Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Violet: Part 5 in the Victorian Lady Series


Remember the Victorian ladies, Ruby and Scarlet that I completed last December? There are nine ladies, all of which have been hand appliqued, embroidered with DMC and/or ribbon embroidery floss, hand beaded and embellished with trinkets, trims and lace. The first two pieces in the set, I did in fact, hand quilt as at the time, I felt the need to complete them all by hand. I really did have good intentions, however, while I greatly appreciate the beauty of hand quilting, it is just not for me! I am much more in tune with my machine as it hums along. And so for years, these pieces have been lingering in my closet waiting to be finished. The last time, my grandmother visited me, we pulled them out and she expressed that she would like to have them.   
 
I gave her the first two pieces that had been hand quilted right then and for Christmas, I gave her two more pieces, Ruby and Scarlet that I machine quilted. She was thrilled and I am happy they have found a new home! This month is her birthday and I have completed another Victorian lady for her collection. This one is named Violet. Are you sensing a theme with regards to their names and the colors of their dresses? Seems easier to remember their names that way. To be honest, I cannot recall the names of the first two, although, Pauline comes to mind. They may need to be renamed as well! I have still yet to have time to dig and search around the studio for the name of the artist who created these patterns. Perhaps after the holidays, I can find that out unless of course, someone here knows the answer. Violet was machine quilted with Superior trilobal polyester thread to bring out details in her dress. The background was broken up by machine quilting parallel flowing lines that radiate out towards the bottom. On top, it is broken up by stippling to add interest and break up the space. She is adorned with trim, lace, embroidery ribbon and floss, buttons and trinkets. I have just shipped her off to my Grandmother to join her new friends. I hope she is accepted well!

2 comments:

Vibrant Ice said...

How did I miss the other two ladies in December?! Are the dresses your own invention? They are lovely. They remind me of costume renderings or fashion plates. Super time-consuming ones!!!

They inspire me. I want to be able to draw decent figures from my head instead of using references. I think that is what I will practice once I get my Member Wall piece done for the Dougherty show.

Rob

Barb Forrister said...

Ah, I love Ruby and scarlet. They are probably my favorite of this series. Thank you for your kind words but these are from patterns and i cannot take credit for them. They were all done by hand save the final quilting step, very time consuming indeed! We share the same dream. One of these days, I will be able to draw faces that well. I am getting better with my animal series but humans are still difficult for me to capture. I need to revisit that some more. Thanks for your kind words and stopping by.