Fruit Punch
Fruit Punch
Hand Dyed Cottons, fused, hand and machine quilted
16.5x16.5"
Detail
I had this top sitting around since February. It started out as a color exercise, and then I got distracted and never did anything with it. Now I want to get back to quilting and I thought this would be a good place to pick up where I left off. I looked at it and thought it needed more on the bottom, so I added another set of blocks to finish it.
For those who don't know how I make a quilt, the fabrics I use are all fused first and in the picture above they are fused to the release paper of the Wonder-Under fusible that I always use. I never fuse to a base fabric. None of the pieces are sewn together, only overlapped a tiny bit and fused back onto the release paper or a teflon pressing sheet.
After the top is completed I fuse it directly to cotton batting, preferable Hobbs Heirloom Cotton 80/20 or Fairfield Cotton Classic. If there is any hand quilting I do it before I add the backing. Then I use the Escape Hatch Finish rather than binding, and finally take it to the machine for the quilting.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for coming back to quilting. I really missed your wonderful and colorful work.
ReplyDeletelove your sense of color. you are fantastic!
ReplyDeletethank you for all your inspirations.
That's gorgeous! I'm a new quilter - do you mind if I ask what an Escape Hatch Finish is?
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeletesee the sidebar links for the Escape Hatch Finish, step by step.
Melody
Gorgeous, Mel. Will you still be painting? Of course I love your quilted works, but I also love your painting!
ReplyDeleteKristin in SC
Kristin,
ReplyDeleteI am not very good at mixing painting when quilting or vice versa. I put away all the supplies for one thing and pull out the supplies for the other one. I am still in the painting mode in my brain, so I am fusing fabrics today to get in the groove of working in fabric again.
Quilting!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that you are quilting again. I have followed your blog since I took your class at NQA in 2005(?) I do like your paintings but your quilts really inspire me. Yipee!!!
ReplyDeleteSO obviously the physical mixing of painting vs quilting would be hard to do in a single studio...but do you mean that it's hard to THINK about doing both at the same time? Do you use a different type of mind set (or whatever) for fabric vs painting? Very interesting to think about!
ReplyDeleteCandy in CA
Dear Candy,
ReplyDeleteYes it is the thinking part, as well as the materials part.
You may have noticed in the past that I don't do pictures much in my quilting. I love quilts for the design, the colors as units rather than smooshed, if that makes any sense. Structure and improvisation are more a part of quilting and adding and subtracting too.
Not to mention texture and pattern and stitchery. None of those really happen in the same way with paint.
Different areas of my brain are on alert.
This is really, really funny.
ReplyDeleteFirst you write "For those who don't know how I make a quilt" and then you describe fusing your quilt together. This will make the white gloved quiltpolice go ballistic! Thanks for making me smile.
You're quilts are beautiful but I also love your paintings. I'm inspired to get my paints out again. My daughter quilts and I'm buying up a stash of fat quarters to "try" to make my first real quilt. We enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brenda, Arkansas