Finishing a practice landscape - two years later

I can't believe that it's been two years in the making, but when I went to find the post for my project - sure enough, it was in August 2013!

In the beginning

It wasn't bad - I did like the sun and parts of the water, but I had no idea where to go from there. That's why it stayed in the UFO pile, until this winter.

When I took it out, I started adding things such as extra plants, especially in the foreground; details in the water and things that might look like a forest.

Adding details

Again, I wasn't too sure where to go from there.

I read and looked at a lot of photos in my Quilting Arts magazines. I also invested in a few e-books on Landscape Quilting through Interweave.  I got all kinds of ideas.

I knew that I really didn't like the top of my tree. That was easy - I just removed what I could and covered the rest! Not at all like regular piecing - what's not to love :-)

A brand new tree!

Once I had all of the fabrics in place, it was time to sew. In theory, at this point I would have started thread painting, but I had already sandwiched the project, so the thread painting also became the quilting. Since then, I've had more practice, so I do recommend that you do the thread painting before you add the batting and backing. It's just easier and really not necessary to be going through all of those layers for everything.

Water and shore

Here are some details of the water and the shore on the other side. I also had a lot more in the foreground, but most of it was lost once I added the binding. Oops!

The sky - my favourite part!

If the sun looks like it began life as a sunflower, it's because it did!

Here's the final product. Not bad for a little experiment two years in the making.

What I learned:

• It's important to add enough space around the edges so that I don't end up cutting things off when I square the piece up or lose things behind the binding.
• I have learned so much from making this little piece. I was not impressed with it when I left it in August 2013. It's amazing what some bits of fabric and thread can do.
• Don't rush things - when I'm ready, it will happen.

This post was linked to Needle and Thread Thursday and Link-a-Finish Friday. Check them out!