Piper Cub at Sunset Wall Hanging

I finished this little wall hanging this afternoon to commemorate J's cross country flight from Rhode Island to Idaho to begin a new life as a wildlife pilot. She's living the dream!

The sheers play games with the flash, and make this difficult to photograph. In real life, the sunset colors are richer and deeper, not so washed out.


It started out a few weeks ago with this watercolor study in my sketchbook (just after J had passed through Oshkosh on her historic cross-country flight). I wasn't thinking that it would actually become a quilt, but sometimes these things take on a life of their own ... lucky for J!


I started out with this piece of hand-painted Skye Dye from a class with Mickey Lawler in 2008. This makes the piece about fat-quarter size.


The next step was to layer it with this sunset-colored sheer. I wasn't sure how this would work out since the sheer felt pretty synthetic ..


Next step is to layer with the batting and stitch-stitch-stitch. I got to use some of my new Sulky Blendable threads. I used the walking foot to stitch gentle arcs across the face of the sky. I knew the sheers would be slippery, and wanted assurance that things would go together well. This worked!


Next, I made freezer paper stencils to cut out the silhouettes of the mountains and the Piper Cub out of wool felt. These were appliqued down by machine. Add a backing and a proper binding and Viola! Almost ready to gift ...

J--It may be another week before I get this in the mail to you. I'm kind of a slacker when it comes to affixing lables and hanging pockets.


Detail of the Mountains and Sunset Sky.


This is the backing fabric and binding, in case you're wondering what that wild border could be. Wink!


This is J and her Piper Cub on her stop in WI this summer. Yes, I got a ride!