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With In Your Reach
39" x 102"
With In Your Read was actually my first figurative quilt. She was created after I took a 6 month break from quilting and took watercolor painting classes. For the first time, I was learning about light and layering. Its probably no surprise that the idea of using bridal tulle to layer in the colors rose to the surface after those classes.
The face and body are reverse machine appliquéd. All of the skin, eyes and lip colors are coming from multiples layers of blue, purple, red and yellow netting layered on top of a discharged piece of yellow blotchy cotton.
I hand dyed the background by scrunching the fabric into a plastic tub and pouring the colors on in a horse shoe shape. The sea weed is machine appliquéd down and then machine embroidered with rayon threads. The majority of the beads were sewn on with the machine.
This was my first quilt to head out for major shows. I had nightmares of her waving gently across the snow while the wheels still spun from the upturned UPS truck. But she has traveled safely to the Mancuso Mid-Atlantic show where she took first place in the innovative large quilt category, to Quilting at the Crossroads where friends overheard little quilting ladies suggesting sea shell bras, to Houston where the judge gave me points for neatness, but pretty much disliked everything else about the quilt. Of all the quilts I've ever made, this remains the one people ask about most often.
