#25 Vertical Aquarium

#25: Vertical Aquarium
Almost Finished: 6/24/12
Techniques: Raw-edge appliqué, Wobble stitch
Size: 14 1/2" x 28"

Description: I apologize for the lateness of this posting. I didn't quite get this mini-quilt done by last Sunday's deadline, but all that was left to do was to add the binding and sleeve. So the important part was done on time. This will be the first time during this project that I haven't made the deadline. I'm disappointed in that, but considering what's been going on, I'm not beating myself up about not finishing a mini-quilt.

It's been quite the week here in Colorado Springs. A major fire started last Saturday and erupted on Tuesday destroying over 300 homes, and evacuating 32,000+ people. Two people have lost their lives. My home was not in the danger zone, but my friend Mary Beth was evacuated from hers. She stayed with me until she was allowed to go back. I'm happy to report that there was no damage to her place. She and I both know at least one person whose home was destroyed and our hearts go out to her and her family, and to all those who have lost so much. This mini-quilt is dedicated to them.

The mini-quilt was made from a batik scarf that I had bought at a garage sale and wasn't using. It was large enough to use as the background for the design as well as the backing material. The scarf was very thin and a little difficult to work with because it kept shifting. The quilting was done prior to the appliqué process using a wobble stitch - a very narrow zigzag stitch - and although the front came out OK, the backing did have some puckering in places.

Of course the design on the batik is flower-like, but it also reminded me of bubbles in a fish tank. My friends Sean and Karen have a vertical aquarium - taller than it is wide - and that's where I got the idea to create this vertically. As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of fish fabric. I applied Steam-a-Seam to the reverse side of several fish motifs and cut them out and appliquéd to the batik. The greenish blue sea weed pieces at the bottom were what's left after cutting out the fish. I simply trimmed them up and appliquéd them as well.

I hope to have my next posting soon, but will admit to being a little behind again this week. We'll see how it goes.

#16 Fish in the Attic

#16: Fish in the Attic
Finished: 4/19/12
Techniques: Attic Window, Fussy Cut Fabric, Mitered Corners
Size: 14 1/2" x 14 1/2"

Description: An "attic window" is achieved by adding two fabrics to two adjacent sides of a third fabric and joining them with a mitered corner. Typically the two fabrics are a light and dark in order to create a sense of depth, or a "window" effect. I used some peach and orange mottled fabric as my light and dark for the attic window. I also used red mottled fabric for sashing between the windows.

"Fussy cutting" is when you cut fabric in such a way to show off a particular design. As I've mentioned before, I have a lot of fish fabric so it was the logical choice for fussy cutting, even though fish in windows may seem silly. Hence the title of the mini-quilt.

#12 Aquarium

#12: Aquarium
Finished: 3/25/12
Techniques: Raw-edge appliqué, machine stitches.
Size: 23" x 18"

backing

Description: This is late in posting, but I did actually finish this mini-quilt last week. I used a variety of machine stitches to apply narrow strips of blues, purples, and blue-green strips from my stash to create the water. In retrospect, the variety of machine stitches detracts from the scene, and were I to do this again, I would stick with one simple stitch to attach them. I used green strips for the seaweed, and attached them using an open flower stitch. I also used the open flower stitch by itself where extra quilting was needed. The fish were starched and cut from fish fabric I once used as curtains in my bathroom, then stitched into place using invisible thread. I also used the fish fabric for the backing, shown at right.

I also added a couple of turtles from a batik, and if you'll notice some of the blue strips of water are batiks with dolphins on them. None of the strips were large enough to contain whole dolphins, so I used them as background.

I wasn't sure if the blues in the water would be too dark or distracting for the design, but the brightness of the fish seem to compensate and they stand out ok. The turtles are more subtle and I like that contrast.