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Sunday, April 7, 2019

What's The Point?

Isn't that a good question?!  I asked myself that several times while making this latest quilt, so it only seemed fitting it should be named 'What's The Point?'

When the idea first came to me I wondered if I could pull it off.  I had a very clear vision in the beginning, yet with each added element that vision changed and I wondered what's the point of that?  What sense does that make?  And the fact of the matter is...there isn't or wasn't a point at all.  I got to try an idea, use some creativity, and have a little bit of fun.  

There doesn't always have to be a meaning or a compelling story behind what we make, while it might be interesting, sometimes we make things because we want to make things!  Maybe our creativity is flowing, we have a stack of fabric that needs attention, you may want to try a technique or a color combination.  The point is:  Do it!  You don't need a point!


WHAT'S THE POINT
29" X 18 1/2"
I wrote a blog post when I had finished piecing the top together if you want to read more about it (SPIKES).  I was just happy to have it finished and thankful I had enough fabric to do just that!



One thing I wanted to make sure I added into each 'phase' was black and burgundy.  



Almost like the phases of a moon, I wanted the black to gradually phase into burgundy.  



The circles are 2 1/2", the lines above are 1/2" wide and the spikes ended up being about 9 1/2" high.  I trimmed several inches from the bottom after the top was finished because I cut off the right and left sides of the spikes.  



There was a quilting idea forming throughout the piecing process, yet nothing was set in stone until I actually sat down and started!

I used Aurifil 50wt thread in Black, Burgundy and Chalk.  It's quite hard to see the quilting on black fabric, and because of that I made sure to use a neutral backing that would showcase the quilting.



The circles are free motion quilting and as you can see I wasn't being precise with my circles!  Three are all black, three are all burgundy and one is a combination of both.  Around the outside I use organic circles using Chalk. 



For the spikes I kept the black and burgundy separated using match stick quilting.  Some spikes had straight lines, while a few had a slight curve.  The dense quilting accentuates some of the areas I left more open.  

I choose not to quilt the vertical black and red lines, instead relying on 1/2" horizontal lines to complete the picture.  

 
It's hard not to almost like the back more than the front!  I love the way the quilting came together.  Almost as if I meant for that to happen!  



The matchstick and organic circle quilting along with the straight lines are a match made in heaven.  Chaos meets calm.



The circles were my favorite part to quilt.  I had area constraints around each one which meant I had to not color outside the lines!  Which is what I really wanted to do.  I may make a circle quilt just so I can go wild with circular quilt one day.  



And the last piece of this puzzle was the binding.  After QuiltCon, where I saw so many faced quilts, I decided I should bind more quilts like that.  Faced binding, knife edge binding, whatever you want to call it, is so easy!  I followed this tutorial: Knife Edge Binding, by Bloomin' Workshop.  Had I not used this type of binding I would have felt the need to match the binding on the bottom and sometimes I just don't want to!  With a faced binding you don't have to!  

My playtime is with this quilt is done, but the ideas are not!  You see, there is a point to everything!  



Have you tried a faced or knife edge binding before?  If not, click on the tutorial and see what it's all about!

LINKING:
PEACOCK PARTY   TGIFF 

18 comments:

  1. I love this quilt, perfect name, perfect quilting! I use faced binding a lot these days and love the way it looks. it's great on this quilt!

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    1. I don’t know why I feel the need to name all my quilts! I’m happy with this finish and really loved doing the faced binding again! Hopefully there will be more in the works!

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  2. That is a beautiful quilt, so different and intriguing. I haven't done a knife edge binding but it is on my list of things to do.;

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    1. I had a blast making this and shock of all shockers…quilting it! You really must do that binding! It’s so easy and is very effective on a quilt!

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  3. This is beautiful; the quilting complements the piecing perfectly. I agree that the back is beautiful too; is this an idea for a whole-cloth?

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  4. It turned out just awesome-and that was the point, hehe.

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  5. I love how FUN all your quilts are! This one is so spiky and irreverent :)

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  6. First of all, let's get right to the POINT -- I LOVE your quilt. :-). I would have to flip that one over from time to time to enjoy the back side, too.

    I didn't know that facing/knife edge quilts were all the rage at QuiltCon now. I love the clean look for an art quilt intended for wall display, but the edges don't wear as well as a regular binding does on a bed quilt. I know this because I have a family Dresden Plate quilt from 1942 with knife edges whipstitched together along the edge and although this quilt has been well cared for and looks great overall, that knife edge is looking shabby. I haven't done anything to it yet because I feel like adding binding changes it too much, yet you can't do anything to repair it since it's the backing fabric and the quilt top itself that are forming that edge rather than a binding that could be replaced with a similar fabric.

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  7. Okay, I just followed the link to the tutorial you followed and looked at your photos more closely, and your facing method is not like my Grandma's quilt. Hers has the edges of the quilt top and backing fabric just folded under about a quarter of an inch and then those two edges are whipstitched together all along the perimeter of the quilt. I think it was a frugality thing. Your facing method makes for a much sturdier finished edge than what I thought you were doing. Thanks for sharing the tutorial link!

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  8. That is a real art quilt! I love the way the quilting on the back is art work in itself, but organic versus the front side. Congratulations on an excellent finish.

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  9. It was so fun to read your post, and then go back and look at your pictures over again. The color change from black to burgundy? Yes, there it is! This is really a wonderful piece, Jayne!

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  10. Beautiful Jayne! I love how you just played with shapes and create a lovely piece. You are always so inspiring!

    Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

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  11. Wow. Your quilting is amazing. Good call on the faced binding.

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  12. This quilt is SO interesting! And I adore your circle quilting on it. Excellent candidate for faced binding too - you used the tutorial I like to use.

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  13. Wonderful quilt. Thanks for telling the process, not just showing the quilt. I'm amazed at all the close quilting. It does look stunning front or back. Enjoy.

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  14. Very pretty and interesting design with the thread.

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  15. Such an interesting design. I really like how you quilted it.

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