January 5, 2010

The Process...Part II

Part II
A view of my Design Wall

This is part II of how I create my art quilts. As you read in yesterday's post, I now have it pinned to the wall. Since my iron is close to my design wall, I can gently fuse any of the fusible pieces while it is still on the design wall. (My design wall is insulation foam covered with cotton batting.) I only "touch lightly" with the iron as I don't know if it will melt or not. I pin the rest of the pieces. I don't want it fused too much as I am still tweaking as I go.

pinned and ready to begin quilting



tracing paper over sketch


The next part is the fun part...quilting it! I begin thinking of how I want to quilt it. One of the tools I use is tracing paper. Since it's a small quilt, I can easily place it over the pattern and sketch desired quilting lines. I never mark the quilt, so this is only giving me a sense of how I want to quilt it when I sit at the machine. (There are many ways to find the perfect quilting lines and I hope to blog about that soon. )


The thread I chose for this particular series of quilts is Mettler No. 60 and Sulky invisible polyester. Both are thin and blend easily into the fabric. I use a combination of free motion and regular machine stitching.
I also have wonderful light in my studio both from the windows and the energy efficient bulbs in my lamps. (I will have to blog about these daylight bulbs that are magnificent!) Then I quilt happily until I like it. As you can see below, the quilting is mostly finished. Now I will pin it back on the design wall and tweak it some more. If I don't like the quilting in a certain part I will remove it and quilt it again. I will probably add some shading, shadows and highlights using thread, paint and/or chalks. These will most likely be matted and framed. I would love to hear your comments about your creative process or a link to your tutorial.

8 comments:

Norma Schlager said...

This is so calm and peaceful looking. Again, your quilting is the perfect complement.

Deborah said...

Thanks for sharing. It is inspiring to see your process.

Susan Nash said...

new years resolutions Vivi?
I see we are in the same "balst off" class....great minds think alike!

Vivian said...

Thanks for the nice comments! I appreciate the feedback.

Anonymous said...

I agree...so calming. Quilting is perfect for it and I will try the tracing paper idea. Thx for sharing. I've subscribed and look forward to more postings.

Ruth said...

Please do blog about your lights - I'd be interested to hear how you get such good lighting.
Interesting posts about your process. I love your beach scenes - one of my most favourite landscapes

Ela said...

I love your beach scenes - one of my most favourite landscapes!

Johwey Redington said...

Thanks so much for sharing your process. I'm very much interested to try it. I love, love, love your work :D