I’ve been working on a cat portrait, using the same techniques I used a couple of years ago for the portrait of ‘Baby’.
In February, I received an email from Maureen, which said “My 9-year-old granddaughter asked me to help her make a throw blanket with the image of her beloved cat, Casper, on it. . . . I used Google to search for cat quilts and saw your commissioned piece on your web page . . . Not only is your work beautiful, but Baby looks a lot like Casper! I have attached a recent Facebook photo of Casper. He is a rag doll breed and a lilac point color. He has the same beautiful blue eyes and a medium length coat of creamy white fur. I’m wondering if I could commission you to create a quilt piece similar to Baby’s (8×8”, face only) and applique the “enhanced by thread-sketching” photo-on-fabric to a fabric piece I provide. From this, I would make a round decorative pillow for her bed.”
Maureen sent me several photos of Casper, and after looking at several options, we decided on a photo and background fabric. I cropped the photo and printed it on prepared fabric, then selected the threads I would use to sketch on the printed photo.
I fused Misty Fuse to the back of the fabric photo, then cut around the edge of the cat’s head, and fused it to the fabric background. I used a black Sharpie to enlarge his pupils, and a white gel pen for the highlights.
Then I started thread-sketching. I printed a ‘posterized’ version of the photo on paper and made notes of thread colors on it. I find this is very useful if I need to go back later and add thread to an area.
The thread-sketching is almost complete. I had to stop because I was finding it hard to focus on light thread on light fabric. Another couple of hours and it should be finished.
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.
This is looking great, a little girl will be loving this soon.
That is amazing!!!! So beautiful, and will make an unforgettable pillow for the little girl.
Wow! Beautiful work!!!
Lovely work! I think that fixing the areas for a change in colour is the most difficult for achieving reality!
It’s so pretty Terry. Love it. May I ask, is the fabric you used to print the photo on a cotton or silk?
What a stroke of luck that I came upon Terry Aske’s blog while searching for ideas to make a blanket for my granddaughter, Lyn. From the beginning, Terry has been kind, patient, interested in my ideas, and very knowledgeable about the design and production of a piece of fabric art. When I saw her portrait of “Baby”, I was really hoping that she would be willing to do one of Lyn’s cat, Casper. And she was! Terry has a truly professional yet welcoming approach to working with a customer. After finding out what I was hoping for, she created mockups on paper so I could see whether I liked the results. She is open to my ideas and truly wants this to turn out just as I envisioned. I am so happy to see Casper’s portrait nearing completion! It’s just as I had hoped it would be, and Lyn will be thrilled! Thank you, Terry!