Art Quilt - Cedar Waxwing Finished

The final steps in making the Cedar Waxwing art quilt were the hardest.  Drawing is not my strong point and thread sketching is a bit like drawing.  So, I created multiple steps to ensure a more successful outcome.  First, I traced the image of the waxwing onto a plastic sheet and made a copy of it onto white paper.

Then, I drew pencil lines on the white paper where I thought my thread sketching should be. I lined paper with interfacing and free motion quilted over the pencil lines with black thread.  I took an extra step and created a paper color copy of the waxwing and thread sketched it.  

Finally, I made the jump to the actual fabric pieced waxwing created earlier and free motion quilted  it.  Definitely, a fun process but I did have to let go and not try to be a perfectionist.  

The end result was a beautiful art quilt, my first.  I am looking forward to sharing more of these with you in the future.  

Art Quilt - Cedar Waxwing In Progress

I love art quilts!  This was my first attempt at my own.  I took a picture of this Cedar Waxwing at Morrison Knudsen Nature Center in Boise, one of my favorite places to wander when the weather is cold.  I love birds and thought the Waxwing would be perfect to use because of its beautiful color.  

This video tutorial from Interweave.com had easy to understand art quilt instructions to get me on my way.  My main supplies included batik fabrics, Mistyfuse, a silicon pressor sheet, iron, Transdoodle tracing paper and a great pair of art quilt scissors.  What fun, especially if you sat back and just enjoy the process which I did for once.  Now I am on the to the next stage where I will fuse to a backing and begin topstitching.  

Have you made an art quilt before?  What was your inspiration?