Hibiscus - Postcard Quilt



Hisbiscus

 This is my postcard quilt for my Serendipity Exchange. The theme this time is "Flower". I painted a hibiscus from a photo I took while on a cruise in the South Pacific a few years ago. I used Tsukineko ink paints. I practiced some new leaf machine quilting patterns I recently learned from Cynthia Catlin in the background. For the border I couched some yarn around the edge. This is being sent to Linda Friedman as we speak. I hope she likes it.

Umpqua Leaves Construction Detail



trapunto effect

 I thought it might be helpful to see how this applique technique works. After cutting out the leaf shapes and placing them on your square, you place a layer of batting behind the square and stitch the leaves down. You stitch on the leaf itself near its edge and then in the middle of the leaf. The leaves are raw edge and the batting piece is approximately the same size as the square.


trapunto effect

 Then you turn the block over and trim the batting away around the leaf. You try to trim as close to the stitching as possible. Once all your blocks are done you stitch them together to make the top.

The top is then layered with batting and the back, and quilted in the background around the leaves. This effect "pops" the leaves out.

I learned this in a class taught by Jill Howes at Flying Geese Fabric. I have used it to make other applique motifs pop out on other quilts.

Umpqua Leaves with Border

borders attached

Here is my "Umpqua Leaves" quilt with the borders attached. I placed a narrow gold border inside the blue border on each side.  I made the  border a different width on each side because I think that it makes for a more interesting layout. I also think the gold square at the top of the left side border adds some interest to the top. I will probably quilt a leaf in that square. Next step: machine quilting...

Border for Umpqua Leaves

oil paint stick border

This is the border I am going to put on the Umpqua Leaves quilt. I cut out stencils of one of my leaves and then used oil paint sticks to "paint" the leaves on the blue fabric. I used several different colors of paint stick and blended them. Some were irridescent and some were not.

I really enjoy using the paint sticks. The only down side is you have to wait a few weeks for the odor to completely dissipate. The paint itself is dry after about 3 days and can be heat set then. So this technique is not good for the "last minute"!

Umpqua Leaves

A couple of years ago I took a class from Jill Howes to learn the technique she used to make a quilt she calls "Sonoma Leaves". It is a stunning quilt and the leaves have a raised effect. I decided to make my own version of this from leaves I collected at the North Umpqua River in Oregon. This is the center of the quilt. Next step will be putting on borders. I hope to get that done this weekend.