My February Journal Quilt - Key to My Heart is here and at WebShots (go see mine and the others!) This was apparently a very pink month for me. I tried to fight it, faint-heartedly, but surrendered. My objective this month was to practice some techniques. I had some friends attend a talk by Ricky Tims, they came home jazzed by his enthusiasm (and his music) and eager to try some of his techniques and tips. I was searching for some inspiration and since I had never tried his "Harmonic Convergence" technique I decided to give it a shot.
I started off with four 12" squares and began cutting. I chose to make my smallest strip 3/4 of an inch and increased by 1/2 inch for each subsequent strip. I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy doing what I thought would be boring, repetitive, too-accurate-for-my-taste piecework but as it turns out I rather enjoyed the process and was pleased with the overall "convergence". 
I had planned to use Shiva Paintstiks to create the heart but first made a test sample using freezer paper as a stencil. I wanted the heart to be transparent and finally selected red and gold. One of these days I might actually use the paintstik directly on the fabric but I like having control over the application of the color by using a toothbrush.
I've always liked black and pink together so a black dominant key seemed ideal. I fused the key in place. Since most of the surface embellishment was going to be done from the back of the piece, I outlined the heart and key with a simple straight stitch. I machine appliqued the key in place with a double blanket stitch (also a Ricky Tims tip) with Madeira varigated metallic thread in the bobbin. It was fun to embellish and then turn the piece over and see what I did. At the very end I added "love" and "you" in the upper left and lower right corners respectively for balance. I finished the piece by couching on the same green knobby decorative thread I used for the words all around the raw edge of the quilt.
I shared the piece with the friends that I gone to see Ricky Tims. I was really pleased when one of them asked if I had dyed the organza. It took me a second before I realized that she was referring to the paintstik!
(Woot, woot! - all done, posted, now back to the Knitting Olympics!)
Monday, February 20, 2006
February JQC2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Very nice! And your description of the process was really interesting, esp. the photos of the convergence process. I like the fabric color choices you made. The pink and green look good together. Got any close-ups of the heart area?
I like the way you did this one. I have not used this technique. thanks for explaining. great job.
Nice selection of fabrics for the Harmonic Convergence - there are so many that end up looking very odd! but yours is very pleasant...and I really like that you put it on an angle. I've always wondered how those were sewn!
Wow, I really like the look of your heart! Placing the lines on the diagonal makes it more interesting than many convergence quilts I've seen. It looks to me like you construct it similar to constructing a bargello, without the peaks and valleys; sewing strips, cutting strips and sewing them together again. Thanks for the step by step photos.
Love the "sheerness" of the hearts! So... you did the blanket stitch around the paintstick image??
Also like the way the key is "inserted" through the fabric!
Nice job!
This is awesome. I've loved and not-loved some of the convergence works, but this one is a definite "I love it!"
I really like the way you used the convergence piece as a background and I agree that setting it on it's point adds interesting, it looks more dynamic. Was this inspired by Valentine Day or has it some other meaning to you? Thanks for explaining you proces, love to read the step by step notes. One question, how do you get the pictures spread through your text? They end up all in the top in reversed order with me and I don't seem to be able to cut and paste or move them in another way.
I never would have recognized the HC design. I like that it takes back seat to the overall design.
I think you made the most of the HC design buy incorporating it into the background and using it as you did. Terrific documentation and a great result! Good colors, and I especially like the use of the key. Jen
Very nice, Kim. I like how you turned the "convergence" on an angle!
Great job in making the convergence technique your "own" in this quilt. So many of them turn out so similar, this is a nice departure. I love the transparency of the "organza"...that had to make you smile when they thought it was, huh?
DebbyMc
Your Feb Jouranl quilt is great...
Post a Comment