Blogger's Quilt Festival

Last night a friend asked if I was going to enter the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  I emailed back and told her that I was passing on it this year.  As they say on The Quilt Show (Alex and Ricky) "Every Day is a New Day!"   So today is a new day and I have decided to enter.
I am happy to enter my favorite art quilt of the year into this show.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 14″x 17″

Special techniques used : decorative machine stitches, hand embroidery, couching

Quilted by : Gene Black

Best Category : Art quilt, wall hanging, doll/mini quilt

String Theory

 I love the energy and joy that is shown in this quilt.  I learned a lot about hand stitching and more about the stitches on my machine in making this  piece. From the very start of this quilt I was inspired.  The base fabric, a batik, has lots of visual texture.  In making this quilt, I wanted to add to that texture. I also wanted to add more color to intensify the visual impact of the quilt. I also happen to love bright bold colors.

As I worked on this quilt I noticed a flow begin to develop. Areas were stitched, not in a planned order, but rather as inspiration came. I let the quilt “tell me” what it wanted rather than trying to plan everything out.  Symbols that have personal meaning, such as the spiral, were incorporated into the design.  There are a lot of organic shapes that emerged as the quilt took form.

Various areas were filled with hand stitches but also some machine stitches.  In places, threads were woven through other stitches.  Much like our lives, the combination, working together added strength to the whole.

I sometimes used more than one thread in the needle as I had sewed.  This allowed some subtle color shifts that would not be possible with a single thread.  It also created a few challenges in the hand stitching. It was a great learning process for me.

Detail pictures:

Be sure you go to check out the Blogger's Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side. There are lots of links to some wonderful and inspiring works.