Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 44

Starry Night - Front
24" H x 24" W

Have you ever started a quick and easy project, then decided to change one or two things only to find yourself hours later enmeshed in a project that is neither quick nor easy? That is precisely what happened to me when I took on the assignment of doing a "Starry Mess" practice piece.

"Starry Mess" is the latest in Leah Day's free motion quilting patterns of overlapping designs. The idea behind the designs are that they are easy to do and quickly secure the quilt top, batting and backing together. They are best used on comfort versus show quilts or art quilts.

What I realized when looking at "Starry Mess" was that this design just didn't call out to me. I liked the stars, but not the mess. I knew I had to tweak it in order to keep myself engaged in the lesson. I began by asking myself where I would like to see stars quilted. I visualized them in the sky background of traditional star blocks.

Tweak number one was to piece an oversized star block I could practice on. It took more time than just selecting a night sky fabric from my stash, but not that much more time. Tweak number two was to add a border to the block. Also, simple, but more time. The problem started when I debated about which fabric to use for the border. The one that made the most sense was the night sky. This lead to tweak number three. How did I distinguish the border from the block? I would add a folded strip in the seams  between the block and the borders. That tweak was a major learning experience.

Detail from Starry Night

The final tweak was modifying the free motion quilting pattern so that each star stood out, but so that it was still one continuous line of quilting. I achieved this by adding a line with a loop in the middle or alternating stringing stars with loops. A modification I am considering for the border is to alternate stars with spirals along a string. I think it could be quite effective.

Detail from the Back Side of Starry Night

Working on a project like "Starry Mess" to a point where it morphs into my interpretation of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is precisely why quilting calls to me. I may think I want quick and easy. What I thrive on is discovery and seeing a project take on a life of its own.

Quilting Along with Leah Day - Week 34

Front side detail of Flowing Lines

If you click on this image
you just might be able to
see the subtle stitches
forming the bark

Once again, Leah's assignment and my current artwork collided in a perfect fit. I needed to pre quilt a tree to add to the piece I am working on and Leah started a series of patterns based on Flowing Lines. I instantly (OK when I woke up the day after seeing the assignment for the first time) thought tree bark.

I am very fortunate to have a studio with large picture windows that overlook a lake that is bordered by cattails, brush and the occasional tree. My Bernina sits just a few feet from the window. So, when I look up from my work, I can watch the birds at the feeder, the ducks, geese and now coots on the lake, and study the trees. Nothing like looking at bark when you are trying to create it.

I chose a batik with multiple hues and values to represent the tree. It is the right fabric for the artwork. It really captures the light, shadow and variety of color in a tree. It is the wrong fabric if you want to share your free motion quilting with a thread that blends into the fabric. This is something you really have to see in person. Nevertheless, I have included a close-up and the backside so that you can see the stitches.

BACKSIDE detail of Flowing Lines

I followed the flowing line premise, just with a couple of tweaks. My tree is 51" long. Obviously for the bark to make sense the flowing lines needed be vertical and not horizontal. It didn't make sense and wouldn't be feasible to make each line 51" long. So the lines are closer to 9" - 12" done in staggered rows with the occasional knot (knot in a tree not made from thread) thrown in.

Confession - I have been quilting Flowing Lines and its numerous cousins first on my own and then modified based on Leah's designs from her 365 series for years. They invariably are just what I need to quilt a sky, lake, tree or beach. Therefore, branching out on the very first lesson was natural. It is the organic feel of this pattern that draws me back again and again.