Sew What's Next: Inspired By Elvis--The Making of Memories, Part 4

This is the last installment of 'The Making of Memories.’

At last I was ready for the 'collage' part of this fiber-collage quilt! It is at this stage when the studio REALLY gets messy! I pull out LOTS of fabrics to audition...the greater the variety of fabric that is used in the piece, the better it looks. I used cottons and silks, velvets and tulles, even bits of old men's ties! That is OLD TIES....not ties from old men (although that might also apply!

To start, I taped together enough paper to create a pattern large enough for the final size. Then I LOOSELY drew in where the major components will be located, giving me a general road map to guide me. Next, I covered this paper with a large piece of septic paper (it is like non-woven interfacing, on a roll and purchased from the home improvement store where septic lines are common in the area). The septic paper is see-through and provides a lightweight but stable base. I used 007 Bonding Agent here and there to keep things from shifting too much...shakes on like salt, it turns into a glue when heat from the iron is applied. I added a large blue piece of fabric, then I began covering it with strips to create the sky..."twilight trimmed in purple haze", according to the song lyrics.

I tore a few strips from the silk drapes I had removed (and deconstructed) from MY living room here at my home (washed, of course!) to include in the sunset-reflecting sky. The glittery purple tulle was leftover from the mother-of-the-groom dress I had made for my son's wedding in 2013. Various blue fabrics from my stash were cut into odd/elongated shapes and strategically placed to provide the look I wanted.

Next I began pulling out the green fabrics, placing them here and there to determine where the values should go. I planned to mix the various greens together somewhat but, overall, I wanted the darker ones under trees and lighter ones in the foreground.

After cutting the fabrics into small bits, I began placing them in the lawn area, mixing the colors in a painterly way to give the impression of depth, contour and distance (I hoped!). I cut a wishbone-shaped piece of black fabric for a portion of the circular driveway. I temporarily added the wall every now and then to be sure I was bringing the lawn far enough forward.

In the photo below, you can see where the top edge of the stone wall has not yet been cut into the jagged points that make up the top of the wall at Graceland. I have created areas of color in the lawn and yet, overall, it is green.

I needed some trees for the background...behind tiny Graceland...and the scale of those trees needed to be smaller because of the distance they represent. I layered some wash-away stabilizer with brown tulle, then added TINY bits of fabric to represent the foliage. Pieces of ribbon were used for the tree trunks and then I covered the assemblage with green tulle. I stitched free-motion all over this tiny treeline, then put it in a sink of water to dissolve the stabilizer.

The tiny treeline was trimmed, then placed at the horizon and behind the house. This really helped to tie the sky and land together and develop and sense of place. I began cutting little cone-shaped evergreens out of green velvet and placed them on the distant lawn near the house.

I began to cut and place various black fabrics on the driveway.

I had hoped to use the white yarn to represent the curb along the asphalt driveway, but found it more effective to cut white fabric instead,

I developed the foreground by adding tiny bits of green fabrics and wool fibers, then cut clumps of grass from a print fabric and added them to give definition to this strip of wilderness along side the highway. As a bit of whimsy, I included the eyes of Elvis in this wild grass...I wanted to conceal them and yet, make them visible and recognizable at the same time.

I used the tips of small artificial ferns to represent the boxwood bushes that flanked the driveway in the gravel beds.

I cut diamond shapes from the stone fabric and alternated them with leftover brick portions to represent the fence on the north (left) side of the lawn, then placed brown tulle over this area to place it deeper in shadow.

At this point, it was time to add the big trees on the lawn. Using photos for my placement guide, I cut black/brown/gray fabrics and made and placed the tree trunks.

I placed blobs of a dark tulle at the location of the treetops, then began adding various ribbons, sequins and musical notes, etc before adding the fabric leaves.

I also placed long strips of navy tulle on the lawn at the base of each tree to provide shadows.

At this point, I began hiding faces in the lawn, as well as a guitar. I had cut these from a commercial Elvis-themed fabric, which I over-dyed brown so they would blend as opposed to glow!

I cut fabric pieces that were smaller still to use for the leaves. The colors were sprinkled/placed to give the impression of late summer/early autumn. I used golden leaves for the smaller tree at the foreground to depict song lyrics.

Additional sparkly things were added...palm trees, flowers, boots, etc, so they could be seen and discovered.

Various fibers...leaves cut from an antique cuff, silk flower leaves, holey ribbon, etc...were added to blend or accentuate areas as needed. Then I began adding the people.

Lastly, I covered the whole thing with a large piece of black tulle and pinned it in place.

You might be wondering HOW IN THE WORLD am I going to stitch this...a stiff breeze would ruin it all! Well, I devised a method when working on a former quilt that worked quite well. You may have noticed that during assembly, I was working on one of those cardboard cutting mats that folds up for storage. This stiff cardboard also provides a method to transport this piece to the longarm.

BUT...IT MUST REMAIN FLAT! Unlike a regular quilt top, this cannot roll or hang down until it is quilted. To provide some extra hands to hold it for me as I stitch, I looked to the garage for these roller stands that are used to hold lumber for woodworking. I CAREFULLY moved the cardboard from the table to the longarm, being very careful NOT to let the cardboard fold itself. I propped it on the rails and the roller stands.

The backing and batting had been loaded on the longarm before I added this collaged top. That is the batting you see hanging down in the picture below.

I needed to partially REMOVE the cardboard and gently lay the upper portion of the piece onto the batting for stitching...but as the cardboard came out, it STILL had to be supported so it wouldn't flip up the remaining collage! For that task, I pulled out a drawer and placed a pillow on it to support the cardboard until I had stitched enough of this quilt to call it stable.

Below, you can see that I had ALMOST stitched to the bottom. The cardboard was now ready to be removed, as the bottom of the collage was now resting on the batting and so, was supported. This method does make for some awkward posture while stitching! I had to move from one side of the cardboard to the other by walking around the table! But at that point, I was just doing random stitching with invisible thread to stabilize the piece. Once the cardboard was removed and the piece was stable THEN I could use various colors and stitch grass and leaves and sky and all the details that enhance as well as construct this piece.

After quilting, MEMORIES was trimmed up to make it square and the correct size. I applied a black binding to the back of the quilt, then pressed it to the front and sewed it into place.