10/31/15

Stormy Saturday

We're getting the effect of a Pineapple Express this weekend, and it's pouring rain as I write this. We're under a flood warning currently, although there's no chance of flooding here on our hill. In 1996, Portland had some serious flooding resulting from a Pineapple Express. The forecast for the next couple of days looks like this.


If one is to believe the forecast, then it looks as if we're into the worst of it today. Nevertheless, we're in for a thoroughly wet weekend. Good quilting weather, if you ask me.

Today I'm continuing on with Smitty's portrait.


When I left off yesterday, I'd taken it this far.


Today I started adding his darker parts. First, the face.


Then his body.


Then his ears.


And then I fused the whole kitten kaboodle to a background piece.


Now it needs top-stitching and then I'll add the thread details. Adding the details to Gracie's portrait made a huge difference. Every cat needs whiskers, eyebrows, and ear fur. When all of that is done, I'll sandwich and quilt it. These pieces are small, and so quilting is minimal. I expect I'll have this finished tomorrow. I learned some things from making Gracie's portrait. I still probably added too much detail in the shading, but at least I didn't end up with any holes as I did with hers. These are kind of fun to do.

For today, I think I'm finished in the sewing room. It's time to relax and pet the real cats of the household.

11 comments:

gayle said...

Your cat portraits are just amazing. Those little fabric fragments come to life!

Shari said...

Can wait to see the finished quilt. You did a great job!

Kate said...

Wow, looking good! Looking forward to seeing it all finished.

Lyndsey said...

Smitty is going to be really pleased as the purtrait is looking fabulous. You have captured the essence of him perfectly and the top stitching will be the icing on the cake (or whiskers on the cat)

Beth said...

Wow! I was so looking forward to seeing Smitty's portrait, and the anticipation was worth it. You didn't just create a cat, you captured the little rascal--he even looks a bit vulnerable there, the way he does in his photo, bless his heart.

Now you've done it. I'm about to start scouring the countryside for an overhead projector so that I can immortalize our crew. I've also been wanting to do silhouettes, so it will serve a double purpose; theoretically that will make it cost half as much, right? Something like that...

SJSM said...

Your kitty portrait wall is on its way. What a joy to see your "kids" come to life.

The Pineapple Express is supposed to dip down near us today. It will bring snow to the Sierra"s, too. It probably won't stick but it is a start of H2O for us.

Michele said...

Wow that really is looking great so far.

Dana Gaffney said...

It already looks great, can't wait to see it with the details in place. I'm thinking like Beth, I may need to find a projector and try this myself. Florida Keys= high of 86, blue skies, gentle breeze.

Quilting Babcia said...

You've really captured the essence of Smitty with this portrait. Great job!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Excellent capture of Smitty so far! You really are getting this technique down. We are cold and rainy (last few days and into the next week) - the hunters are really hoping it puts down more snow on the mountain.

Dar said...

You are doing an amazing likeness of Smitty. He will be so proud of his portrait when it's finished.