‘Synchronized Swimming‘ was made for a SAQA regional exhibition “Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth“. I posted the finished quilt on November 30, but didn’t have time to include any details about my inspiration and construction process.
I’ve had an idea for a long time (since 2013 when I researched about fish shapes and schools of fish for this quilt) to make an art quilt featuring schools of fish, swimming in graceful synchronized patterns.
I started by constructing the background. I cut 6″ square pieces from a variety of ocean-colored fabrics, and arranged them from dark to light. I cut curves between the horizontal joins and inserted a few narrower pieces. When I sewed the columns together, I offset the curves from one column to the next, to give it an abstract look.
The next step was to layer and quilt the background, but first I wanted to confirm my color choices for the fish, and experiment with fish sizes. So I cut a few fish from fabric, and a lot more from paper. I pinned them all in place on the background.
For the two schools of smaller fish, I used two different fabrics – both very light blue fabrics with black text – they were the perfect shade of blue – almost white, sort of ‘watery’ looking. And the text adds a modern/abstract element.
For the larger fish, I used a stripey ombre fabric that ranges from yellow-orange to red-orange.
I was happy with the fabric colors and the fish sizes and shapes, so after taking a lot of photos, I removed the fish and quilted the background.
I spray basted the quilt on the design wall. This is the first time I have done this, and it worked really well. You can see the steps I followed in the photos below.
- Pin backing to design wall, smoothing in place, then spray backing with 505 spray (no photo of this step). Carefully pin batting over backing and smooth in place. (I rolled the batting up, and pinned the top in place, then gradually unrolled it over the sprayed backing.)
- Fold quilt top and pin it to the left side of the batting (just to keep it out of the way while spraying). Spray the right half of the batting.
- Unfold the top and smooth the right side onto the sprayed batting. Then fold back the left side of the top.
- Spray the left side of the batting, and smooth the top in place, repositioning as necessary to smooth out all wrinkles.
I unpinned the quilt, and pressed it to heat-set the basting spray, and iron out any remaining wrinkles. Then I machine basted each edge of the quilt, to prevent the corners or sides from coming loose while I was wrestling the quilt through my sewing machine.
I quilted wavy lines across the background with poly-rayon thread. I started about a quarter of the way down and worked up to the top. Then I switched to a darker thread, and worked down to the bottom.
When the quilting was finished, it was time to add the fish. Referring to my earlier photos, I positioned the first school of fish, starting with paper fish, then replacing them with fused fabric fish. Once I was satisfied with the positioning, I fused them in place (right on my design wall, using my cordless iron!). Then I removed the quilt from the design wall, pressed the fish again to ensure they were firmly fused in place, and free-motion quilted the outline of each fish.
I repeated these steps for the second school. For the third school – the largest orange fishes – I fused batting to the back of each one before fusing to the background, to give them some dimension.
‘Synchronized Swimming‘ is 36 x 36 inches. It was started in September and finished in late November, just before the deadline to enter. I’ll find out in January if it’s accepted for the exhibit.
My artist statement is: Sunlight filters down through the aquamarine depths of the Pacific Ocean, illuminating schools of fish dancing and frolicking in graceful synchronized patterns.
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.
Em’s Scrap Bag Moving It Forward Monday
Love Laugh Quilt Monday Making
WIP Wednesday @ The Needle & Thread Network
WIPs on Wednesday at Esther’s Quilt Blog
