Making Faces with Melissa Averinos

 

 

I fell hard for Melissa's pieced face quilt as I watched her progress on it on Instagram. Then when she posted that it was going to be on display at QuiltCon and she was going to be there as well, I had high hopes of meeting her!

Although our paths didn't cross at QuiltCon, fast forward a couple of months, and after a bit of back and forth, Melissa agreed to come to my house in Colorado for a weekend of teaching and a slumber party with a wonderful group of women I had in mind (she wrote a bit about that process here).

Melissa (and her teaching methods) are brilliantly mindful and thoughtful. I really had no idea what to expect, although I had a few preconceived ideas based on the supply sheet.

The class started with a lesson on face drawing. If you take a look at my before the lesson drawing compared to my after lesson drawing, you will see that her methods are very effective.

 

 

By the time we had practiced our face drawings for a bit, we were all restless to get to work with some fabric. Melissa encouraged us to work on a couple of faces at a time and not get too attached as we worked. I love how this method kept my personal need for perfection in check.

Here is a partial of the progression of one of my faces

 

 

   

I'm still working on redhead, and I'm fortunate that Fozzy hasn't discovered all those pieces on my designboard are not yet tacked down!

 

Here's the other face I started. I've started grid stitching her and will keep you updated as I get further along. 

 

 

I love this photo, it's really uncanny how much everyone's faces resemble the maker in features or personality. And then the proud (as she should be) teacher in the front.

 

Thank you so much Melissa for investing in us, we are so grateful to you and I'm so excited to see where the Making Faces journey takes you! You're an absolute treasure!

xo, Penny

 

Comments

[Gene Black]

Those are pretty cool. I have taken a Stitched Portraits class on Creftsy but I have only watched it so far.

[jodi]

Ohh, what fun! I love them all! And I love how you started with a flowery fabric as the background! I noticed right away from an earlier post of Melissa's how everyone's look like selfies :-)

[Colleen]

I saw a dog portrait once that I just loved and tried to take the class but missed out.
Now this is so cool I can't believe you got her to leave her home on Cape Cod ( if I read correctly) to camp out at your Colorado home to teach you and your friends.....what a really nice person she must be and what a great cook and you must have a super duper home.
I like that you were "free" to use those fabrics for you ladies hair.

I checked out the face 1 quilt and wow it is spectacular she didn't mention the size? Do you know?
I'd wish to make portrait quilts of my grandchildren.....catch their faces in their youth
Colleen