Butterflies Are Free quilt - Thread Painting by Jennifer Day

Butterflies Are Free is the quilt that I just entered in Paducah 2014.  Fingers are crossed that the jurors like her!

Garden Wonder quilt - thread painting by Jennifer Day

I do not paint...yet! I use a photograph on fabric. I cover the photograph 100% in thread. See an in progress image using 12 threads and a finished image using 19 threads on the fingers. I am now offering classes on my technique. See info on my websitewww.jdaydesign.com!

I have used 12 colors of thread at this point in the process.

This is the finished section of the quilt using 19 colors on the fingertips.  The key is blending.

This is the original photograph that I start with.

Garden Wonder quilt - thread painting by Jennifer Day

When I got back from Houston, I only had ten day to finish this quilt for the Texas Quilt Museum!

Garden Wonder

A child in a garden who captures a butterfly.  What a magical experience!
The quilt measures 40" x 24".
68 colors of thread used!

Here is a detail of dirty fingernails!

And the reverse of the quilt!

Thread painting - Jennifer Day 264 threads

I finally finished the earth stories quilt!  It took 264 different colors of thread!  It also took me 5 hours to put all the threads back in order!  Next time, I will write down the numbers and put them back as I use them!  I finished that quilt right before I left for Houston.

Jennifer Day
Thread painting, Art Quilts

classic butterflies of the 1950's thread painting by jennifer day

After I finish the solar cooking quilt I need to make a butterfly quilt.  two ideas

Classic butterflies of the 1950's

Use images of :

Lucille Ball with a butterfly necklace

 Audry Hepburn with a butterfly on her hat

 Elizabeth taylor  butterfly earring

 Marilyn monroe with butterflies fluttering around her

Birth of a butterfly

caterpillar

cocoon

just coming out of the cocoon

hands holding the butterfly

Which quilt do you think will be the best received by the public.  The quilt will debut at the Texas Quilt Museum and then travel until 2017.  The birth of a butterfly is the safe quilt to make and will probably get accepted into the show The classic butterfly quilt is a stretch, but could make a bigger impact in a show that has lots of "butterfly" quilts.  OR...I could just do Marilyn surrounded by butterflies....

Thoughts?

Solar Cooking - Thread Painting by Jennifer Day

I am on a roll... 18 hours, 45 different colors of thread went into this quilt.  It is 16" x 24".  I got this one done in an intense 18 hours - three days - and used 45 different colors of thread.  This is a photo of a family in Cambodia using a very large solar cooker that can be seen in front of their home.  What a wonderful way to make a meal for her family!!  Just think...she did not have to travel miles for firewood.

Reverse of quilt - thread painting by Jennifer Day

This is the back of the quilt section that I just finished.

37 hours and 62 colors of thread - thread painting by Jennifer Day

I finished this part of the current quilt!  37 hours, 62 colors of thread and finished in a week.  Only 7 more sections to go!!  On schedule for finishing by the end of October......

435 blue dots thread painting by Jennifer Day

435 blue dots and 35 colors of thread changed in 5 hours.This one will drive me crazy for sure!!!

Nicaragua - thread painting by Jennifer Day

Nicaragua

I just got back from Nicaragua where we delivered 50 solar cookers to the women of a remote fishing village.  Solar cooking is the topic of my quilt for SAQA's "Earth Stories".  My Earth Stories quilt - "Cooking With the Sun" - starts its travel in 2014 and comes home in 2018 from travels all over the world.  The quilt will tell the story of solar cooking.  I will document the quilts progress in this blog!

Solar cooking is used in all of the third world countries.  Solar cookers are important because over 3 million people die a year from smoke inhalation cause by wood fires used to cook food in their homes.  Women also travel miles to gather wood and carry the wood back to their homes to cook with.  Solar cooking is easy and can be used anywhere!

Here are some of the photos from my trip:

Making coffee using a solar cooker!

We gave out 50 solar cookers to local women in this remote fishing village.

Even at age 68 she is willing to try new ways of cooking.

The future of Solar Cooking!!!!

She baked a cake and was able to sell the cake for $1.00 a slice.  That $20.00 goes a long way towards the family income!