Life Imitates Art?

...or the other way around?


I saw a picture on Facebook last week, and I was surprised at how much it reminded me of this quilt I made last year. You can see the full post about the quilt HERE.

When I visualized the quilt, I thought of flowers flowing through water. This picture, on the other hand, has flowers flowing through flowers.

Photo credit to Ryan Euler, titled "River of Blue Armeniacum" (Keukenhof, Holland)

Enjoy a restful (and colorful) day.

I'm linking with Fiber Tuesday 48 at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Christmas Strings Part V--Finished!

I finished the Christmas String quilt.

Lots of little pieces--lots of holiday cheer.

The backing is the same red I used on the front, and the binding is patterned with pinecones on a dark green ground. The green stars in the quilt have glitter--I wonder how it will wash? Everything we own that goes through the washer and dryer may be festive for a while! :)

It is so nice to post a finish instead of a WiP. Now off to the wash.

I'm linking with A Quilting Reader's Garden, and Fiber Tuesday at The Quilting Room with Mel.

Christmas Strings Part IV

It seems I've been working on this quilt forever!

Auditioned borders and bindings today--I decided to go fairly conservative and use the red I used in the quilt for the border as well. I chose a dark green/brown for the binding.

Now to measure, cut, and apply!

I'm linking with Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Christmas Strings Part III

A Green Day

Since I don't have enough of the red fabric I've been using in my triangles to make the whole quilt I have planned, I have decided to use green for half the blocks. The green has a bit of glitter in it which doesn't show up in the photos.

I like the green, but the triangles today seem a bit darker overall, so I think I'll pick up some lighter fabrics to use next time (white or cream backgrounds--still Christmas prints).


Some of today's details:

Doesn't everyone have fabric with flamingos wearing Santa hats?

Nutcracker Men

I'm not sure what berries have to do with Christmas, but they are pretty.

Another beautiful fabric

I haven't decided on a layout yet; I could simply alternate the green and red stars, or I could do an around-the-world arrangement. I'll have to try it out when I have enough to arrange.

Linking up with Creative Goodness and Ella and Nesta's Little Room.

Christmas Strings

I'm playing with more string quilt blocks. 

I'm using Christmas fabrics, so I think I'll call this one "Wreaths and Stars"--seems more appropriate for the holiday than "Christmas Spiderweb."

I'm not sure I have enough of the red for the stars, so I may make half of the blocks with a green star.

Sorry about the lighting--I wasn't about to carry all of these outside! :)


More to come...

Flowing Flowers

A Spiderweb Quilt With a Different Layout


A spiderweb quilt is a type of string quilt and is constructed basically the same way (previous tutorial with instructions here). The difference is that instead of beginning with a square foundation, you begin with a triangle.

As with the square foundation, you secure your center strip. (I use a washable glue stick.)

Add a strip to one side of your center fabric.

Fold back and crease with your fingernail or an iron.

Add a second strip to the other side.

Press back.

Each of these has a center and one strip on each side.

Continue to add strips until your triangle is covered. Trim as shown in previous tutorial.





Four triangles will be sewn together to create a star. As you line up the stars, the spiderwebs form.

Your eyes are not deceiving you--this picture is of another spiderweb I made!

A basic spiderweb quilt has all the stars in straight rows.

A serpentine layout has off-set blocks. I first saw this layout on the Quiltville blog  here. Note the difference in the rows of stars. While the vertical columns are straight, the horizontal rows are off-set. This is accomplished by adding a half-block at the bottom and the top of every other vertical column.

Rather than creating spiderwebs, this off-set layout creates the serpentine pattern.

 I'm not much of a snake fan (even the word serpentine brings "a tighter breathing, And zero at the bone" to quote Miss Dickinson), so I prefer the idea of the currents in a stream. Combined with the fact that all the prints in this quilt are florals, I chose the name Flowing Flowers for this quilt.



Here are close-up shots that show the backings I chose for each of the spiderweb quilts shown above.
 

If you enjoy making square string blocks, give the triangles a try. It is fun to see the secondary patterns come together.