8/1/22

"Animal Kingdom" Reveal: Fox Trot

The prompt, "Animal Kingdom," was my submission. I wanted to make a quilt from this original photograph taken by my friend from high school, Carol Galloway. This is Carol's original photo. 


Before I go on, I should say that Carol and I have known one another since the late 60's. She and I sat beside one another in our school band. We both played clarinet. We lost track of one another for many years, but then caught up again on Facebook. As it turns out, Carol is a very talented wildlife photographer. I'd be happy to even find the wildlife she finds for her photography. As her friend, I appreciate her photos of animals in their natural habitat, engaging in natural behaviors. I would never get a chance to see them any other way. If you're on Instagram, you can see more of Carol's beautiful photography by searching for "cgwoodchip" or you can click on that link.

While I was making the quilt, I shared my progress with Carol. This is what Carol told me about her photo:

I recognize this little one!! This den had 11 kits last year, in a field owned by a cemetery. But, they did not come back this year. I stop by once a week just to check since foxes are known to change natal dens from year to year, and to move their kits around as they get bigger.

Okay, so this is how I made my quilt. I first cropped the image to fit my large format printer paper. I use an app called VectorQ to create an image easier to work with for my purposes, creating delineation between shades of color. When I printed it, it looked like this:


While I've made many animal "pawtraits," this fox is the first wild animal I've created. 

For this project, I was trying out a new product. I've always used transparency sheets...the kind used for overhead projectors...and that has necessitated taping them together to make them large enough. This time I used some plastic sheeting, available at JoAnn and probably other craft outlets. It comes in different weights, and I chose the heaviest weight available at JoAnn the day I went shopping. The photograph is taped down to my work surface, and then the plastic sheeting taped over the top.


Then, I go to work tracing, using a fine tip Sharpie. Sharpies are the only pen I've found that won't smear when applied to plastic.


I always write "right side" on the traced image. Since I'm doing fusible applique, I want to remember to trace on the opposite side since I'll be producing a mirror image of the piece I'm working with. Then, I turn the template back to the right side for guiding placement of the fusible piece.


And then, I paw through bins of scraps looking for appropriate pieces, sorting by value.


The fox was first constructed on a teflon pressing sheet. It allows me to fuse the pieces down. When I'm finished, it can be peeled off the pressing sheet and applied to the fabric background. Tweezers are an essential tool since some of the pieces are very tiny.


I always start with the eyes and work my way out.


Here's the progression over several days.





When he was finished. I laid him out, experimenting with different background fabrics...


Until I settled on these.


He was then thread-painted using these threads. 


The thread painting is done through the quilt top and the batting. 


Here are some details.


Whiskers were added last.


When that part was finished, I add the quilt back for quilting, and used these threads.


I quilted some mountains and a sunset in the background.


A leafy motif in the "grass."


And some pebbling in the "dirt."


Then a "Greek key" in the left-side border.


Then it was ready for binding.


When it was finished, I took this little peek of a picture.


And today it's time for the reveal. Here is my finished quilt. I'm calling it "Fox Trot," and it finished up at 24 x 22 inches.


Here's how it looks from the back:


The quilt was my gift to Carol for graciously giving me permission to use her photograph. In fact, Carol has given me blanket permission to do anything with any of her photographs at any time. And when I see her beautiful photography, it makes me want to turn each one into a quilt. 

To see more "animal kingdom" quilts, please visit The Endeavourers blog right here.

37 comments:

Mary C said...

This is a masterpiece! Congratulations! Love it!

abelian said...

Oh my goodness! It’s wonderful! Dot

Julierose said...

This is simply beautiful--great job --that is quite a process!! I love how the fox turned out...hugs, Julierose

Connie W. said...

Amazing work, Barbara! It's no wonder that your friend has given you permission to reproduce her photos. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the beach.
Connie W.

Barbara said...

The fox has many tricks. The hedgehog has but one. But that is the best of all. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lisa England said...

Oh wow! I enjoy taking photos of wildlife and wish I had skills like your friend! And then your talent to turn it into a quilt. Just amazing. What a wonderful gift for a friend. I look forward to seeing more of these if you make them. Thanks for adding such wonderful eye candy to my day.

MissPat said...

This is incredible, Barbara. I'm sure Carol will cherish your interpretation of her photo. Hope you are enjoying your short excursion.
Pat

Sara said...

Absolutely stunning! Both you and your photographer friend have some serious skills. Wow! And thank you for sharing your process. Fascinating to see it take shape.

My neighbor is a talented wildlife photographer too and he has been posting pix this summer of birds he sees in his yard that I have never seen. They must not want to cross our driveways to try out my bird feeders instead of his. LOL

Jane said...

Wow! This is truly a piece of art; absolutely gorgeous!

Donna said...

Wow! That is beautiful! You did a wonderful job.

piecefulwendy said...

Such a fantastic job, it is just beautiful! I'm amazed at the detail and how quickly you finished it!

Robin said...

That is magnificent Barbara. It's like magic to me. I will forever keep my pawtrait in an honored place in my home. Thank you.

ckrut said...

This foxie is beautiful. Great job. You are amazing!

Anonymous said...

Barbara, this is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing…not only the finished quilt, but also the steps to get it from idea, all the way to finished quilt!
Enjoy your beach getaway….safe travels!

Sandra B
scb304@juno.com

Cathy Smith said...

WOW! Just WOW! You have really become a master of this technique. Especially the eyes! They are piercing!

Vicki W said...

OMG, it's fabulous!

Jay said...

What a wonderful process, and a beautiful result! Thank you also for sharing Carol's Instagram. Such a talented woman.

Jenny said...

What can I say but just echo the other comments! Amazing work, and thanks so much for the step by step explanation of your process.
PS. I am now a proper follower. After several years of reading your blogs on Quilter Blogs I realised that often I didn't manage to get on site each day if i was busy, or away. Now you just magically "pop up" each day, waiting for me to read about your adventures!

Cathy said...

OMG, I just love this beyond words (even though subject is of the Woofie Family)! You’ve definitely got the talent for these pawtraits. Thank you for sharing your process again; I relished every photo!

Shari said...

You did an amazing job on this! Love it!

Arlyn Parker said...

Absolutely amazing!!! A true work of art and definitely dows justice to the beautiful photo!

Susan said...

Your fox turned out fabulous and I like it best of all the other ones at the link you included.

Lee said...

Beautiful work - the photography and the quilt!

Sandra W said...

Fascinating to see how you worked on the fox. It truly is a work of art. Well done.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Oh, this is such a wonderful quilty rendition of a lovely photo. Both great expressions of this cute critter.

linda schiffer said...

This fox is beautiful! Thanks for describing your process. I've always wanted to try doing this kind of portrait - I should dive right in :)

:) Linda

Kristin said...

I think this is your best Pawtrait yet! It looks so darn close to the original photograph that it took my breath away when I saw it on Instagram!

Lyndsey said...

Your Fox Trot quilt is truly beautiful. I feel i could reach out and touch his fur. It's so good to get back to reading your blog and seeing your great quilts.

Christine said...

Wonderful! The stitching really gives him character. He looks such a happy chappie.
I only have urban foxes by me and they are in a sorry state, not much food in the city.
Thank you for the link, I've enjoyed looking at the other entries.

Quilting Babcia said...

I think this pawtrait may be your best one yet. It's beyond fabulous! We both spent a long time studying all the details of your process. Pure artistry!

Vivian Helena said...

Looks like it could walk right out of the quilt/ picture. Beautifully done!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Oh my goodness! You've outdone yourself with this one. I really enjoyed seeing the process photos so I could learn something about how to create an animal (not that I have any plans right now but never say never). Well done!!!!

Carol Cole Galloway said...

I am so humbled by this beautiful piece of art, and at a loss for words for Barbara’s generosity in gifting me this piece. It is so very beautiful, and photos do not come close to capturing its beauty. It truly is a treasure and I will always cherish it as well as my long friendship with Barbara in years passed, and those to come! ❤️��❤️

Shirley said...

Oh wow, this is just stunning, what a beautiful pawtrait, your friend is a good photographer to make such a beautiful photo of the fox to start with, you gave het a priceless gift. Thanks for sharing the process, one day….

kc said...

Wowza!!!!

Karen said...

That is stunning! I love seeing the process, always wondered how to get from a photo to a quilt.

Michele said...

Wow Barbara! This is just stunning. You certainly have a talent for these types of quilts. Congrats on a beautiful finish.