Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Into each life some rain must fall, Carolina Lilies

The spring fabric burst from the shipping bag with excitement. They joined other fabrics on the work table. The brown tones had been pushed to the back of the table when the Christmas projects began. They were afraid that they would now be sent to 'the stash' never to be seen again. The blue tones on the table were happy to hear the next challenge was for flowers that needed a 'Carolina Blue' sky. Two shades of blue batiks were cut into strips and brought to "the Brother" machine. The strips were cut and staggered like rain in the sky. The challenge was to create a quilt with Carolina Lilies. The lilies were appliquéd on the Carolina Blue sky.

The finished size of this wall hanging is 23" wide x 21" tall and was made in Webster, NY by Ed the Sewing Husband. Since Ed lived in NC for a few years he knew there had to be a Carolina Blue sky. The green stems were added to the sky. A blanket stitch on either side of the stem added texture. The leaves on the lilies are snippets from the Sulky project blogged about earlier. Orange flower pedals were appliquéd and fabric paint added the spots on the flowers. Free motion quilting was added to look like rain falling on the lilies. Into each life some rain must fall. From this rain springs beautiful flowers. In this case the flowers are Carolina Lilies.

 The exciting thing about doing this challenge is that it brings me back to my original goals in quilting. I have spent the last year on my skill set. I am excited to get back to art quilts. With the Brother Dream machine I can add embroidery and many other details. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my quilting journey. Thanks to Kim for this push in the right direction.

8 comments:

  1. I really like how you made your background...pretty for your orange petals!

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  2. This is fantastic! I'm glad these challenges have been inspiring you! Keep on stitching!

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  3. Love hearing the story of the fabrics. thank you

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    1. Thanks, if you read my earlier post you will see that humor kept me alive when I took the wrong fabric from my wife's work table for some Christmas trees. I now have my own sewing room and work table.

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  4. Wonderful design--I really like your carolina blue backdrop for your lovely lilies.

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  5. FANTASTIC! Glad you're enjoying PQ - we're glad to have you

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