Leaf Pile

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