Sunday, August 11, 2013

Modern Quilting?

I think I have scouted out every modern quilt website available to me.  I am just fascinated by this trend in quilting.   The bright colours, the solids, the movement within the quilt are so eye pleasing and so tempting to try.

I did not want to copy one of the ideas out there, so I have been sketching like crazy!   I have pages and pages filled up trying to find something I liked well enough to try on fabric.  I did 3 small fabric trials and was not happy with any of them.  

Finally I got one!   These were the fabrics I chose to use.  It was a bundle I picked up at our last Canadian Quilters' Association's Quilt Canada conference.   It almost has a linen feel and look to it.  



Here are all my scraps left over from my blocks.  I can't bear to throw them out.   Even though most are too small to use, they just look to good to get rid of.


This is what I ended up with.   If you are guessing circles, then you are correct!   

If you look carefully in the picture above, you will see my hand stitching around the perimeter of the circle.   Below shows you why.  I needed to somehow turn these into  nice clean finished circles and I didn't want to fuse, or machine applique, nor did I want a raw edge.   My solution was to draw my hand stitches tight with a cardboard circle insert to hold the shape. Using spray starch and a hot iron, I pressed the edges onto the back side and flipped the cardboard out.  

It worked!  I was left with a colourful circle ready to be attached to the background.  I will let you know how that goes....




11 comments:

What Comes Next? said...

nice colours - can't wait to see what you created with them

Rosa said...

Wonderful fabrics.Can´t wait to see your quilt.Happy sewing!

sandra said...

Love the fabrics and the ideas of circles I can hardly wait to see what comes next. Sandra

Snoodles said...

This looks so cool! Looking forward to seeing what you create.... :)

Rolanda said...

Great colours...

Mama Pea said...

Love your fabrics! Pretty colors.

~Carla~ said...

That looks like it's going to be a one of a kind!! Love the fabric & colours! :)

CraftyViolet said...

I have tons of scraps too - I can't bear to throw them out either. Right now I'm making another crazy quilt using my serger to use some up. Then I donate the quilt to ChildCan to be given to a child with cancer. So a child gets a quilt and pounds of fabric does not end up in the landfill....oh yeah, the bits that the serger cuts off - I toss them as stuffing for a pillow that goes to the humane society for the puppies or kittens to sit on. I waste very little!!! I like your idea of making circles out of the scraps and putting them on a quilt. The kids might like those too.

Susan J Barker said...

Jackie, I am waiting to see these interesting -- even from the back -- circles! If I might suggest a quicker way to turn under the circular edge...
Using lightweight fusible non woven interfacing, sew the circles to the interfacing so that the fusible and the right side of fabric are facing each other, all the way around the edge using a quarter inch allowance; snip the seam allowance as you would for any curved seam, then make a small slash in the interfacing and turn right side out. Use a chop stick or a pencil to make the turned edge sharp -- do not iron! Once you have the circles ready and in place on the quilt top lightly iron the circle to secure it in place, proceed to either hand applique or machine applique with desired stitch.... try this method on a scrap bit so you understand the process. I guarrantee it will save you HOURS!!

Regina said...

Very interesting, and now you have the makings for crazy quilt postcards!

Watercolour and Textile Artist, Eileen Gidman said...

The project looks interesting. From the pic icon (cropped first pic), I thought you were creating a landscape. Turquoise sky and diagonal colourful ribbons of hillsides. Obviously your excellent choice of colours would work in many projects.