Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2011: "Jello Anyone?"

This is my entry in the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2011 "Art in the Kitchen."  The full schedule is is at www.saqami.blogspot.com. The exhibit begins in Flint MI in Sept. and my city, Menominee MI, will

have this exhibit in April/May of 2012. My inspiration was the 1950s pastel colors, pin-up girls, jello and aprons. I began with googling 1950s kitchen appliances. I was getting the 1940s and the 1950s style and colors mixed up. I realized that pastels with black and white were the colors of the '50s as in the '50s diners so the floor became black and white checkered and appliances were still white in this decade.  Pink is my favorite color and I chose the cupboards to be pink, the walls in turquiose and the counter top black. There is a ton of shiny chrome in the '50s so the edge of the counter and the handles of the cupboards, the stove hardware were all appliqued in a silver lame fabric. The clock was inspired by the game Yoville on Facebook when they had a '50s theme!! The woman is inspired by the pin up girl of the times but with a family friendly wardrobe! Aprons were hot then and I designed the top of the apron to be heart shaped. Rick rack was also popular and I added baby rick rack on the apron. I also noticed sleeves were gathered into the armhole and there was a pointy cuff. Pumps were fashionable in the '50s as well as rhinestone jewelry. Her hair is black to stay within the color scheme I had selected. The jello in the mold idea came about because it was a big dessert item at the time. I created the whipping cream decorations around the jello by "gooping" white paint around the jello and on the woman's finger. I embellished blue glitter in the hair, rhinestones for the necklace and earring, silver paint to accent the clock, salt and pepper shakers, and stove details. The woman's face was too small to applique so I drew it on the fabric with markers and detailed it with paint and cosmetic "blush." This was a total fun quilt to make because it was fun researching the details and then creating it in fabric. The quilts are sized 20" x 24". The title of the quilt is "Jello Anyone?" and is for sale on the exhibit tour. I can't wait to see how the other artist interpreted the kitchen theme.