The quilting was somewhat minimal which tends to be my style. I prefer all to be balanced. As such, the sunset panels were done with simple straight line border quilting and stitch-in-the-ditch inside the panels and around the suns.
The tree panel has stitching to create motion, both in the tree trunk and in the background.
The gold symbols were inspired and stitched in metallic thread. Because of their abstractness, they are able to reflect the opinion of the viewer.
To bring in more texture, needlework is being added as the "tails" of the kite-shaped leaves. The idea is to brighten up the piece a bit and draw the eye to the leaves without overpowering the piece. These details are time-consuming to stitch and are not yet done.
Once complete, I will have the art quilt stretched on a frame, rather than completing with a binding. Because of the dimensional aspects (that are difficult to see here) incorporated, stretching it will assist in popping those details.
Now I am on to my newest inspiration: a butterfly quilt. Butterflies have been a part of my life in many artistic forms. The first published Quilt Whimsy pattern had a butterfly in it. This will be the first stand alone, detailed butterfly I have done.
This art quilt was inspired in a vision. I began it by drawing a wing on freezer paper. The wing size is 14" x 17".
As I have not done this style of quilt before, I was a bit befuddled as to how to create the intricate black filigree. My solution is to trace this wing, and its mirror image, onto fusible interfacing as shown here. The interfacing pattern will now be fused and stitched onto the black fabric. Once stitched, I will then be able to cut the spaces out.
Wish me luck. I will share when I move to the next step.
Love and blessings,
Karri