Spring Thaw - Stitches, Applique and Paint

Spring in the Swamp

A couple of years ago I took this photo of a pair of Canada Geese  swimming around the melting ice in a swamp in the Greenbelt.   Last week I painted a couple of geese on fabric, then I fused some icy puddles of bluish organza to a watery blue background.  I fused the geese to the background as well, stitched their feathers and the reeds around them, and touched up the 'ice' with pearly blue paint.   Then I fused a brighter blue around it (1/2" on each side) and plan to attach it all to an uncut mat.     It looks like the smaller rectangle is transparent 'ice' attached to the brighter blue but it is an illusion.  The bright blue is only a border.  I might extend the reeds into the border to connect the two.  I call it 'Spring Thaw'.

Spring Thaw

Taking Time to Smell the Flowers

And here is my girl among the wildflowers.  The exposure was not quite right but I thought it was a perfect picture of her - so happy to be out in the yard after such a long winter.   Maybe the subject of another quilt?