Photo 1: Leaf Pile |
As noted two entries back, Leaf Pile is an outgrowth of a
smaller challenge quilt I made. I wanted
to explore both the leaf theme and Robbi Joy Ecklow’s puzzle quilt approach. It
measures 25”by 31.5” and has taken over 7 months to complete. Mostly I have been staring at it, trying to
figure out how to quilt it and afraid to start. Creating the appliqué collage
had been so tedious and I didn’t want to mess it up. I finally said, “Screw it – just go.” And it
went!
Initially this was supposed to have a different
background. I had taken Ellen Lindner’sInstant Art Quilt course on line and thought I could adapt the torn and
rearranged fabric approach for the background.
But it just didn’t create the look I wanted – I’ll use that background
in some future project since the concept certainly works. After auditioning both light and dark
backgrounds, I settled on a light one. I
also decided to just sew down the appliqué edges with a straight stitch and
then quilt the vein patterns as they exist for each species, because there is
good variety between them. In the
background I quilted the occasional small outline of maple, oak and aspen
leaves and then echoed around them a bit before filling the rest with MacTavishing. The border was alternating leaf outlines that
I echoed around once. (Photos 2 and 3).
I was after texture and enhancement without overwhelming the appliquéd
area. It’s more subtle than the photos
show.
The appliqué leaves were quilted with a variety if almost
matching colors by Isacord. The background thread was a cream Isacord and the
leaf outline in the border was a variegated yellow/tan by Sulky and echoed in a
brown Isacord. I like the sheen these
threads have.
Overall, I am happy with the result. I learned a lot and would like to do more of
this.
Photo 2: Border and background quilting detail |
Photo 3: Applqué, border and background quilting detail |
2 comments:
Monica, that is spectacular!! You have really grow into your art. :)
Wow Monica you really are a superhero! Love the quilt!
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