The owner of this English Springer Spaniel had posted a picture of her on a mutual Facebook page and I was intrigued by the soulful expression in Roxie's eyes as well as her beautiful coloring. I asked for permission to do an art quilt of her and was provided the photo with which I created the design.
This quilt is done with raw edge applique and some reverse applique, and satin stitched. When sandwiched, I use invisible thread to stitch in the ditch around all the pieces which really makes the pattern pop. I machine quilted the open spaces to add texture to the sofa and give a sense of a wall behind the dog. This quilt is made with all commercial quilting cottons - for me, the intriguing challenge is to find the fabric that will best represent the color and texture of the dog. I used tear away stabilizer for the first time and liked it - stabilized the project for stitching, and then removed so the quilt is nice and soft to handle. I experimented for the first time with tulle also to create depth for the back foot and sofa area.
The quilt is 24" wide and 30 1/2 " long. This is the largest dog portrait I've done so far, and I chose this size in order to be able to include the details on Roxie's face and feet that make her uniquely who she is.