Call me Crazy....

After two days of work on this portrait, I started completely over today.   I just wasn't totally satisfied with it, and I wanted to challenge myself a bit more.  I didn't sleep well last night (long story) and as I lay there in the dark thinking, I realized that one of the pieces I've been the happiest with lately was the tiny quilt using tiny strips leftover from the weird nine patch quilt. Ah-Hah!  Would that work for a portrait?  Isn't it nice how that monstrosity of a nine patch spawned a little bitty idea that I'm now using in this portrait?  Just goes to show you, in this case quantity paid off.

I'm still using the same muslin foundation with the same pattern underneath.  I put new freshly sticky Steam-A-Seam down on this section, and then I started chopping up fabric.  The strips are approximately a quarter inch wide, but while I am using a rotary cutter and ruler for the cutting, I'm not measuring.

Is this a tedious process?  YES!  Each strip must be trimmed individually at each end to make it fit into place.  But I'm enjoying it, so it's okay.

How long is it taking?  I can do about one square foot in a day, at least that's what I did today.  For me one day is about five hours, since I do take breaks and I quit around the time my husband is coming home from work.  At that rate, it will take about 12 days, which is not too bad for a major piece, I think.  Then it will have to be quilted of course.

Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight.