Thursday, August 18, 2011

fabric celebrations make the world go round

My celebration involves fabrics, designers, printers, all people that make it possible for us to work with these fibers. It’s also a celebration of friends from all over the world that have sent me fabrics as a present.
A world connected by fabrics.

The first picture was taken in the shadow and don’t really show the handquilted lines.

My initial motto was Fabric celebrations make the world go round.
I played with the idea to even print that line onto the final quilt. But sometimes you need to make a choice to leave things out, to let the image speak for itself. I’m not sure if the text would have added something extra to the quilt.

The second picture was taken with the quilt laying in the sun, which makes the picture a bit overexposed.

The center circles are made from fabric that I painted with glossy paints. They are also used in the binding.


It was not easy to have all the fabrics stand out, as you can only work with a small piece on a 16" square quilt. The circles are connected by quilted lines using silver coloured threads. The idea was to create a merry-go-round. Maybe it’s more of a fabric flower that explodes (like in fireworks).


When the quilt was finished and the binding was on I decided to handquilt more lines with limegreen, blue and silver sparkling threads. Unfortunately they are not easy to take photo’s from. When the sun shines on the quilt they really reflect.

Making this quilt was a trip down memory lane.

Thanks Brigitte for coming up with this wonderful theme!

The fabrics are: (clockwise from the top middle one): satin from China (bought by Mr DC), fabric by Amy Butler (favourite designer), batik (hate/love relationship), fabric by Kaffe Fasset (favourite designer), Liberty fabric from London (London is the place to be), Marimekko fabric from Finland (gift from a dear email-friend), shot cotton (love it), fabric from the Provence in France (my all time favourite place to spend Summer holidays), Indian embroidered silk (gift from dear friends who emigrated to India), fabric from Africa (gift from a dear friend who originally comes from SA), Aboriginal fabric (from an email friend), fabric by Denyse Schmidt (favourite designer), fabric from Hungary (gift from my favourite longarm quilter), damast from Holland (reminds me of Christmas dinners at my grandparent’s house), woven fabric from Japan (just because I love those), Dutch chintz (donated by my dear (quilt)friend).

Nicolette

8 comments:

  1. Wonderful idea, Nicolette! I love all your hand quilting!!!

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  2. I like this Nicolette! The stories behind the fabrics just adds to the whole. You did a great job having each of those fabrics stand out, and the silver quilting is perfect.

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  3. Great job Nicolette and wonderful concept! Your hand quilting is impeccable. The quilt gives me the impression of an explosion of fabric fireworks! Well done!

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  4. Friends, Fabric and favourites, great things to celebrate and you have put them all together in such a pleasing design. I love circles, and I love your fabrics. Brigitte is right, it does look like a firework exploding.

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  5. Beautiful, love the rhythm and movement you've created! and the story of your fabrics is such a great touch.

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  6. What a fitting tribute to what we are all about. Your imaginative use of colors and fabrics paired with your lovely hand quilting makes a wonderfully pleasing piece. Your acknowledgment of the designers and friends in the note is especially appreciated.

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  7. What a way to honor all those fabric gifts. I agree with Gina, your piece has rhythym and movement, the circular pattern keeps my eye moving across the piece. And I love what your hand quilting adds.

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  8. Another very fun response to the theme and what a great way to celebrate your favorite fabrics as you made this!

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