Friday 16 May 2014

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Art Quilt - Never Forgotten

It's Blogger's Quilt Festival time! Amy does a fantastic job of organising this online festival to keep us busy when we're sulking about not being at International Quilt Market. Hello, if you're visiting for the first time I hope you'll stay to have a look around :) If you're a regular I apologise for bombarding you with quilts you've already seen :)
I've made quite a few quilts this year so it's been tough to decide which ones to enter. I've settled on two this time around. This is my second entry, my Never Forgotten improv quilt.

I made this quilt to enter my very first quilt show at British Quilt and Stitch Village last month. There was a special theme commemorating World War 1 and the 70th anniversary of D Day. I chose to commemorate members of my family that had served in both of these wars, some that came home injured and some who never returned. There is lots of symbolism in this little quilt e.g. the red pops of colour symbolise a poppy wreath. Two of the red fabrics I chose to use in the "wreath" are stars and stripes, they signify James and George Dawson who were born in USA to British parents. James never came home from France but thankfully, my Great-Grandad George did. There is more information about this quilt and my reasons for making it here if you're interested :) 

I have to say I'm really proud of this little beauty. It finished up around 40" square. Well, square in the loosest sense of the word. I tried squaring it up but it just kept on shrinking and for fear of having to submit it as a mug rug I gave up ;) 

Here are some of my favourite bits in more detail:
The poppy wreath
The stamped centre of the poppy wreath - Never Forgotten
Crazy straight line quilting - tram lines
I used 5 different colours of Aurifil thread for the quilting because I wanted to echo the colours in the fabrics without any one colour overpowering things. This was easily the scariest part for me as I loved the way the top looked when it was finished and was worried that my quilting would ruin it.
Clearer close-up of quilting
In the end I am thrilled with the effect, it has made the quilt really tactile. Improv piecing does not come easily to me as I really prefer a lot of structure and control within my patchwork projects. This project really flowed for me though and I'm sure that's because I felt so emotionally connected with the subject matter. 
Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check out all the other awesome quilts in this category :) Catch you soon x 

17 comments:

  1. I was in love with this piece when I first laid eyes on it. It got even better when I learned of the symbolism and meaning behind it. And I happen to think you did a great job with the quilting. Congratulations on a job VERY well done!

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  2. I loved this the first time round, and love it again now :-)

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  3. I love everything about it! Great pattern and quilting.

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  4. I really think this is wonderful xxx

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  5. Gorgeous improv! I love your intent behind it as well as your poppy wreath in the centre.

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  6. Wonderful quilt. Very special.:)

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  7. What a fantastic way to keep the memory alive!

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  8. I love the quilting! What a nice quilt, it's fabulous, lovely colour scheme and very modern

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  9. Great design and wonderful memory quilt. I really like your fabric choices too.

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  10. What a beautiful memorial for your family.

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  11. I enjoyed reading about your inspiration for this quilt and your use of fabrics and the layout of it all makes one great quilt.

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  12. fabulous! Love what you've done here!

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  13. Love it-great subtle color scheme.

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  14. Wow… I was checking out the "competition" and you have blown my little quilt out of the water! :) Gorgeous!

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  15. Мне очень нравится! Замечательно!

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  16. what a great quilt. I love your mix of fabrics and the arrangement of the blocks. Well done!

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Lovely comments read with glee everyday.