Claude and Claudia: Tropical Dreams

I finished this project in the fall of 2020 with the plan to hang it on the wall, take a photo of the finished project, then do a blog post about my creation process.  Then I procrastinated on hanging it until May of 2021.  

So without further ado I present: Claude and Claudia: Tropical Dreams.

This project began as so many of my projects do... sorting items in my craft room to find inspiration.  Years before her passing, my grandmother had shipped a box of patterns and projects in various stages of completion.  Separated into whatever spare box she had available, some projects have clear patterns, some include a hand-sketched idea of an end quilt size, and then there are several random projects with multiple pieces cut, but no instructions.  With these projects my grandmother would typically complete one block, then pack away several additional pre-cut bits and pieces to finish additional blocks of the same theme at some later date.

The box I opened on this evening had one completed block inside with a couple who had been completed with a combination of acrylic paint and applique.  Below this block were several more prepared blocks with the couple drawn in fabric pencil, some blocks had features painted, some were just the outline, and a few had clothing pieces pinned in place waiting to be sewn later.

This pattern reminds me of a grown-up version of Sunbonnet Sue.  I've done some searching online but cannot find a specific name for this couple, so I decided to name them Claude and Claudia

My initial thought had been to complete the blocks that my grandmother had started, but I felt that the way she had finished the hat looked a little flat with the one color, and the brim seemed heavy in the front.  I determined I wanted to do one block from scratch using the original pattern, and see if I could come up with a more realistic finish for Claudia's hat.

I began by tracing the original pattern from one of the unfinished blocks onto tracing paper, then used that to trace the pattern onto my base fabric.  I chose linen as my base, so I taped the edges with masking tape to keep the loose weave from fraying while I worked on the piece.

My next step was to determine which parts of Claude and Claudia should be acrylic paint, fabric, or embroidery thread.  
I then traced the reverse of the clothing onto the paper side of fusible interfacing and roughly cut around each piece.

Turning to my fabric stash, I picked through my cotton fabrics to find complimentary outfits for Claude and Claudia.  I ironed the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the fabrics, cut them out on the pattern lines, and ironed the clothing in place on my base fabric.

I chose to paint the back shoulders of Claudia's dress, and Claude's shirt and tie, along with their facial features.  In this image the painting is done and the clothing is ironed on, but not yet appliqued. 

I used felt for the hats to add some texture.  Claudia's hat looks much more realistic with the darker shade under the brim and the lighter shade on top.  I machine appliqued the clothing and hats using the button stitch setting on my machine, then I added some lace and ribbon embellishments to Claudia's outfit.

This is why I have a big jar of buttons!  They are so useful!

I had been thinking a lot about vacations while working on this project... both past vacations and all the vacation plans we had made, cancelled, remade, and re-cancelled throughout 2020, so I decided to theme this piece as a tropical dream.  I dug into my stash of batiks, pulled out some tropical prints, and made appliques using the same technique I'd used for the clothing.  I made more appliques than I had room for so that I would have a variety of objects to play with on the design.

I settled on a combination of florals, ocean themes, and I sketched some additional tropical features to embroider later.  After pressing all the pieces in place, I machine appliqued the pieces down.  

Next came the hair.  I chose to use a punch needle for the hair for both Claude and Claudia.  (This is a technique used in making rugs, where the thread is punched through the fabric from the back leaving a loop of thread on the front of the piece).  Claudia's hair is on the longest setting for a full look.  Claude's hair is on the shortest setting 

I used several different embroidery stitches on the beach to differentiate the sand, foamy water line, waves, and the horizon.  The white thread has bits of glittery strands to add an iridescent reflection on the water line.   I also attached a few small seashells on the seashore.  

Claude's side of the panel has a coral reef applique scene along with a tropical drink served in a coconut shell.