We didn't really have a theme this time around, but the chapter in the book was on embellishments, which fit in really well with the recent workshop I took with Mary Stori through my guild. However, because we didn't have a theme, I really struggled to figure out what it was that I wanted to make this month. In the end, I settled on attempting to create an allium out of fabric, as I was seeing them in a number of gardens throughout the neighborhood and the flowers very much intrigue me. In fact, I think I may have to plant some bulbs and include a few of these lovely plants in my garden next year.
My original plan was to feature the allium plant in three different stages of growth in my small quilt, but things rarely go according to plan, do they? I began by thread painting the base of the allium that would still be in "bloom." And here's where I went wrong. I guess I really DO need to hoop up my fabric for threadpainting, as the central portion of the project got incredibly warped. Check out this picture showing just how "unflat" the piece was. Clearly, time for a Plan B.
I cut out the central square of the threadpainted piece and then ironed and starched the heck out of it. In the end, I was able to get it relatively flat, and when quilting it, I did have to leave just a couple of puckers/tucks along the outer edges. I probably should have started over, but by that time, I felt like I'd invested enough time that I was going to make it work, as Tim Gunn might say.
After playing around a bit, I came up with the final composition above, which I'm okay with, although I don't feel like it was terribly inspired or creative. I'd hoped to figure out something to put in the small squares at the bottom, and I do think I'll take it with me to look for some beads or other embellishments that might work; the closest buttons I had on hand were designated too blue by the art quilt group. The bugle beads were added as a final step, as I didn't want to deal with them on top of the other issues I was encountering as I quilted down the central portion of the quilt.
Not sure what I'll tackle next, but I'm leaning toward tackling one of the varieties of hostas we saw at the Boerner Botanical Gardens when we visited with my MIL last Tuesday. Perhaps this one:
1 comment:
Allium is also on my list to add to the garden... I meant to do it last fall but could not choose which varieties I wanted to add. I find them fascinating flowers! I really quite like how the little quilt turned out!
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