About 14" high.
Background is my first ever quilt-as-you-go, cactus is four different fabrics nearly hidden by crewel yarn.
Flower is several different paint-dyed ribbons.
All from stash.
Inspiration picture, taken on my front porch in May.
Cactus flowers are so ridiculously lush and colorful; they look like they belong in the tropics instead of the desert.
The ribbon flower adds to the scrappy look!
I like how you used ribbon for the flower, it really captures the unexpectedness (is that a word?) of the cactus flowers.
This is so dang cool!
Thanks, all!
So pretty!
Stunning
Very pretty interpretation. Cactus flowers are really cool and I love how you captured them here.
The quilt as you go came out fantastic! Would have never guessed it was your first. But that flower is the scene stealer for sure!
Oh, that’s so very gorgeous! I love the texture.
It’s all beautiful! Your artwork looks just like your lovely cactus! How creative with the paint-dyed ribbon. When you said paint-dyed do you mean that you painted the ribbon with a brush? Or a dye bath? I like the simulated texture on the cactus that you created with fabrics.
Thanks!
I water down acrylic craft paint, the kind in little bottles, and soak the ribbon, lace, embroidery floss, or fabric. Don’t rinse, let drip and dry.
Works on almost any fiber, though the more paint, the stiffer it gets.
It stays on cotton when washed, I’m not sure about washing poly.
This is simply gorgeous. I’m gonna cross post it in the scrappy fabric swap!
There is an medium you can add to acrylic paint to keep it soft for fabrics. I use acrylic paint all the time on fabrics. Cheap medium to keep paint soft and not peel
Yeah, but that’s for when you want paint on the surface, and it adds bulk. I water down the paint so it soaks into the fibers like dye. More water=less stiffness, but also paler color, so I often use it to adjust existing color, like turning light blue into turquoise.
I think these ribbons were a mix of pink, yellow, and white, then I added more pink and yellow.