On Saturday, March 13, Rob Appell taught his Quick Fuse Seascape class for our guild. He was absolutely charming! He wore a military vest that he'd made over to hold all his quilting supplies. It was too cool! He started the class with about an hour lecture on perspective, placement of elements, and the "rule of thirds" (a composition "rule" in art and photography which simply states that your background should be divided into thirds (horizontally and vertically) and the important elements of your image should be placed on the four intersections of those lines). Rob doesn't follow an exact rule of thirds; his thirds are a bit distorted horizontally, as you can tell when looking at his quilts. His thirds are more of a small, medium and large format. He also did a quick lesson on working with the fusible. With that information in hand, he let us loose to create our "canvas." He brought several bolts of fabric with him, as well as several containers of 1/2 yards and fat quarters that we could purchase. I think everyone bought something! I know I spent more than I intended! The fabrics he brought were wonderful, and I really didn't have enough fish! While we were working, he made a point to come around to each of us and be sure our questions were answered. For many of us, the first question was "Do these three fabrics work together?" LOL! We sewed our canvas, then put our sewing machines away! Here's mine:
I'm actually doing mine rather small, around 20" square. I really didn't want another large quilt started that I probably wouldn't finish. I already have plans to make this into a tote! After lunch, we started fusing and fussy cutting out our elements. Several of us exchanged elements. I really wanted a turtle, and I had a lionfish Darla liked, so we traded! It was great fun!
Halfway through the afternoon, he did another demonstration on creating an ocean floor, and how we could use a batik to create coral reefs and the underwater portions of our islands. He then talked about the threads and needles he uses, different types of fusibles, how he does his quilting, and some of the tools he likes.
By the end of the day, I was hoping to have a finished piece, but of course I didn't. It really takes much longer than it appears. I have my canvas sewn, my island and ocean floor done, and just a few fish and elements ready to place.
I have more work to do. But this will have to be put on a back burner for a couple months, as there are some Calls for Entry I want to get done. I will finish this by summer, and then I'll have a wonderful ocean tote to carry around the Long Beach Quilt Festival!
Until next time, take care.
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