Bombs bursting in air!

fireworks!

Since we're getting close to the fourth of July I thought I would show how I made the fireworks on my Anthem Story piece. This quilt is about the story of how our National Anthem was written. I needed to show the "bombs bursting in air", and wanted them to add something dramatic to the border area.

The "bombs" were made using a combination of Angelina fibers and "specialty" fabric I purchased at Joanne's. The Angelina fibers were layed out in a mat and then pressed to make a flat, 8" x 8" piece. I used white, gold and blue Angelina fibers. After the flat layer is made I cut out curved shaped in different lengths.

Next I used a fabric that I found in Joanne's in the bridal fabric area. The label says "specialty fabric". It is loosely woven, does not fray, and has a lot of shininess to it. I purchased it in red, blue and gold. I used the red to make a large circle as the background for the bomb. I cut curved shapes from the gold and blue specialty fabric, similar to the Angelina shapes.

I then started laying the shapes on the red circle to depict something like a firework. I cut new shapes as I went along to give me the appearance I wanted. Some pieces need more curve than others, depending on where they were on the bomb.

I used a glue stick and pins to temporarily adhere these to the quilt, and then used free motion quilting stitches to permanently attach them. I found that taupe thread blended well with all three colors.

This really gave me the look I wanted for this piece and helped fill out the border, which was looking pretty "blah" before this.