Well, I’d gotten permission from Billy Tackett to do it again! I had to purchase new photo editing software, as my PC crashed, and my laptop didn’t have the software I needed. This would be the first time I’d given my new “technique” a try with a colored image. I couldn’t wait to get started!!

My chief problem was deciding what size I was going to attempt. I’d found out, through trial & error, with the black-n-white version there are some details that should be made larger. Given that some of the pieces of fabric I’m cutting end up being about 1/8″ thick, I run the high risk of pieces coming apart in my hands. The flip side was if I made it too big, would I overwhelm myself. See my problem?

The next problem I had was trying to figure out how I was going to cut all these pieces out without damaging my hands. I loved the scissors I was using, but they were causing too many problems. I’d written to the manufacturer, to see if they had any suggestions. Plus, I was starting to acquire a small collection of smaller sized scissors to try. I’d gone back to the manufacturer that I liked, and found a plastic handled version of my favorite scissors. (I now own at least three pairs of them.)

The deciding factor ended up being the background fabric. No joke. I’d found the fabric I thought would be perfect to use, but I had a limited amount of it. 

I’d already had most of the main colors of blues and greens already purchased and waiting to go. I still needed to pick a variety of reds and pinks. It wasn’t until I was farther into cutting out the major pieces that I realized I was missing a dark blue. None of my local quilt shops had what I was looking for. I called a friend a couple of states over, we made some plans, and I was visiting her soon-ish. We found a couple of fabrics I was quite pleased to use.  

The print in the upper left corner of the photo is the print I’d purchased from Mr. Tackett previously. I was trying to get color matching together, and work on the shading. Please keep in mind, I’m partially color blind. Meaning, I have problems distinguishing shades of blues and purples.

Since this version of Zombie Sam is part of Mr. Tackett’s “Dead, White, & Blue” series, I didn’t want to use any black fabrics. I wanted to stay with utilizing as much of the patriotic theme as I could. If I used a few midnight navy blue fabrics, I could still get the stark contrast I needed – and still stay within the red, white, and blue theme. Plus, I was curious. Very curious as to how the fabrics would play together.

It was shortly after this, I had to put the project away. We were going to be moving, and I needed to focus on packing. Rolling Zombie Sam up and putting him in a box wasn’t pleasant. I knew it would be a few months before I’d get a chance to get back to him. I was losing my “vertical light wall” (my patio door), and I’d have to come up with a different solution. (My husband made me a light wall!! Woo hoo!!) It’d be almost 8 months before I could get back to work with this project. All my previous in-process photos came in handy when I was able to start cutting fabric again. Plus, I now had a deadline. I had just a little over two weeks to turn what puzzle pieces I had, make new ones, and get the quilt completed. This is what I’d started over with.

2 weeks. What could I get done in two weeks. Yes, I had a job. Yes, I had a new house to settle into. Yes, we were having a family holiday.

Step by step, piece by piece, Zombie Sam was coming alive on my design wall. I ended up having to use a couple of “plain” or “solid” fabrics, because I couldn’t find the color I needed/wanted in a print or batik. And still work progressed. I’d learned another lesson from working on the previous Zombie Sam… once you finish a section, fuse it down and don’t look back. Keep moving.

Yes, I did take an iron to my design wall. There was no way I’d be able to get all the little pieces off, keep them in place, and move it all to an ironing board. My design wall was built out of cork and has a wool/cotton batting pinned over it. The image of Zombie Sam to my right? That’s what my base pattern looks like. I was having trouble placing pieces, so my husband suggested I print out my pattern and use a 1:1 ratio (1 to 1 scale) for placement. Smart man, my husband. Things moved even faster after that.

It got to the point that it felt like Sam was building himself, and I was along for the ride. Right up until I was working on his hair on the right side of the piece. Remember my telling you about the problems I have with blues and purples? Yeah, it came into play. My beta viewers had a tough chore with trying to get me to understand what was wrong and how to fix/modify it. I couldn’t see the problem, but they could. Thank goodness for beta viewers!! What I’d do without them, I don’t want to contemplate.

And work continued…

I was moving along really fast. Pieces were going into place without too much fuss. I was excited! I’d spent quite some time trying to figure out how I was going to get the lettering to “bleed” the same way Mr. Tackett made it. For whatever reason, I decided to measure how much background fabric I had left at the bottom of the image. Then, I measured how much space the bleeding letters took. I. was. 4. inches. of. fabric. too. short.

How the heck am I supposed to fix this? I can’t get any more of the fabric, the store went out of business. I didn’t have time to wait for any kind of mail order to arrive. Plus, I sure as heck wasn’t going to remove what I’d gotten fused into place and moved to a different background fabric. One of the sayings I’d grown up with was “Make do, or do without”.

I would have to do without. And still make it work. Through some creative cutting and trimming, I hoped I’d still have a versatile finished piece.

Unbeknownst to Mr. Tackett, I was making this piece for him. In truth, the idea originated with his wife when I’d brought the finished black-n-white version to St. Louis. Things happened, and that project idea fell by the wayside. I still thought about it. When Mr. Tackett announced he was going to be opening his own gallery, I thought this would be a perfect way to say, “Thank you! Congratulations and Best Wishes!!” from me.

My deadline? To have it delivered to Mr. Tackett prior to the gallery grand opening. The last I’d heard, Mr. Tackett was going to aim for something towards Thanksgiving-ish. He said he’d give me a couple of weeks notice, so I could arrange to have the weekend off. I really did not want to miss this! Little did he know, he was setting my final deadlines. (I’m sneaky like that.)

Given that I’d cut the lettering off from the design, I still had to figure out what final size to make this piece. I wanted to make sure Mr. Tackett had at least a couple of different options open; whether he wanted to hang it up or if he wanted to actually use the piece. Once it was out of my hands, I had no further say. I just wanted him happy with the end result. Let’s face it, what he sent me to work with wasn’t quite what he was getting back.

The quilting was going to be a bit of fun. Playing on the whole “red, white, and blue” theme, I found quilting thread that was variegated with those colors. The background was quilted with an off-white, to blend in. The rest of Zombie Sam was done with the variegated thread. It was fascinating watching where the colors would pop up or show up. All in all, I liked the overall effect. It didn’t surprise me when Mr. Tackett noticed it. One day, I may ask him if he’s figured out  the rest of the details I’d put in to this particular piece.

The finished piece:

I didn’t know when I’d be seeing Mr. Tackett again, or when the Zombie Sam quilts would be together once more – let alone the four of us together in one place… I asked if it’d be ok to get those photos, as well.

Zombie Sam – Full Color
Completed size: approximately 60 inches square
Raw edge applique, machine pieced, machine quilted
Cotton fabrics, cotton/wool batting
Date completed November 13, 2013

PS: I still can’t say Zombie Sam without smiling.