The Great Reveal of My Art Quilt

"Kiss the Bait"- Fish Lips and Stripey the Worm on a Polymer clay hook. 

It's back from Road to CA for me and my Art Quilt two years in the making-

"Casting Dreams" didn't win a prize but 

I overheard lots of people enjoying the humor and whimsy in this piece.  

I can finally show you all pictures.  

This Quilt is an irregular shape and approximately 6 feet by 5 something.

I got it out and took some close ups this morning

because you can't really see all the hand stitching, 

beading and embellishments from a distance. 

Here are some of my favorite creatures:

Egyptian Queen Fish- the body is made with painted fusible web.
Love that technique, it is always a surprise what you get. 

Momma gives Baby Snail a piggy back

Butterfly Fish Family

Blue Finned Rock Fish

Egyptian Queen Fish and the Flying Fish School

Some of my handywork; beads, sequins, hand embroidery with blood sweat and pliers....and I didn't count but more than 1000 french knots to hold down the big fish to his home. 

The Eye, Feather Fin and many French Knots!! 

Just some of the beading and hand stitching done with embroidery floss and pliers

                             

I sketched and created every appliqued creature with Steam a Seam 

and I don't know how many different fussy cut fabrics. 

The Music Fish is one of my personal favorites, he is made up of a thread painted keyboard belly, treble and bass clef signs; his eye and nose, sixteenth note fins and an eighth note tail. 

The Elephant Fish is one I remembered from this favorite childhood story of mine: 

Dr. Seuss's -"McElligot's Pool" 

in which there was every type of fish imaginable, cow fish, dog fish, eskimo fish...

Mr. Muscles, a CrawDad
Originally I made a big Red Lobster but he took away too much attention from the big fish.

Mr. Rock Turtle meets the Purple Fancy Molly Family

So now you know why I breathed a bittersweet sigh of relief 

when I had to ship this quilt to Road to California. 

I had to stop embellishing and call it "Finished". 

It was a LOT of work but so worth it. 

Time is so precious, I hate to waste it, what are you doing with yours?