Trout Rising

 I have been working on finishing UFOs (un-Finished Objects) and finally finished this small piece (17.5" x 12.5").  I started it in 2010 for the Fast Friday Fabric Challenge.  I first took grey commericial batik and quilted it over wool with Sulky Sliver thread.  I then took a commercial tone-on tone dot and painted it with Lumiere fabric paints by Jacquard to make the trout's body.

The eye is a bit difficult...and I'm not sure I got it in the right place, but it is a glass animal eye from JHB Buttons.  The dots on the trout's back are regular washers from the hardware store which  I painted with Adirondack alchol dyes.  I then placed a black sequin over the top and held it with a black seed bead. If you're wondering why I chose to use the washers, we were supposed to use something metal in our work. Since I had just participated in an unconventional materials challenge, I thought these were just the thing for this idea.

I wanted to capture the trout just after it landed back into the water after leaping for a bug....so you have the disturbance of the splash as well as the ripples from the stream.
I then over-laid many bits and pieces of sheers, topping it off with a grey sheer which I pleated and hand stitched to make it go in the right directions.

After all that, I machine quilted it once again with a grey/green  metallic thread.

I hope to do a series on game fish.  I have several ideas for working on various trout and salmon.....and perhaps there's a bluegill and a sunfish in my future.

Once again, I'm participating with Nina-Marie Sayre's Off-the-wall Friday Fiber blog roll.  Take a look at her website and explore all the other wonderously fiberous things.