Sewing Saturday

The above quilt, "recover" was done for the Project Quilting" challenge this week. I'm new to this challenge, but a longtime watcher of the show "project runway" that inspired it. 

The challenge is to design and make a quilt within one week, following the parameters given.

This time the challenge was to use the panetone colors of the year, gray and yellow. blech. So... this was a real challenge for yours truly... not enjoying gray. Guess what  I discovered? 

I like these grays!

On the mantel for January!

When I heard the challenge, I knew I wanted a mantel quilt for January that reflected my word of the year, "recover" DH said a lotus represents rebirth. I remembered all the pics I took at the waterlily garden in Denver and thought.... okay.... and interpreted the water in gray fabrics and the lotus in yellows.

 I used a combination of piecing strips, and applique of tiny strips over those, for the background, including a hand marbled by me gray fabric of swirls. I cut petals in yellow shades from cream with gold flecks to strong yellow solids for petals and a honeycomb fabric with bug for that center pod.

My machine is acting up so when I started quilting, and knew I planned to use mylar and metallic threads, I prepared the piece without a back to see how the tension would be heavily quilting the petals

It was fine after I adjusted the bobbin tension.

note I pulled the top of the quilt to the back of the peltex and glued it as I knew how I planned to finish the edge. 

since the tension was fairly good,  I went ahead and cut a backing fabric, put a line of fusible web along the edges of the backing, pinked it and pressed it over the folded over top edge. 

My plan was to catch this in the quilting of the whole.

finished back with pinked edges

I'm only sorry you can't see the sparkling metallic threadwork.... it adds so much

The last thing was to add the square silver beads... just as a  new vertical line to balance all the horizontal lines.

Designing for fabric artists doesn't stop at the initial line drawing... it goes into texture of threads, and 3-D elements.

Thank you to the organizers of this challenge, for inspiring me to make a quilt that I love, one that symbolizes my word of the year. 

Now the color of the month at RSC is pink... lovely warm happy pink

I know I'll be doing another endless diamond block in pink, already cut and waiting for handwork. 

I am choosing fabrics to make a winter sweater wall hanging so this pink scrap worked it's way in

And I wanted to ink on fabric too, so I did a quick face and will surround her with applique, to gift one of you if you like when she's finished.

It's not easy to be creative these days.... I am constantly disturbed by the violence in my country.

Linking to

project quilting

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/
off the wall Fridays 
http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/
can I get a whoop whoop Fridays  

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays 

 oh Scrap Sundays 

scrap happy Saturdays

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts
lovelaughquilt.mondays