ella.
The quilt itself: As I was pulling fabrics for this little quilt, I remembered that a friend had given me two grocery bags full of upholstery samples and I thought that would be a good place to look for some of my fabrics. I ended using samples for all the applique pieces.
The mice are a fuzzy kind of plush fabric, the lizards and top of the pumpkin are a loose woven. The pumpkin and shoe are both shiny and textured. The above shot should give you some idea of how the appliques stand up from the surface.
I did some stem stitch outlining of the pumpkin and the shoe. Both with shiny threads.
My overall idea was to present the elements of the story so as to be recognizable without actually announcing the story. I think I managed that.
Quilting was all done with Invisifil grey, a thin, shiny, polyester thread, with Aurifil in the bobbin.
In a rare moment for me, I took the time to coordinate my backing with the overall quilt theme. Although in this case, it is rather a contrast. No pinks on the front of my princess quilt.
The quilt finished up at 12" x 12", which is, of course, the idea. I did a single fold binding so that the front could be nice and narrow and neat.
I do know I am my own worst critic, but I'll share some of my thoughts overall.
Things I like about this quilt:
-The texture of the various upholstery fabrics.
-The mice/lizard border
-The quilting of the center
-The subtle tones/colors of the whole piece.
If I had another week to start over:
-I would make the center just the shoe. As I was quilting I realized the symbolism of the shoe, in that it is the only piece that stays as it is. Everything else returns to its original state at midnight. Therefore, the pumpkin should be moved to the border for a less prominent role.
-I don't really like the stipple/meander quilting on the borders. I tend to fall back on that, because for me it is easy and fast, but I think that even straight line quilting in the opposite direction of the center might have been better.
-I would look for a different way of applying the pieces. Right now they are simply glued/fused down with raw edges. Not sure if that is a great long term solution. Time will tell, I guess.
Please, take the time to check out the others who are also making quilts as a part of this Four-In-Art group. I promise it will be worth it! I will update the links as I can.
