The idea for this quilt had been on my mind for almost a year, and once again, just like Seed Mix, the Flip & Fuse Quilts (affiliate link) book brought it to fruition.
First, the background creation. Ten months ago, the circles were hauled to the store and placed onto many different solid fabrics, until the combo of different blues and purples sang in harmony with the circles. Fabric bought. Fabric sat.
Enter Flip & Fuse Quilts this September and it was time. With a little help from Ricky Tims Convergence Quilts (affiliate link) I decided to make long panels to design with. (Out of view in the upper left is the purple stretching a full WOF).
Starting with 6 1/2" strips, and working down to 3 1/2", I went to work on the design wall, shifting, replacing, flipping, etc, to find a pleasing arrangement. I was also keeping to a certain length, around 40 - 45".
Once the strip placement was set, I added more of the bright green in between some strips.
Having marked strip length with pins, everything was sewn, and then the ends were trimmed, making it all even.
And the background is ready to go. I could have stopped there, as this would also make a great quilt just by itself.
As for the circles, many years ago, I played with the shaving cream dyeing technique, making lots of interesting fabric pieces. But what to do with that fabric? Then an opportunity to learn how to make circles using the yo-yo method and pressing around a CD created the perfect chance to use said fabric.
Fun, but, upon re-examining those circles (they've been sitting for a year), I didn't like the small points on the edge that the gathering was creating.
So I decided to remake them, using the interfacing technique used in Flip & Fuse Quilts. Aren't they smooth?
Here's the backside, with the interfacing.
Definitely an improvement, though there's nothing wrong with the first technique. I just wanted really round circles!
And I wanted to use up those circles! That's why there are a lot of them on this quilt. Placed randomly, but with some sense of order, they add an interesting feature to this quilt.
As does the quilting. Lots of straight line quilting here, with some overlap to create crosshatching.
Originally, I thought I'd quilt within the circles, but once again, just like in Seed Mix, the circles look better not quilted, allowing the shaving cream dyeing technique to show off.
Inspired to make your own improv piece yet? Hope so!
Have a great weekend quilting!
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