I am now officially into Phase II of my commission for four art quilts, and I will be documenting my journey for the SAQA Visioning Project. If you're a member of SAQA, you can follow the progress of all the participants here; I'm so excited about this venture that I wanted to share it on my blog, as well.
Since the quilts are to be hung in Shaker-style residences, I submitted five different drawings of Amish-themed quilts, from which the contractors chose the Monkey Wrench design, pictured above. They gave me the color palette, and I put together my presentation board, pictured below, with a Photoshop-designed image of the quilt, fabric swatches, and samples of quilting motifs attached.
The design has been approved, and the fabrics have been ordered. I chose Kaufman's Kona cotton solids because I felt they would coordinate well with the upholstery and carpet patterns already in the homes.
The quilt tops will be pieced, of course, and I'm auditioning different threads to find a strong one that will create the least amount of bulk in the seam allowance. What's your favorite thread for piecing? I'd welcome your input.
Thank you for sharing in this journey with me -- it should be an exciting ride!
Diane
5 comments:
Diane, This is going to be wonderful!! I just love the look of Amish style quilts. The patterns you designed are lovely. For piecing, try Superior Threads Masterpiece. It is a lighter weight and will help in reducing the bulk. It is a long staple cotton thread and just perfect for piecing.
Ditto on the Superior threads or Aurefil (spelling challenged). Long staple, excellent quality.
An interesting challenge. I'll be interested in following your journey!
Firstly, congrats on the commissions! What great news.
I use Aurifil 50wt for piecing .. its also good for machine quilting. The 50wt is excellent for piecing though and gives a strong 'lumpless' seam line. It goes a long way too with 1400metres per spool. I tend to use a mid grey colour mostly or a pale green is good. Both blend well with most fabric colours.
Question ... will you do what the Amish do and make a deliberate mistake? I learnt this weekend that the Persian rig makers do the same thing too!
Congratulations! I waited a long time to try Masterpiece from Superior Threads but I don't think it's as strong as it's supposed to be. I would use a poly/cotton blend unless it has to be historically correct. The Aurefil is nice also and I think I like it better than the Superior Threads. Good luck!
The quilt design looks great, Diane. I looked online for a thin cotton piecing thread, and did find some 60 wt. cotton thread, but only in black, white and neutral. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, anyway the brand is Presencia. They also make 50 wt. in lots of colors. I can't see that the 60 wt is any thinner than the Masterpiece, but the only way to tell is to do some testing, which hasn't happened yet. : )
Post a Comment