Otomi Fanciful Creatures Wall Hanging

Description

These pieces are inspired by traditional Otomi embroidery designs. Embroidery of this type is made by indigenous people from the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Typical designs are fanciful animals, flowers, and leaves. The embroidery is usually a satin-stitch which is very labor intensive. I’ve always loved these designs but I wanted to reproduce them as appliqués using mostly Kaffe Fassett fabrics. When using fabrics with large designs, it is important to cut them out very carefully. This method is called “fussy-cutting” in quilting terms.

All of the figures are machine stitched in place.  After all the designs have been sewn in place, the background is quilted using the free-motion method. All of the fabrics are 100% cotton. The pompoms are attached when the back cover is added.  All of the pillow covers are signed in the back. The pillow insert is not included, but you can purchase pillow forms from many locations.

This is a wall hanging rather than a pillow cover. The design is very similar to the pillow cover with the dark blue background.  Because I was not limited to the size of a standard pillow, I just started designing without worrying about the dimensions.  I had recently seen a gorgeous otomi cape that had beautiful leaf designs on it, so I decided to incorporate those into this piece. The figures are a large bird in flight and a rooster. Most of the animals and flowers were created from Kaffe Fassett fabrics. The rooster design reminds me of all the European decor I have enjoyed on my travels. The multicolored pom-poms are handmade in Mexico. I hand-embroidered all of the delicate stems as well as the butterfly legs and antennae. I attached a quilt sleeve to the back for ease in hanging. Not including the pompoms, the dimensions are approximately 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches.