Flower of Life
I'm not mathematically inclined, but geometry, especially if I don't have to calculate anything, can be quite beautiful. In fact, geometry is the basis for traditional quilting. Although I don't do much traditional quilting anymore, that's how most of us learned to quilt.
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| Flower of life - a series of circles or orange peels |
Minor frustrations
The cutting of the binding went relatively well. Not perfect because I had mostly scraps of this lilac Kona fabric left, but it did the trick. I thought that I would increase my skills by sewing the binding together at an angle. That didn't go so well because I was trying to join two pieces of binding that had already been sewn together. I kept stitching the right side to the wrong side!
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| Minor puckering around the edge |
Finally, I decided to add beads in the middle of the circles (where the orange peels meet). It does draw the eye away from the infinite pattern of the circles going on, but it adds to the finished piece. In the image below I was auditioning various size and colours of beads. I was going to sew a few of the different beads to try them out but finally I went with the top two on the left - I think they're perfect.
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| Auditioning four types of beads |
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| Flower of Life |
- Cutting bias really isn't difficult. There are lots of great tutorials on YouTube that you can check out. Using scraps is a little more difficult but what I got was obviously on the bias, so it went well.
- Sewing the binding pieces together was a challenge. Although I usually love sewing with solid fabrics because it doesn't matter which side is the top, in this case, it made it more difficult to sew those pieces together properly.
- When sewing on binding that's cut on the bias, DON'T stretch the binding when you're attaching it to the quilt.
- Using a walking foot is a lovely experience 😊 and adding that second line of stitching on the edge helped somewhat.
- Sacred Geometry for Project Quilting at Free Motion Mavericks, January 09, 2020
- Project Quilting, Challenge 11.1
- Links for Sacred Geometry and Flower of Life
Linking partiesI'll be linking up this finished Flower of Life to Project Quilting, Challenge 11.1. Let's go see what everyone has made! I will also be linking up to many fun linky parties. Off The Wall Friday, Beauties Pageant, Show Me Something Purple Link-up, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Peacock Party, Design Wall Monday, What I Made Monday, Colour and Inspiration Tuesday, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put your foot down, TGIFF, Free Motion Mavericks with Muv.
Sarah of Sarah Goer Quilts featured my piece in her Purple Projects Wrap-up post. If you love this pattern, go see the picture she took of a stained glass Flower of Life. It's gorgeous. Thanks so much Sarah!
Project details
Flower of Life
12½"
Techniques: free motion quilting, beading
Materials: Kona cotton, beads
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen. I guess it't time to plan the next one!
DeleteOnce you've done bias binding and realize it isn't all that difficult, it's actually kind of fun. A walking foot is a thing of delight, I think! I love mine!
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy - after this bias experience, I'm even looking into bias applique! Nothing like diving it :-)
DeleteIt is beautiful! The beads really add interest without taking away the geometry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shasta, I'm glad that it turned out that way!
DeleteThis is lovely! The beading makes it special. I need to get more familiar with my walking foot, I think. It is clunky and kind of scary!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I agree that the walking foot is kind of scary but I recommend that you try it the next time that you're adding binding to your quilt. It really is amazing!
DeleteNew skills added to your quilter's tool box and gorgeous texture! Win-win!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mel - and even an affirmation that my math skills aren't too bad :-)
DeleteA beautiful finish!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Kate!
DeleteYou did great! Love this piece and loved that you learned from it too!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting this great event. It's been lots of fun. Now on the the next challenge :-)
DeleteWhat a lovely piece!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sharon.
DeleteHave you tried gluing your bias cut binding strips prior to sewing them? Works wonderfully. You can also glue your binding to the quilt prior to stitching. Your quilt looks beautiful. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise - and thanks for the hint. I never think of using glue except on my art pieces. That sounds like a good idea.
DeleteThis finished up beautifully - well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan :-)
DeleteHello Andrée,
ReplyDeleteYour orange peel quilting is so precise! Amazing.
Joining strips of bias binding can be really fiddly. Not my favourite job. To make it easier when binding curves, iron the binding first. Fold it along the middle, gently stretch along what will be the outer edge of the curve, and steam press the curve into place. Even though the ironed in curve might not be an exact match for the curve you will be binding, it helps prevent problems when attaching it.
Love, Muv
Hi Muv, thanks for the hint!
DeleteAs a big math and geometry geek I really love this. What a great response to the PQ prompt. Thank you for linking up with Show Me Something Purple!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, thanks so much for featuring my project.
DeleteGlad to see this finished, it is a very clever project and interesting for nerds like me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dione. I thought that it would be much harder than it turned out to be. Thank goodness for the internet helping me with the math behind it...circles. I never clued in!
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