My employer offers an annual employee art show. Last year I submitted my first piece on a whim and I decided to do so again this year. Every time I start a new project, I try to challenge myself by using new techniques or trying new design elements. This project was going to have three new elements for me.
- It was going to be an Art Quilt - a self portrait, to be specific. Something to hang on a wall and not used on a sofa or table.
- It was going to contain curves instead of straight lines
- It was not going to have any blocks, but be free-form and sew-as-you-go.
In homage to my new found friends at
Outdoor Afro, I also decided that I was going to place myself outside, doing something that I love.
First I sketched the basic design on graph paper and then transferred it onto interfacing in the actual dimensions of the finished project. (that's a 12" X 12" grid square)
I then traced the shape of the body onto fusible interfacing and cut out the parts of the person (me!) to ensure that it was the right scale for the rest of the work. Piece by piece, I cut out fabric for the body parts, leaving a seam allowance, and fused it to the interfacing.
Once the body was finished, I began cutting and sewing the background, laying the finished parts back on the interfacing to ensure that I still in the right range for size and pattern.
When I was finished piecing the project, I hand quilted it using DMC 5 floss and big stitches.
Finally, I added a sleeve to hang it and bound it in a dark brown. Here is the photo taken when I entered it in the show. I'll be sure to get another, once it is hung.
This quilt just flat out makes me happy. Not just because my vision became a reality, but also because hiking makes me happy and I'll be able to look at this whenever I want to get out, but can't.
