Jan 10 15

Adding Bling to Your Quilt and More Ruler Play

maroon-block
 
I decided I was getting too carried away with curves so I decided to play around with designs that were more focused on straight lines and angles.   Unfortunately, when I updated my phone, I lost a lot of my recent photos, so I’m without any photos for the earlier parts of this design.  I started again with a feathered wreath in the center of the block, then added markings for a temporary circle around it.   I used one template to create the more “plunging” scallops and then went back in with another template to stitch the scallops with a very subtle plunge.  I wish I could tell you which templates I used but the only documentation I had was in my photos!
 
Next, I created a series of triangles that sprang from the circle where each scallop began/ended.  I had to make the triangles in 2 sizes because it wasn’t possible to fit them all inside the block if they were all the same size.  Once that was done, I added an inside line to each of the triangles.  I can’t stress how important it is to have 2 lines of stitching.  I say that because creating a channel between them adds a new level of interest/complexity to the design.  Here’s a photo of what things looked like at this point:
 
maroon 0_5
 
Now all the basic “framework” or skeleton of the design was complete.  I think of this as “the bones” of the design and nothing can really happen until this framework has been laid out.  What’s left at this point is lots of fun fill-in work!  First up, I stitched turquoise feathers inside the larger triangles.  This was easy because I used my center lines as my spine guidelines:
 
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Then I stitched feathers inside the smaller triangles using a slightly different color of thread but it’s hard to tell that:
 
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…and then I added a row of pearls inside the scallops and hyperquilted the feathers.  That little bit of stitching made the whole block a lot more interesting:
 
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Here’s a side view:
 
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I stitched the “inchworm” design just outside the wreath and inside the scallops.  This added a  new zone of color and also made the trapunto stand out more:
 
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And then I finally got to stitch some fill in quilting all around the outside.  I kind of melded a few different FMQ designs into a background fill design that came out like this:
 
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I added some Swarovski crystals to it (very sparingly) and then whipped it up into a tote bag:
 
maroon10
 
 
In real life, the crystals are very sparkly and show up well but they are hardly seen in my still photos.  If you’ve never added crystals to a quilt, it’s very easy, fast, and fun and we made a quickie video to show how to do it:
 
 

 

 
 
…and you can find the crystal applicators in our store by clicking right here.
 
 
 

5 Comments

  1. Cala Says:

    Die driehoeke laat dit amper soos ‘n kompas lyk ….dit is PRAGTIG!! Lieflike werk!

  2. Diane Evans Says:

    Absolutely spectacular, Patsy! You really know how to add the right amount of bling.

    Diane

  3. Lorie Bugaisk Says:

    Wow! Love it! Beautiful job! I have to give it a try after I watch your class on craftsy! Love your work!

  4. Debbie Says:

    Wow Patsy!
    Beautiful! I can’t wait to play with rulers more.I ended up buying a George after your kind input…now onto ruler work!

  5. Valerie Smith Says:

    Oooh this turned out lovely!! I love the color of the fabric with your beautiful colorful quilting! 🙂