Terry Aske Art Quilt Studio

Here is my next planet quilt – Neptune, one of the gas giants in the solar system. Neptune’s swirling gases create its characteristic blue color. Its powerful winds create the bands and swirls.

I used several photos of Neptune to create my pattern. I had more than enough blue fabrics to choose from. The challenge was to select the correct values. Since I knew the values were very close and might be tricky, I pinned the pieces to the design wall, as I fused and cut them. When I saw them all together, I could see that the third darkest fabric (number 6 on the value scale) was too dark.

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I was able to quickly find another blue fabric that worked better. It is a bit more purple, but the value is much better. And I like how the purple adds interest.

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Then I took all the pieces off the design wall, removed the backing paper and reassembled them on a horizontal surface. I finger pressed the fabrics to parchment paper, starting with the lightest values. I had traced the design lines onto a transparent overlay so I could easily position the pieces.

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After I fused all the pieces to the parchment paper, I carefully peeled the fused planet off the parchment paper and fused it to felt. Below, it is pinned to the background fabric.

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The next step is to quilt contour lines, then I will attach it to the background.

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I’m linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday.

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There is something new on my design wall – the planet Saturn.

My goal is to create several art quilts based on planets of the Solar System. My first choice was Saturn – with its distinctive bands and amazing ring system, it is the most visually interesting planet in the Solar System.

My internet research tells me that Saturn’s colors are quite subtle. The planet has weather bands of pale colors – yellows, browns, greys, and the rings are shades of grey and light brown. (See additional information here about the true colors of the planets.)

However, I had already been captivated by many colour-enhanced images such as this one from NASA. So I choose to depict Saturn with brighter colors. My version of the planet is orange, yellow and pink bands, and the rings are various shades of purple/violet.

I started my design by determining what portion of the planet and rings I wanted to show, and from what angle. I cut the shapes of the planet and rings from felt and positioned them on this lovely batik that looks like a starry sky..

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Then I cut and positioned the fabrics for the planet. I was happy with the colors, but realized the bands were not curved enough. My planet looked more like a slightly curved disc than a sphere.

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So I found a few guides to drawing a realistic-looking sphere. I drew contour lines on a piece of Duralar (a transparent film that can be drawn on) which I pinned over the planet so I could see what changes I needed to make.

Here is the improved version. At this point, the fabrics are backed with fusible web but they are not yet fused together.

Next were the colors for the rings (excuse the bad photo – this was taken at night)

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I have now fused all the fabrics to the felt pieces. Here they are on my design wall, pinned to the background fabric. The background is 20″ x 44″. The finished size will be 18″ wide, and the height will be between 36″ and 42″.

There are several reasons that I fuse and quilt the fabrics to felt before attaching them to the background:

• It will give some dimension to the planet and rings.
• I can quilt the fabrics and felt without having to bury all the thread ends.
• If I make a mistake while quilting, it’s easier to correct than if the items were already attached to the background.

The next steps are to machine quilt the planet and the rings to the felt, then attach them to the background.

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Thanks for stopping by.

I’m linking up with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.

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