It’s almost March, so in Vancouver our thoughts are turning to Spring flowers and Cherry Blossoms. I’ve been working on an entry for the annual textile art exhibit Cherry Blossoms: A Textile Translation which will be on display in April at the Silk Purse Arts Centre in West Vancouver.
While I was working on ‘Circles of Hope and Joy’ (see previous post), I started designing my piece for the Cherry Blossoms exhibit. I felt like making another circle-based quilt, tall and skinny.
For this design, I used Microsoft Paint to draw circles and curves. Then I printed it out on 4 pieces of legal size paper. I taped them together, then traced the design lines onto freezer paper (my favorite way to make templates for cutting fabrics).
I selected a variety of fabrics that said ‘Spring’ to me – a beautiful floral and striped pink print fabric, a few pink and green solids, and coordinating bias tape. Below are the fabrics pinned to my design wall, as I audition various colors of bias tape. (I decided the dark pink tape was too dark, and swapped it for a lighter color.)
I sewed the pieces together and stitched the bias tape on top of the seams. Then I quilted it with vertical matchstick quilting with light pink thread.
For matchstick quilting, I mark lines using a Hera marker, one inch apart. (For fabrics where the mark doesn’t show, I would use painters tape.) I start quilting in the center and work my way out to each side edge. I stitch the marked lines first, one inch apart, going both up and down the quilt. Then I go back and fill in, with somewhat random spacing between lines. (If I think one of the lines is not straight enough, I just ignore it and keep quilting. When I have quilted across the whole quilt, if any lines bother me, I’ll pick out all or part of that line and re-quilt it. But usually, they all look fine.)
Here is my finished art quilt ‘Shades of Pink‘. It is 12 x 31 inches. I have submitted it for the jury process and will know in a couple of weeks whether it’s accepted for the exhibit.
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Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
- Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday
- Can I get a Whoop Whoop? by Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Wonderful color choices. They really reflect the freshnest of spring. How are the edges of your quilt finished?
Thanks for your comment and question. The edges are finished with a facing turned entirely to the back. There are detailed instructions on my Tips and Tutorial page.
Just curious…do you use a twin needle for your bias tape? Or…just go up one side and back the other? I admire your curves…it’s a very pretty piece! Good luck with your entry!
Thanks for the comment and the question. I stitch the bias tape on each edge, trying very hard not to stretch it while sewing. I stitch the outside curve first. Then I press the tape, and sew along the edge of the inside curve. And I try to remember to go in the same direction on both sides – to reduce the chance of having drag lines in the tape.
Love how it turned out!!
I also often use Microsoft Paint, especially to resize and print my designs. Without a lot of fuss, just a bit of slicing and gluing the paper, I can get a sense of scale and impact, and can use the print out as templates. Knowing the interesting pieces of yours I have admired in the past, I feel somewhat reassured and encouraged that you also use a free, simple tool! Thanks for sharing your process.
I love free, simple, easy to use tools!
Amazing! I admire your beautiful creations and enjoy learning how you create such amazing art! Thanks for sharing such detail.
I like the design and the use of bias tape, defining the curves!
Always beautiful work. I enjoy seeing your process.
I’ve noticed you have a lot of nifty quilts with circles in them–I appreciate seeing how you do it!