A little more than a year
ago, I wrote about my desire to do feathers well. I have been practicing them a lot and am
improving, although I still have a ways to go.
Besides Daine Gaudynski
and Sally Terry, I have added Peggy Holt to my favorite feather stitchers. They each have a different take on how to
make them and I think the more ways you know how, the more applications you can
successfully manage.
To recap how I do
feathers:
Most quilters will
instruct you to feather all the way up one side of the spine and then the
other. I do both sides at once. It eliminates backtracking or breaking thread
and it lets you build the whole feather into the space at once. I think you get a more balanced result, too.
I think the keys to good
looking feathers are making elegantly longish tapered shapes and angling them
fairly steeply to the spine. I am
finding that the base feathers establish how the rest of the feathers will look
– so taking care to make them really well helps build the rest of the feather. If
you look at what I did a year ago, those feathers tended to be stubby and
round. They lacked the elegant curve
that I think looks so nice.
The photo below has each example
marked with the corresponding number in this list.
1) I start by drawing a spine and stitching it from the top down,
adding the base embellishment and ending where my first feather will
start. The “top” starts actually a short
ways down from where I want to end. Once
I get back up there, I can decide how I will end the feather.
2) For a traditional
feather, after making the base feathers, I arch out and around, hook into the
first feather, backtrack around the top of the feather and then hook back down
to the spine. I then repeat that on the
other side of the feather. The challenge
with these is the backtracking and the fact you are making a pair each time –
occasionally there are spacing problems.
3) To avoid backtracking
you can make a hooked feather, as Sally Terry does. Start with the same base feathers, then the
next feather is slightly shorter – where it meets the previous feather you arch
the second higher and away. No
backtracking, but you still are making pairs.
4) Dianne Gaudynski shows
that it looks good to make each feather individually, but spacing them close
together. It’s that spacing that
challenges me. You can see where I
wobbled mightily at the last. I got
distracted by something.
5) Here’s a completed
traditional feather.
6) Finally there are
Dream Feathers that Peggy Holt makes.
These start with a base shape.
You make a series of feathers arching away from and to one side of the
base. These get longer and longer,
because you return to the starting point each time. Then the back of the longest feather becomes
the spine for the top row of the feathers.
Once those feathers get long, you return to the first side. You end up with this fabulous undulating
curve of feathers. She shows how to use
a variety of base shapes, but I like this simple curl best.
7) Another feather
application is the feather garland that I have devised (but it’s probably not
original). You make one feather with its
inner edge towards the middle, make another feather facing it and bit
longer. When you arch around and hit the
first feather, make the third feather facing the same way as the first – and so
on. This works really well in narrow
borders and sashing.
While Dream Feathers are ideal for borders, when arranged symmetrically, you can fill any shape with them. For today’s practice I decided to try making a block of Dream Feathers.
I
started out by marking the boundaries of the area I wanted to quilt as well as
the initial base shape. I also ended up
marking the central rosette (not in the photo).
The feathers themselves are freehand.
While they don’t exactly match up with the others, the overall effect is
one of symmetry and movement.
I liked the result so much (in spite of my
wobbles) that I bound it and hung it up in my studio!
10 comments:
Very nice quilting!!!! Keep practicing.
"I still have a ways to go." Are you kidding????? Your feathers are STUNNING!!!! How could you possibly make them better? This is what I aspire to but have not yet achieved. Stop nitpicking your quilting and just enjoy all the praise that you are certain to receive. They are so beautiful.
I would say you have accomplished quilting beautiful feathers. They look wonderful!
Beautiful wall hanging! I, too, love making beautiful Peggy Holt feathers. Her book is priceless.
Glad you found your way to do feathers. It's absolutely gorgeous!
Love your feathers - you are doing wonderful quilting! ~Jeanne
Love your feathers - you are doing wonderful quilting! ~Jeanne
Love it. I also discovered Peggy Holt's book recently and have been practicing a bit. However, you are way ahead of me. Your feather quilting looks absolutely beautiful.
I don't quite get how you make the complex shapes in the last example, but they are amazing.
I was so impressed with your feathers and thought i must look up Peggy Holt. My husband just picked up library books i had requested .. before reading your post, and what should i find, but Peggy Holts book "Dream Feathers" It is fabulous and i have promptly ordered it through Fishpond, it is destined to become my "go to" for feathers... lots of practice in my future
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