“Snow Doggie”! 🐾🐾

If you are headed to Houston, make sure to visit the Quilt Alliance booth…and be sure to check out the fabulous works of art we received for this year’s contest (10th annual!) and auction (coming SOON…). 

After completing my kitty piece (of course), I decided to create a portrait of a very handsome boy who frequently stays with my family (a Fidelco Guide Dog by profession). One of my favorite pictures of him was taken during a snowy walk (run) this past winter:

First step, decide which app to use:

I opted for the Mobile Monet image. Next step, create the background…I chose a super-pale blue batik and sponged white and grey paint to simulate an uneven snow surface. (If you are fortunate enough to take a class from Judy Coates Perez, you will discover all sorts of ways to use paint in your work.) I then layered it with batting and backing, putting MistyFuse in between to secure the fabric sandwich.
Then, out came every scrap of fabric in my German Shepherd category, which I placed next to printouts of both the illustration and the original photo to block out the chest, neck and head:

I began to rough-out the inking and stitching of the fused pieces…

LOTS of stitching! I find dog faces to be much more complex than cats…and there are dozens of subtle colors in this handsome face. Fortunately the model was happy to assist…and, of course, Jesse had his opinions.

After I was (finally) happy with Mr Handsome, I selected a super-pale grey thread and did (lots) of free-motion stitching to give the background more texture as well as the suggestion of the tire-marked path ahead.

I did plan to bind it in black but fortunately a friend advised against the idea (thank you, Dayle Gruder ;)), so a facing was stitched instead…I think it was a much better idea.

Woof! 😍