12 X 12 Poetry Quilt Challenge

So the 12 X 12 challenge this year at Midsomer Quilting is Poetry. I'm not that interested in poetry so I found the inspiration for this difficult to find. Really I just fitted the poems around the images I wanted to create. 

The first one I did was Cats, I couldn't decide which cat it represents, so that's for your own interpretation. It was made using the raw edge applique technique that I frequently use. However rather than joining the layers using heat n bond I used glue. There are some advantages to this, the Bric remains much softer and easy to work with as you build the layers and if you make a mistake it is possible to correct it more easily. I did find that the edges fray more, although I think it thus case it just adds character to the image. I really enjoyed the free motion quilting of this piece, a simple design done in rayon thread.

My second one was a bit rushed and had I had more time the background would be much more detailed. When I was looking for a wildlife themed poem I kept coming across 'The Maldives Shark' and it stuck with me. I wanted to experiment with creating an image by thread painting rather than the layers of fabric that I normally use. I'm quite pleased with how the shark turned out in the end. This was my second attempt in fact, as with the first I forgot to use a stabiliser and was a used to much thread, so it got very crumpled. The pilot fish were really tricky because they were so small, if I had more time I would have done them again too.

Pop cats 2

I wanted to have another go at my pop cats that I did a couple years ago. The original pop cats was really large and time consuming. This one is much scaled down and all in all from design to almost completion (I have still got to put the back on it) it's about a days work.

Instead of bonding the fabric together I glued the layers of fabric. The reason for trying this method was that when you use something like heat n bond the fabric can get very stiff. It's also possible to move a piece if you get it in wrong place.

Each cat is made of 4 colours of fabric, the three different shades which make up the cat and the orange eye fabric that was the same for all 4 cats.

Finished Tiger quilt

I just realised I never posted a picture of the tiger quilt after I completed it, so here it is. This is quilted ans backed. The free motion quilting you can just make out in the image was quite tricky because of its size. I used a newly bought extension table which helped a bit to support the quilt. The thread is different in different areas to try and tone it in. In some cases I used variegated thread, but coloured sections in with pens to help it tone in a bit better.

New pixelated quilt project

My tiger quilt took hours and hours to produce, but the overall effect was successful and this gave me the motivation to have another go. This time I wanted to produce a smaller picture that would be easier for someone to accommodate on there wall. In order to make a smaller finished piece successfully still represent the image I made my squares smaller. Each square is just quarter of an inch. Too small to sew together obviously, so they are fused. I have marked the fabric I am bonding them to, so that I keep them in the correct location. I think this project is going to be another long one!

Etsy Shop Open!

I've just set up a shop on Etsy called 'QuiltsDeb': 
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/QuiltsDeb?ref=search_shop_redirect

On the shop at the moment are my bags like the one below and more quilts.

I will update it in a few weeks with more of my quilts.

Textiles bags

I've started producing fabric handbags using whatever funky fabric I can find. Here are a few examples...

Fishes Quilt

The last few months have been busy with marathon training and job applications which hasn't left much time for my art, so this piece has taken a long time to complete.

I was experimenting with some shot tulle to give the fishes a shine. Also did a lot more quilting to the background than I have done before. Typically for me I am not completely happy with the result, so I'll have a go at some fishes another time.