Terry Aske Art Quilt Studio

Bridge number 3 on my art quilt (see previous posts for more information about this piece) is the Skybridge (part of the greater Vancouver rapid transit system).   This is the third time I’ve made an art quilt including this bridge.  It is the subject of my quilt ‘Swoop‘ and it’s in the background of ‘Dramatically Diagonal‘ (just recently given an official title).

I created the 3rd bridge using the same techniques as the first 2 bridges.

1. I fused the bridge deck to the front of the quilt (then I stitched the edges from the front – not shown).
2. I fused the sheer interfacing line drawing to the back, and stitched the cable lines from the back.
3. I stitched the cable lines again from the front.

Then it was time to create the W (see this post for information about the real W).  I wanted the W to look realistic and dimensional, but didn’t want to fiddle with overlapping all the small pieces.  I decided to construct it on a base of black fabric.  These are the steps I followed (left to right):

1. I cut the W from a photo I had printed at the desired size, then drew the lines of the shapes of the W with a marker.
2. On the back, I re-traced the lines and marked each section L(ight), M(edium) or D(ark).
3. I placed the W on a piece of freezer paper.
4. I traced the outline of the W on the freezer paper.
5. I cut the W out, and pressed the freezer paper outline onto thin black fabric.
6. I traced the various shapes from step 2 to fusible web and fused it to the back of light, medium and dark rust-colored fabrics.  I positioned the fused fabrics on the black fabric within the freezer paper outline, then fused them in place.
7. Then I carefully peeled off the freezer paper outline.
8. I fused MistyFuse to the back of the black fabric.
9. Then I cut closely around the W.  I left a slight line of black, which I later trimmed even more before fusing the W to the quilt.

I added the gray foreground piece and quilted it, then fused the W in place and quilted it.  Here’s how it looks now.  It just needs a back and a facing.

Here’s how it looks from the back.  I’ve done all the quilting through just a layer of batting – no backing fabric.  Now I’m going to fuse the back on, then apply a facing.  (You can see how I elongated the piece by moving the Skybridge higher and the W lower than they were in my original drawing.)

Thanks for stopping by.  Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.

My newest art quilt is inspired by the photo below.  It was taken from Westminster Pier Park on the bank of the Fraser River in New Westminster BC.   In the foreground is the public art installation WOW Westminster.   In the distance are three bridges that cross the Fraser River.  My working title for this piece is ‘W and the 3 Bridges’.

I cropped the photo, and then used artistic license to rearrange some of the elements.  In my design below (which is a mirror image so I can use it to draw the pattern pieces on fusible web) you can see that I moved the foremost bridge upward so that it isn’t covering the bridge behind it.  I also enlarged the W and moved it down so it isn’t covering the bridge support columns.

I traced my design onto sheer fusible interfacing, to use as an overlay to ensure the correct placement of the water line, and to position the bridges.

First, I constructed and quilted the background (see previous post), and now I am starting to construct the bridges.  Here are the basic shapes of the three bridges pinned in place, and ready to be fused to the background.  I’m going to stitch the details of each bridge with black thread.

First up is Bridge 1, which is a railway bridge.  It was constructed in 1904, and originally had two decks to carry both rail traffic and automobile traffic.  Today it is used only for rail traffic.  You can read more about the history of the bridge here.

Below you can see the steps I used for Bridge 1.

1. I used the sheer overlay to position the fused fabrics on the background, then fused them in place and stitched around the edges with black thread.
2. I used black thread in the bobbin so I could see the outline of the bridge from the back.  Note that at this point, there is batting but no backing fabric.
3. then I cut the sheer interfacing apart and fused this part to the back, aligning it to the stitched outlines.
4. still from the back, I stitched the detail lines for Bridge 1
5. the detail stitching looks good, but will need to be stitched again, possibly with thicker thread.  Later, after the other bridges are done, I will fuse on a backing, and then I will stitch the detail lines a second time from the front.

Come back in a couple of days to see what Bridge 2 looks like.

Thanks for stopping by.  Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative projects to inspire you.