My Favorite Quilt and What I Learned

Blue Galaxy

I selected this quilt, completed about one year ago, as my favorite for this online quilt festival because it is a conglomeration of techniques I hadn't done before. First of all, I finally used my own hand-painted fabric (an almost identical piece is on the back). Previously, fabrics I created with my own two hands I kept stored in a clear bin of their own where I could just look at them and fondle them occasionally. Now I decided it was time to use some of them.

On the fabric I scattered a variety of fibers, from yarns and threads to mulberry bark and silk roving. Everything was held down by a sheer yellow chiffon scarf that had belonged to my dear mother-in-law. Quilting in an irregular grid held everything in place. Finally, I thought, I'd add orange-gold beads here and there. They did nothing to improve the quilt, which was now just too orange and green. With the go-ahead from my "Sisters in Cloth" group, I added some blue seed beads in the center, which could not be seen from more than three feet away. More beads were obviously required. Using my own stash of beads and those of some of my Sisters, I went at it. As you can see, I couldn't stop.

The most difficult part of the whole process was adding the binding. I used sheer ribbon, folding it in half--it didn't like staying folded and a few harsh words were needed to make it stay in place.

What I learned: 1) Don't use stiff ribbon for binding, 2) you can't sew through mulberry bark, and 3) get finger protectors for those times when you want to do a lot of beading. (FYI: A drop of your own saliva will remove a fresh blood stain.)

I have received many compliments on this quilt, so it was worth the effort. One more thing I learned: Don't leave your favorite fabrics in a bin. They look better when made into something lovely.

A GIVEAWAY: If you leave me a comment (as well as a way to reach you) during the online blogger's quilt festival, you will be eligible to win two pieces of my hand-painted fabric.