Spring, circles and matchstick quilting – 2020.02.29

It’s almost March, so in Vancouver our thoughts are turning to Spring flowers and Cherry Blossoms.  I’ve been working on an entry for the annual textile art exhibit Cherry Blossoms: A Textile Translation which will be on display in April at the Silk Purse Arts Centre in West Vancouver.

While I was working on ‘Circles of Hope and Joy’ (see previous post), I started designing my piece for the Cherry Blossoms exhibit. I felt like making another circle-based quilt, tall and skinny.

For this design, I used Microsoft Paint to draw circles and curves. Then I printed it out on 4 pieces of legal size paper. I taped them together, then traced the design lines onto freezer paper (my favorite way to make templates for cutting fabrics).

Designing and printing with Paint

I selected a variety of fabrics that said ‘Spring’ to me – a beautiful floral and striped pink print fabric, a few pink and green solids, and coordinating bias tape. Below are the fabrics pinned to my design wall, as I audition various colors of bias tape. (I decided the dark pink tape was too dark, and swapped it for a lighter color.)

Design wall

I sewed the pieces together and stitched the bias tape on top of the seams. Then I quilted it with vertical matchstick quilting with light pink thread.

For matchstick quilting, I mark lines using a Hera marker, one inch apart. (For fabrics where the mark doesn’t show, I would use painters tape.) I start quilting in the center and work my way out to each side edge. I stitch the marked lines first, one inch apart, going both up and down the quilt. Then I go back and fill in, with somewhat random spacing between lines. (If I think one of the lines is not straight enough, I just ignore it and keep quilting. When I have quilted across the whole quilt, if any lines bother me, I’ll pick out all or part of that line and re-quilt it. But usually, they all look fine.)

Here is my finished art quilt ‘Shades of Pink‘. It is 12 x 31 inches. I have submitted it for the jury process and will know in a couple of weeks whether it’s accepted for the exhibit.

‘Shades of Pink’ by Terry Aske

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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.

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11 Responses to Spring, circles and matchstick quilting – 2020.02.29

  1. KatieQ says:

    Wonderful color choices. They really reflect the freshnest of spring. How are the edges of your quilt finished?

    • TerryAske says:

      Thanks for your comment and question.  The edges are finished with a facing turned entirely to the back.  There are detailed instructions on my Tips and Tutorial page.

  2. Just curious…do you use a twin needle for your bias tape? Or…just go up one side and back the other? I admire your curves…it’s a very pretty piece! Good luck with your entry!

    • TerryAske says:

      Thanks for the comment and the question.  I stitch the bias tape on each edge, trying very hard not to stretch it while sewing.  I stitch the outside curve first.  Then I press the tape, and sew along the edge of the inside curve. And I try to remember to go in the same direction on both sides – to reduce the chance of having drag lines in the tape.

  3. Michele T says:

    Love how it turned out!!

  4. Lee McLean says:

    I also often use Microsoft Paint, especially to resize and print my designs. Without a lot of fuss, just a bit of slicing and gluing the paper, I can get a sense of scale and impact, and can use the print out as templates. Knowing the interesting pieces of yours I have admired in the past, I feel somewhat reassured and encouraged that you also use a free, simple tool! Thanks for sharing your process.

  5. Kim Young says:

    Amazing! I admire your beautiful creations and enjoy learning how you create such amazing art! Thanks for sharing such detail.

  6. I like the design and the use of bias tape, defining the curves!

  7. Always beautiful work. I enjoy seeing your process.

  8. I’ve noticed you have a lot of nifty quilts with circles in them–I appreciate seeing how you do it!

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