Friday, December 14, 2012

Making progress

I finished piecing the top of what I hope will be the first in a series of tree quilts.
One of my favorite things about this project is the variety of fabrics I used. There's a few thrifted shirts, a skirt my sister had made from quilting fabric that no longer fits me, and some great finds from my friend Linda's de-stashing.

Here's a close-up of a branch.  Curved piecing is time-consuming, but I really enjoy the process.  I think it's neat to see how the pieces come together, almost like a puzzle. 
 
Now I have to plan the quilting.  I'm thinking about a variety of free-motion designs, on a pretty small scale, with black, blue, and metallic threads.  But first I need some more practice since I've mostly quilted crib-sized or smaller projects.
For my next quilt in the Tree series, I think I might use more solids and try to show areas of sun and shadow on the tree. 
I'm linking up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

11 comments:

  1. ohh the yellow accent works - plus I think these curves are super interesting. I'm a curve tree girl too - I was thinking of doing a few pieces this year with them in it too. Yours is great!

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  2. love all the movement in this piece!

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  3. Hi, Angela. Stopped by from Nina Marie's. This is a fabulous piece. I'm working on a pomegranate tree, so tree quilts are of particular interest to me. Beautiful choice of fabrics as well as great design. It looks to me as though you had things more or less figured out before you started sewing whereas I have no idea what I'm doing. Have a happy holiday season with lots of stitching!
    best from Tunisia,
    nadia

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    1. Thanks Nadia! I had things figured out to some extent, because I draw templates on freezer paper. But actually, my original design was just the 2 branches on the far right side of the quilt. I thought I was done, but it looked unbalanced and incomplete. So I put it up on the wall and drew the rest of the design around it.

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  4. Stopping by NIna Marie's blog. I love the colors and the fabrics you are using! Trees are also an inviting topic... hope to try one soon, along with curved piecing as it really makes movement in the piece. Lovely.

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  5. This is a great piece- the colors and the movement. Stunned it is all pieced!

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  6. So, I take it this is bigger than a crib quilt?!? Wow. Beautiful work.

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    1. Thanks! Glad you like it. It's 54" by 63", so its about a throw size.

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  7. I haven't worked on anything I took to retreat. I'm so impressed with your tree.

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    1. Hi Janet! The retreat really got my momentum going, and I've been trying to keep it up since then.

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  8. Trees are always lovely subjects in quilt art!

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