I find that most quilts have meaning. Many of the quilts I create are to remember a time or loved family member. Rusty and Spirit are probably my last two horses. This should make me sad but I am so honored to have time with them on this earth. This quilt fills me with joy.
This year, Rusty will be 24 years old and still acts like a young man. Unfortunately, I lost Spirit in 2018 at only 13. Losing her was devastating and I know someday Rusty will join her. So, this quilt will always hold special meaning for me.
Quilt Design
As many of you know, I prefer to make my own patterns and come up with my own quilt designs. With Rusty and Spirit, I wanted to make a representational art quilt that would read well from a distance. I did not intend to include small details, but instead opted for the larger picture.
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The first thing I did was peruse all my photos (oh yes I have a lot!) to find some images of them both to use. Below is a great image that I considered.
Ultimately, I chose to grab two different images and put them together. The original photo of Spirit was facing the opposite direction so I flipped it. I wanted the image to portray them both looking over a fence. This was a common stance, and I can envision them looking for someone to bring them treats.
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Below are the final drawings I used to create them.
When I had drawings I liked, I auditioned them on the background. I like how they interracted.
After this, I added the other elements like the fence, bushes, rocks etc.
Custom Quilting
There are times that I know exactly the way I want to quilt something from the moment I look at a quilt. Other times I need to employ visual methods.
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Sometimes, this means taking pictures and using my stylus on my tablet. In this case, I went big. I used sheet protectors to create a clear overlay. Then I used a wipe-off marker to audition designs. The feathers I chose look like fluffy clouds moving across the sky.
You can also see the actual process of these two elements in the videos below:
Finishing Touches
The finishing touches for this quilt included bows in the horse’s hair. I also added flowers in the garden below.
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You may have also see this quilt hanging in the 2022 Dallas Quilt show. We did not win a ribbon, but this quilt stole my heart and that is enough.
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