Work in Progress

There is something addictive about these curves! Having said yesterday that I really liked the top-stitched curves I found a slight variation on stitching curves with stitch and flip and have really enjoyed doing just that today. It was in the book Stitching To Dye in Quilt Art by C June Barnes which I have on my bookshelf. I have to confess I've had this book for a while and haven't yet got round to reading it properly. You know what it's like, you buy the book, have a quick scan and drool over the pictures and then put it to one side for a moment when you have more time to really study it. Nine times out of ten that precious moment is a long time coming!

However, I digress! So far I have constructed the basis of a seascape above using stitch and flip and effectively quilting as I went as the fabrics above are stitched to wadding and a base cotton. I have used an assortment of commercial fabrics and batiks, hand dyed and painted fabrics. The curves went together easier than yesterday and my only/main niggle is that some of the areas look as if they are going uphill as I didn't angle the curves quite right.

Questions that occur to me are:



* Should I now add free machine quilting? Yes probably.

* What quilting pattern should I use? I think I will use a series of lines that suggest the movement of the water with a variegated thread. I would probably have to change this for the foreground which is supposed to suggest the beach.

* What about incorporating some layers on top eg lace, scrim, sheers, net?

* What about adding embellishments, beads, beach finds? Too early to decide at this stage I think.

* How do I include narrower strips next time? I have an idea but I will obviously have to keep working on that one.

I think I will have a go at the same design using predominantly the topstitched technique to see what that looks like. I have enjoyed myself so much yesterday and today that I am worried that I am catching the patchwork/quilting bug! These things creep up on you when you least expect it! Not so long ago I called myself a painter then I morphed into a mixed media artist only to find I was becoming a textile artist and now it appears quilting is slowly taking me over! I'm only taking little steps but they are taking me in a very unexpected direction ;o)