Saturday 14 May 2011

Mother of Pearl revealed - Blogger's Quilt Festival

I've decided to share a new quilt for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. I finished Mother of Pearl a few weeks ago, and sent it straight off to Australian Patchwork and Quilting, which will be including it as a project later in the year. Sorry the photos aren't the best; I took these photos as soon as I'd finished the quilting, in harsh late-afternoon sun which over-accentuates the quilting (and those shocking creases). As soon as the binding was on, this quilt was parcelled-up and posted. I'll have to photograph it properly when I get ti back in a few months.



I designed Mother of Pearl nearly two years ago, intending it to be for my youngest niece. Then I decided to make her one of my beach scene quilts instead, but couldn't let this design go, and kept coming back to it, so I was thrilled when it was commissioned.


The thought behind the design was that the swirl would represent a mother's arms cradling her baby, but as the rest of the design grew and the colour-scheme asserted itself, it also gave the illusion of a pearl in an oyster; hence the name.



The centre block took an age to draft; I couldn't have done it without EQ7. It contains 165 pieces of fabric!


I love foundation piecing, and this was really the only way to piece such a block. I made it on a water-soluble foundation, because I didn't fancy tearing all the fiddly pieces out, but didn't have any sheets bigger than letter/A4, so got out my water-soluble thread, overlapped two sheets by about 1/4 and joined them with a running stitch.


The piecing of this one block took several evenings, and used 1 1/2 bobbins alone, but was a joy to make and to see the swirl forming.


The enormous amount of piecing caused the 10in block to shrink to 9 3/4in, even on the foundation. Luckily this was the first block I made, and consequently I reduced the size of the rest of the blocks to match! Once the centre block was done, the rest came together in no time!


The quilting was all fairly straightforward, though I would probably hove done something fancier if I'd had more time.
 
 
Now head over to check out the rest of the entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!
 

Amy's Creative Side </P>
<P>Bloggers' Quilt Festival

29 comments:

Nic Wood said...

WOW - that centre block is amazing! and the quilting is stunning as always!
Nic xxx

Vicki W said...

That is fabulous! I love that center block. Your piecing is PERFECT.

Michelle said...

That center block is just breathtaking!

kate said...

Absolutely incredible!

Karen said...

Your quilt is amazing. I am stunned by the work in the centre block. And the quilting is just wonderful!!

Teresa said...

Wow this quilt is beautiful! The center really is awesome! Thanks for sharing

What Comes Next? said...

Amazing! That centre block is just incredible!

Stephanie Hughes said...

Just absolutely wonderful!

Jane said...

Oh my, this is lovely!

Sandra said...

Lovely, I can almost feel the ocean spray. Congrats on the publication.
Come see my entries, #212 repro cheddar stars and #216 antique 1850 applique flower garden

Anne at Film and Thread said...

So glad you showed close-ups of that center block. Amazing. And I really love the wavy border, too. It is a very special quilt.

Karen S said...

This is gorgeous. The colors and blocks you used capture the sea so eloquently.

Lynette said...

Stunning! I love foundation piecing, but I'm blown away by your design and execution. :)

Rachel D said...

Gorgeous quilt!

Amy said...

GORGEOUS! I love how you did the center block.

Dee J. said...

Love your work. I too love paper piecing. Have you done any workshops on designing, making one's own paper piecing patterns? there very little out there in quiltland on this skill. I'd like to know more about how to do that.
http://fab-lover.blogspot.com

Quiltin Jenny said...

Oh my heavens! As always, your work takes my breath away. I cannot imagine the patience this took, but it was worth it. What a gorgeous work of art.

Thanks for sharing.

Debbie said...

That swirl is amazing! As is your quilting! Lovely!!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Gorgeous design and execution!

stitchinpenny said...

I am so amazed at the very inticate detail you accomplished on this wonderful quilt.

Pattilou said...

What an impressive quilt and the center is beyond words. Incredibly beautiful.

Laurel H. said...

Very nice quilt; the quilting stitches are just amazing.

Eileen said...

Beautiful! Think it's so exciting to know how you designed it. Really lovely quilting too thanks for sharing and have a great day

Melinda said...

Absolutely beautiful! It makes me want to try my hand at paper piecing. I have only done a class where we did 3 squares.

Anonymous said...

A gorgeous piece of art. You can tell the time and care you took in designing and making this quilt.

Karen said...

Your quilt is stunning! And of course your quilting is beautiful as always. I loved reading about your design and construction process. Look forward to seeing it in AP&Q.

Sara said...

165 pieces of fabric oh my, you go girl!!! Love that center action going on there:)

Sarcastic Quilter said...

Amazing. I enjoy paper piecing but that's a lot of pieces in that block! Lol turned out beautifully.

Unknown said...

Wow! It's so intricate! Gorgeous!