Sunday, May 17, 2015

Blogger's Quilt Festival: Starry Night

spring 2015 BQF Button


This is my entry into the Art Quilt category!

Starry Night mini quilt, measures 8" x 9"

I decided to recreate Vincent Van Gogh's painting, Starry Night using thread.

Starry Night painting I used for reference on color and shading.

Making this quilt was a roller coaster--some moments I would feel confident about how it was coming together and other moments I would question every part of it.  It was tricky to plan ahead each layer of thread, and keep the vision in my mind of how it would look.

Starry Night swirl detail.

In the end I was completely in love with it.  I love quilts that have so many tiny details.

Starry Night tree detail.

The binding is Kona Pepper.  The backing is a large scrap of fabric--it is black with little flecks of blue.  Next time I'll just use a solid color, because it will just get coated in thread anyway:

Starry Night quilt back (the blue specks are on the backing fabric--not from poor thread tension).

This is a very stiff quilt, and had some warping.  I tried making it a damp and then pressing with something heavy overnight, but that only helped a little.  In the end I pressed the entire quilt with a warm iron and it laid flat perfectly.

Starry Night horizon detail

To see my process in creating this quilt go here

Starry Night moon detail

I used mostly Aurifil 50wt threads and didn't have any tension issue with them.  They layer really well and have the prettiest sheen in the sunlight!  Here is a full list of the Aurifil colors I used: 2740, 4241, 2800, 6010, 5004, 2887, 2360, 5022, 2150, 1148, 1135, 2130, 2715, and 2692.

Starry Night town detail.

The only colors of Aurifil I didn't have for this quilt were the redish brown in the tree and a medium blue, so I used some C+C I had on hand (the only medium blue I had was actually a variegated, which was a problem in a few areas).

Starry Night thread painted mini quilt.

If you see this and can only think of Dr Who, then go check out these quilts I made:
The Doctor's Starry Night pieced bed quilt and The Pandorica Opens quilt.

Quilt stats:
Size: 8" x 9"
Quilted by me, Renee Hoffman
Category: Art Quilt

You can see my entry into the Large Quilts here.

Don't forget to nominate your favorite 3 quilts for Viewer's Choice!

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22 comments:

  1. Kamila @ Work-With-Patches May 17, 2015 at 12:58 PM

    What a great idea for a beautiful art quilt! I love wonderful threads and your work with them :)
    Greetings from Poland
    Kamila

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  2. Judy@Quilt ParadigmMay 17, 2015 at 2:32 PM

    You totally nailed this one, Renee! OK, how did you get Quilts of a Feather printed so perfectly on the binding??? I did not notice that before, too busy looking at that fabulous quilting! You must make another! Hmmm. . . I have the perfect place to hang it right over my cutting table!!!! :D LOL

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  3. Hilacha (loose strand)May 17, 2015 at 3:02 PM

    I like your recreatin of Van gogh's starry night.Is it just thread painting or is there piecing underneath?

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  4. Sew of CourseMay 18, 2015 at 4:22 AM

    Wow! No wonder it is quite stiff, there must be yards and yards and yards of thread in this piece! Is there wadding in it as well?

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  5. Sherri @ RebeccaMaeDesigns.comMay 18, 2015 at 6:00 AM

    I LOVE all the quilting! so pretty!

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  6. Teresa Duryea WongMay 18, 2015 at 6:30 AM

    Fabulous work of art. The thread painting is just incredible. Love it.

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  7. Yvonne @Quilting JetgirlMay 18, 2015 at 6:46 AM

    This is stunning and I am absolutely impressed with the detail you put into an 8 x 9 mini quilt! I will definitely be trying to vote this one into viewer's choice!!!

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  8. Rochelle aka Bella QuiltsMay 18, 2015 at 12:30 PM

    This is a beautiful mini. How many hours do you think you put in with the thread painting? How much thread did you ultimately use? I really love the way you captured the essence of the paiting.

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    Replies
    1. ReneeMay 18, 2015 at 1:09 PM

      Thank you! Many hours--it was my only project for about a week and I spent a couple of hours a day on it. I have no idea the total amount of thread I used since it was from so many colors.

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  9. Deb @ Frugal Little BungalowMay 18, 2015 at 2:28 PM

    I am in AWE and yes I am going to the link to see how-in-the-world-you-did-this : )

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  10. AnonymousMay 19, 2015 at 7:24 AM

    Doctor Who is EXACTLY what I thought of when I saw this quilt. And I checked for a Tardis hidden somewhere inside lol. Despite the lack of a Tardis, it is an amazing piece of art. I am so impressed!

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  11. JasmineMay 19, 2015 at 8:39 AM

    This is my favorite art quilt. It is amazing.

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  12. Patty May 19, 2015 at 5:16 PM

    Absolutely amazing quilt! Great job. (and I too looked for a TARDIS!)

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  13. M-R CharbonneauMay 19, 2015 at 6:37 PM

    Yay, yay, yay! I'm so glad you entered this quilt, Renee. It's absolutely gorgeous!

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  14. Linda in Calif.May 20, 2015 at 10:20 AM

    I'm shaking my head - I just don't know how you did this. I can't just believe it. (Oh and by the way - this is one of my daughter's favorite painting - she's an artist. I know she would love me to make something - but I've always told her no way. And now I see you've gone and done it! LOL)

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  15. Wiesia PawłowskaMay 20, 2015 at 1:40 PM

    Wow!!!! It's great work o art! I love it, your quilting is amazing!

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  16. RachelMay 20, 2015 at 2:05 PM

    OMG. This is truly awesome.

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  17. GazyniaMay 21, 2015 at 11:48 PM

    Amazing!!! Your quilting is absolutely gorgeous!!!

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  18. the zen quilterMay 22, 2015 at 1:00 PM

    Wow - love it! You did such an amazing job - something like that really takes patience. It's beautiful.

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  19. leanneMay 22, 2015 at 2:44 PM

    wow that is a totally awesome quilt !!

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  20. Michelle @ From Bolt to BeautyMay 23, 2015 at 4:15 AM

    Of the projects of yours I've seen, this is an award winner. It's amazing. Good luck!

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  21. Rachel @ QuiltineeringMay 25, 2015 at 10:16 PM

    I am amazed at this quilt!! Its so stunningly beautiful. Yes, I do think of Dr. Who - thats one of my favorite episodes!

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