Quilt #3: Why Do I Sew

06/19/2006

Indulge me in a bit of a cheat, if you will. I had two quilt projects going on this past week, but didn't quite get finished since I had to travel on business. So, I decided to post one of my favorite projects.

BACKGROUND
I subscribe to Quilting Arts magazine (love it, by the way) and several months back I came across a article about Susan Shie (www.turtlemoon.com). I was immediately enhanted with her technique and style. It is so expressive, so free, so non-traditional! I think I re-read that article 10 times that weekend, and I still refer to it often when I need a burst of inspiration. I knew right away that I had to do something to try her technique out - but what?

A few weeks after reading the article I was at my local quilt club when we were presented with a challenge. Basically, each of us were handed a 12 inch piece of a fabric bolt roll (the kind that the decorator fabric comes on) and were told to make something out of it. One of the ideas was to make a mini-quilt roll. Basically, our instructions were to place felt on the inside to hold quilt blocks, and include pockets for needles, thread, scissors, etc. The outside was to be decorative. Ties were to be included at the end to secure everything inside the roll. I knew right away that I wanted to try out Susan's techniques on this project.

As I drove home - ideas spinning through my head - I decided that I wanted to do something for ME. (Almost every quilt I have ever done has been given away. As of today, I own only one quilt - received it back after my grandmother passed - and the mini-quilts I've been sharing here.) I decided that I wanted it to be personal. So, my idea of a self-portrait was born.





TECHNIQUES
I started with the wonderful orange and yellow batik (still a favorite of mine) and appliqued the fabric pieces using embroidery floss. The goal with the floss is to use big, chunky stitches and switch up the color as much as possible. The hair includes bobbinwork and hand beading with bugle beads. The sewing machine includes seed beads, as well as some chunky, smiley and glow-in-the-dark alphabet beads. The wording and facial features were thread painted, and the background was quilting using what I affectionally call my "stepped on stipple stitch."