The Armadillo and the Cow-finished

 Earlier this week (here and here) I shared some in process pictures and the story behind my latest art quilt, The Armadillo and the Cow.  I'm back today to share pictures of the final piece.

The Armadillo and the Cow.  c. Shannon Conley, 2021, 35"h x 49"w, Photo Mike Cox

The edges are finished with couched bright pink chenille yarn, and I love the festive feel of the brightly colored trim.  All the pink trim and pink/black doilies came from my trim and lace collection.  The little bright pink bits along the top were remnants from the vintage doilies I used to cover the head and legs.  The green trim is some that was in my stash from Georgia (thanks Georgia!) which I think she dyed a long time ago.  

The rubber stoppers were sewn on with sparkly Ricky Tims Razzle Dazzle thread, so you can see them sparkle if you look from the side.  The quilting was tricky since you only get one shot when quilting through thick paper, but the rainbow thread really makes me smile.

His head is mounted on a wire, so while not really a true bobble head, it does bounce if you bop him on the nose.  I adjusted his eye a little to make it look like he's glaring a bit suspiciously at the cow.  Like he can't quite tell whether she is having more fun than he is.

When you look at the side view you can see the dimension a little more.  The armadillo body is held on with magnets so it can easily be removed if I need to work on the background.  It protrudes about 4-5 inches from the background.  The cow is mounted on springs about 1.5" from the background, so she boings nicely if you tickle her.

I love how this turned out.  I'm still working on a hidden frame for it (mounted to the back to provide support), but it just makes me happy to see it on my design wall.  I'm still trying to think of a name for the armadillo and the cow, so feel free to leave any suggestions in the comment box!