I’ve been working on a new quilt featuring huge succulent plants. When I was in San Francisco a few months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Ann DuMont. Ann has a beautiful garden full of succulents. She photographs her plants and uses the photos to create uniquely designed fabrics from which she creates wearable accessories and decor items. Check out her website and Instagram feed for examples of her fabulous photos and uniquely designed fabrics.
Ann offered me some of her fabric scraps. So of course, I had to make a quilt with them! This quilt is inspired by Ann’s garden photos and the leaves of the succulent plants are made with her fabrics.
I made line drawings of stylized succulents then enlarged them so each was about 26 inches high. I traced each leaf shape onto freezer paper, cut out the fabric and fused bias tape around the edges. As I created the leaves I pinned them in place on the design wall on top of the full size drawings.
When I was finished with each plant, I removed it from the design wall and fused the leaves to a sheer interfacing. Now each plant is a unit I can pin and unpin from the design wall.
paper pattern on ironing pad, covered with fusible interfacing positioning leaves on interfacing leaves fused to interfacing 
left: paper pattern right: back of fused succulent plant
Then it was time to audition fabrics for the background – and this is where my indecision arose. My first selection was a chartreuse and white print. Then I tried several chartreuse prints. Normally, chartreuse is my go-to color, but these backgrounds seemed to be overwhelming the succulents. So I tried some neutral prints. I really like the large scale white and gray floral print – but I only have a fat quarter of that fabric.
A trip to the local fabric store yielded this white and taupe floral print. It’s a bit smaller scale than I wanted, but it’s time to make a decision and move on. I think I’ll bind the quilt with chartreuse.
Next – on to the quilting. I want to finish this quilt within a week, so I can enter it in the Alden Lane Nursery quilt show.
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Thanks for stopping by. Today, I’m linking up with these blogs – click on the links below, where you’ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.
- Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday
- Can I get a Whoop Whoop? by Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Gorgeous! Look forward to seeing your quilt hanging in an old oak tree at Alden Lane Quilt Show!!
Love, Love, Love this quilt!!! As an Arizona girl, succulents, cactus etc. are wonderful subjects.
The bias petal edge gives the flowers a 3-D look that is quite pleasing. Good luck in the show
I really like the bias around the petals.
Your work is just amazing! And you are so generous in providing insight to your design and construction process. Thanks for the inspiration!
Very cool!!!
These are very cool! I’m linking to your blog in my post tomorrow (July 14) because I had great success with your tutorial for facing my quilt. Thanks! Mary