Sunday, May 30, 2010

Back to work on Ingrid's fireweed quilt









I started this quilt last Fall, thinking I would complete it for my daughter, Ingrid, for Christmas.  The background was pieced and quilted, and I actually had all of the components laid out on the design wall.  I knew that I wanted to do the buds on top of the stalk with beads.  This is an early summer fireweed-they bloom from the bottom.  by the end of summer, the blossoms are at the top and the lower part of the plant has begun to go to seed.  Anyway,  I had many other projects that I was trying to complete for Christmas, and I didn't want to rush the process with this one so I put it away for a while.  then I spent January and February making little valentine quilts for my loved ones, March took me to Anchorage for the Alaska Fiberfest.  When I got home, I needed to get quilts ready for the Whale Fest Art Show and the Crab Festival Art Show.  I was really procrastinating.  I had gotten so far from the quilt that I didn't know where to start.

This morning I got everything out and got to work.  Here you can see my background stalks fused and sewn to the quilt.  Each flower will eventually have a bead in the center.  Then, I sewed on the foreground stems, and started to sew on the leaves but after I broke two needles, it was time to quit for the day.  The leaves are made of tulle, and I have yoyo style blossoms with bead pistils and stamens.  When I make pieces like this, the back is a mess.  I want the quilting to be the first layer, then I put on the fused pieces, and finally the forground pieces which will be 3-D.  Anyway there is alot of thread!  I put a false back in the piece to cover up the mess and quilt in the ditch with invisible thread to hold the back to the front anywhere that I reasonable can.  How much more quilting does it need at this point?  My quilts hang straight and square so my process must be adequate.  This quilt will have three lines of quilting at the top on the checkerboard section which is below the hanging sleeve which helps with the stability of the hanging sleeve.  I will post an update when I get the rest of the fireweed sewn on.  I still don't have a clear vision of the beaded buds, but it will come to me as I work.

1 comment:

  1. I have many similar problems on the back of my work. I too, put false backs on them. I am working on that problem. Your color contrast looks great. A lovely little quilt.

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