{"id":5044,"date":"2018-12-05T11:30:03","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T19:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/?p=5044"},"modified":"2020-03-15T14:05:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T21:05:53","slug":"synchronized-swimming-art-quilt-how-i-made-it-2018-12-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2018\/12\/05\/synchronized-swimming-art-quilt-how-i-made-it-2018-12-05\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Synchronized Swimming’ art quilt – how I made it – 2018.12.05"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Synchronized Swimming<\/strong>\u2018 was made for a SAQA regional exhibition \u201cShifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth<\/a>\u201c.\u00a0 I posted the finished quilt on November 30, but didn’t have time to include any details about my inspiration and construction process.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had an idea for a long time (since 2013 when I researched about fish shapes and schools of fish for this quilt<\/a>) to make an art quilt featuring schools of fish, swimming in graceful synchronized patterns.<\/p>\n

I started by constructing the background.\u00a0 I cut 6\u2033 square pieces from a variety of ocean-colored fabrics, and arranged them from dark to light.\u00a0 I cut curves between the horizontal joins and inserted a few narrower pieces.\u00a0 When I sewed the columns together, I offset the curves from one column to the next, to give it an abstract look.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The next step was to layer and quilt the background, but first I wanted to confirm my color choices for the fish, and experiment with fish sizes.\u00a0 So I cut a few fish from fabric, and a lot more from paper.\u00a0 I pinned them all in place on the background.<\/p>\n

For the two schools of smaller fish, I used two different fabrics – both very light blue fabrics with black text – they were the perfect shade of blue – almost white, sort of ‘watery’ looking.\u00a0 And the text adds a modern\/abstract element.<\/p>\n

For the larger fish, I used a stripey ombre fabric that ranges from yellow-orange to red-orange.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I was happy with the fabric colors and the fish sizes and shapes, so after taking a lot of photos, I removed the fish and quilted the background.<\/p>\n

I spray basted the quilt on the design wall.\u00a0 This is the first time I have done this, and it worked really well.\u00a0 You can see the steps I followed in the photos below.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pin backing to design wall, smoothing in place, then spray backing with 505 spray (no photo of this step).\u00a0 Carefully pin batting over backing and smooth in place.\u00a0 (I rolled the batting up, and pinned the top in place, then gradually unrolled it over the sprayed backing.)<\/li>\n
  2. Fold quilt top and pin it to the left side of the batting (just to keep it out of the way while spraying).\u00a0 Spray the right half of the batting.<\/li>\n
  3. Unfold the top and smooth the right side onto the sprayed batting.\u00a0 Then fold back the left side of the top.<\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0Spray the left side of the batting, and smooth the top in place, repositioning as necessary to smooth out all wrinkles.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

    I unpinned the quilt, and pressed it to heat-set the basting spray, and iron out any remaining wrinkles.\u00a0 Then I machine basted each edge of the quilt, to prevent the corners or sides from coming loose while I was wrestling the quilt through my sewing machine.<\/p>\n

    I quilted wavy lines across the background with poly-rayon thread.\u00a0 I started about a quarter of the way down and worked up to the top.\u00a0 Then I switched to a darker thread, and worked down to the bottom.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    When the quilting was finished, it was time to add the fish.\u00a0 Referring to my earlier photos, I positioned the first school of fish, starting with paper fish, then replacing them with fused fabric fish.\u00a0 Once I was satisfied with the positioning, I fused them in place (right on my design wall, using my cordless iron!).\u00a0 Then I removed the quilt from the design wall, pressed the fish again to ensure they were firmly fused in place, and free-motion quilted the outline of each fish.<\/p>\n

    \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

    I repeated these steps for the second school.\u00a0 For the third school – the largest orange fishes – I fused batting to the back of each one before fusing to the background, to give them some dimension.<\/p>\n

    \"\"\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

    ‘Synchronized Swimming<\/strong>‘ is 36 x 36 inches.\u00a0 It was started in September and finished in late November, just before the deadline to enter.\u00a0 I’ll find out in January if it’s accepted for the exhibit.<\/p>\n

    My artist statement is:\u00a0 Sunlight filters down through the aquamarine depths of the Pacific Ocean, illuminating schools of fish dancing and frolicking in graceful synchronized patterns.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

    Thanks for stopping by.\u00a0 Today, I\u2019m linking up with these blogs \u2013 click on the links below, where you\u2019ll find many other creative and inspirational projects.<\/p>\n

    E<\/em>m\u2019s Scrap Bag Moving It Forward Monday<\/a><\/i><\/i>
    \nLove Laugh Quilt     Monday Making<\/a><\/i>
    \n<\/i>    WIP Wednesday<\/em><\/a> @ The Needle & Thread Network<\/em>
    \n     WIPs on Wednesday<\/a> at Esther\u2019s Quilt Blog<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u2018Synchronized Swimming\u2018 was made for a SAQA regional exhibition \u201cShifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth\u201c.\u00a0 I posted the finished quilt on November 30, but didn’t have time to include any details about my inspiration and construction process. I\u2019ve had an idea … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[14,28],"class_list":["post-5044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-quilts","category-on-my-design-wall","tag-art-quilt","tag-saqa"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2SZWx-1jm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4825,"url":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2018\/09\/05\/on-my-design-wall-2018-09-05\/","url_meta":{"origin":5044,"position":0},"title":"On my design wall – 2018.09.05","author":"TerryAske","date":"September 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've started working on a new art quilt.\u00a0 It's for a SAQA regional exhibition - the \"greater North Pacific region\" (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Western Canada). The title of the exhibition is \"Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth\".\u00a0 The Exhibit Concept is \"Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art quilts"","block_context":{"text":"Art quilts","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/category\/art-quilts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TerryAske_background-squares-992x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TerryAske_background-squares-992x1024.jpeg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TerryAske_background-squares-992x1024.jpeg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5037,"url":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2018\/11\/30\/two-finished-quilts-2018-11-30\/","url_meta":{"origin":5044,"position":1},"title":"Two finished quilts – 2018.11.30","author":"TerryAske","date":"November 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Just a quick post to say I've finished two quilts for shows with November 30 entry deadlines.\u00a0 I've been very focused on completing these two quilts, which is why I haven't been posting recently.\u00a0 And then I had to take the photos and complete the entry information, which always takes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art quilts"","block_context":{"text":"Art quilts","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/category\/art-quilts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TerryAske_SynchronizedSwimming_full-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TerryAske_SynchronizedSwimming_full-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TerryAske_SynchronizedSwimming_full-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6065,"url":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2019\/09\/07\/journal-quilt-for-fan-artist-exchange-2019-09-07\/","url_meta":{"origin":5044,"position":2},"title":"Journal quilt for FAN artist exchange – 2019.09.07","author":"TerryAske","date":"September 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Later this month, I\u2019ll be heading to Naniamo BC for the annual conference of the\u00a0Fibre Art Network.\u00a0 As usual we will have an art exchange.\u00a0 All participants are invited to create a journal size quilt (8.5 by 11 inches) inspired by this year\u2019s conference theme, \u2018Coastal Networks\u2019. These prompts were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art quilts"","block_context":{"text":"Art quilts","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/category\/art-quilts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_9269.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_9269.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_9269.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_9269.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_9269.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_9269.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8318,"url":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2025\/08\/30\/saqa-annual-benefit-auction-2025-08-30\/","url_meta":{"origin":5044,"position":3},"title":"SAQA annual benefit auction \u2013 2025.08.30","author":"TerryAske","date":"August 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"SAQA\u2019s 2025 Benefit Auction will take place online from September 12 through October 5. Each year, SAQA invites each of its members to create a small 12 x 12 inch piece of art and donate it to the annual SAQA Benefit Auction.\u00a0 The auction has a dual purpose \u2013 to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art quilts"","block_context":{"text":"Art quilts","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/category\/art-quilts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BA25-poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BA25-poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BA25-poster.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BA25-poster.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BA25-poster.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BA25-poster.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4860,"url":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2018\/09\/07\/on-my-design-wall-2018-09-07\/","url_meta":{"origin":5044,"position":4},"title":"On my design wall – 2018.09.07","author":"TerryAske","date":"September 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The background for my new art quilt is sewn together.\u00a0 See my blog post from earlier this week for more information about the SAQA regional exhibition \u201cShifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth\u201c. Before I sewed the columns together, I checked the values by converting the photo to black & white, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art quilts"","block_context":{"text":"Art quilts","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/category\/art-quilts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TerryAske_BW-Copy-1024x984.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TerryAske_BW-Copy-1024x984.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TerryAske_BW-Copy-1024x984.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5799,"url":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/2019\/01\/12\/annual-goal-setting-2019-01-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":5044,"position":5},"title":"Annual goal setting – 2019.01.12","author":"TerryAske","date":"January 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been thinking about my goals for 2019, and have realized I don't really have any new goals this year. I'm happy with how things are going, so I'm just going to carry on in the same fashion I have been - making art, submitting art to various exhibits and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art quilts"","block_context":{"text":"Art quilts","link":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/category\/art-quilts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Aske.Terry-Inside.the_.Tipi-FULL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Aske.Terry-Inside.the_.Tipi-FULL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Aske.Terry-Inside.the_.Tipi-FULL.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Aske.Terry-Inside.the_.Tipi-FULL.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Aske.Terry-Inside.the_.Tipi-FULL.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Aske.Terry-Inside.the_.Tipi-FULL.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5044"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6266,"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5044\/revisions\/6266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.terryaskeartquilts.com\/Studio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}