Florentine Edge Appliqué

Pipe Dreams, an original quilt by Ann Fahl

Have you seen the September 2013 issue of American Quilter Magazine? The above quilt was featured in my article about Florentine Edge Appliqué on pages 24-28.  I've probably mentioned this technique  before, I am really enjoying using it on my newest quilts. Pipe Dreams was about getting a new toilet.  You can read all the details on my website.

The article looks great, but what is funny is that I sent images of a newer quilt; which they decided not to use. So all of my blog readers can read the back story of this newer quilt and the article! 

Coneflower Tea, © an original quilt by Ann Fahl  22 x 22 inches

The quilt Coneflower Tea, contains so many of my personal images, I just love it.  It is hanging in my studio right now. The base of the quilt or the "tablecloth" is a large ginkgo leaf.  On it, rests a teapot and 2 cups.  This teapot is a favorite of mine, it also appears in another quilt titled Tea Party.  This quilt is particularly colorful and my cat Oreo is included. The actual teapot is bright red. Back to Coneflower Tea, the pot in this quilt is decorated with a small pink coneflower.

To tell you the truth, I've never made tea in this pot.  It sits in my family room, where I can enjoy looking at it.  So in this newer quilt, I've removed the lid and arranged some large coneflowers inside.

Closeup of the ginkgo leaf.

The very wide stitch on the edge of the lime/yellow leaf is my Florentine Edge Appliqué.  In the past I have wanted a wide zigzag stitch.  My machine gives a 7mm stitch and I believe Bernina has a 9 mm wide stitch, neither is wide enough for my needs.  By accident I found if I set my machine for a free-motion zigzag and moved the quilt side to side, I could create an edge that was 1, 1.5, 2 inches or wider as needed. Eureka, I have done it! This creates a soft edge, not a hard defined edge that a standard satin stitch provides. This is exactly what I'm looking for. 

Detail of bright blue leaves with green variegated Florentine Edge

These leaves are small, only 3 or 4 inches long.  I love how the blue fabric pops when edged with the green variegated Rainbow thread.

Briefly this is what you do to create this stitch, there are 3 steps:

1.Set up the machine with feed dogs down, darning foot installed
2.Set zigzag width for about 3 (you can experiment with the width)
3.Stitch along the edge with a free-motion zigzag stitch for 1 or 2 inches
4.Retrace your steps and go back over the zigzags you have just created
5.Now move the fabric side-to-side going as far into the center of the shape as you'd like.
6.When you have covered the first row of zigzag stitching, begin again with step #3. Continue around the shape in this manner until the edges are covered.

This isn't a fast method.  It takes time to create this interesting edge but it is worth the time.  For detailed instructions, check out the article in AQ, or see my booklet titled Applique Ann's Way.

Ann Fahl

There is a Title for Hockey Garden part 7

The quilt is finished. The label is sewn on the back, the binding is stitched and the hanging strip at the top of the back edge is in place. I have nothing more to say about it, except it was fun.

End of the Hockey Season by Ann Fahl

You may read my final statement about this quilt on my website. Enjoy.

Ann Fahl

A Different View of a Garden Quilt

It was just before the holiday season when I stopped to have dinner with my son in Chicago.  My creative mind was in the "off" mode at the time, and he suggested that I start a quilt called "Hockey Garden." Of course I immediately dismissed the idea, because I have already made a hockey quilt. Hockey Mom was made years back when both my sons were playing hockey and my husband was coaching.  Hockey was all that was discussed in our house that particular year. I did have great fun making this quilt and it is my only self portrait.

Hockey Mom, quilt (c) Ann Fahl made in 1996, 39.5 x 41 inches.  Also pictured in Quilter's Newsletter  Dec '96

But as time passed by, I decided that I had a really good idea for a hockey garden quilt.  The next few posts will show the piece in progress. You may recall my post called the World's Most Expensive Free Rose Bush? A year or two ago, my neighbor gave me a start from her grandmother's old fashioned rose bush, and I used my son's broken hockey sticks to keep it under control.  I decided to take this same idea and make it into a small quilt.

Here is the rose bush, surrounded by the expensive broken hockey sticks!

Background of the new quilt Hockey Garden.

 So here is the beginning of my next quilt.  I've pieced together a sky background, the foreground is a little bit of garden soil and grass. My idea is to have a garden of fragrant flowers growing in and around some smelly hockey gear.  Only mother's with hockey players will truly understand this. 

Here is the hockey bag which is central to the life of a hockey player because it contains all of their expensive equipment.  No matter how often the stuff is washed there is always a very strong unpleasant aroma attached to it.  The bag is also central to my future garden as a planter.

There will be more later.

Ann Fahl

Crisis in Orange

Here we are, Christmas is almost here. Everything should be red and green and sparkly.  So what's the problem?

You know I love the color orange.  It used to be my least loved color, but today it has become part of my repertoire. When I look back at my childhood, how could I have left that orange crayon in the box unused? Below, you will find an anatomically correct, Oreo, walking under some giant coneflowers on a warm background. Actually this was made of leftovers, but it is a really successful quilt.

Under the Giant Coneflowers, (c) quilt by Ann Fahl

Years back, before "Under" was created, the members of the quilt/art list helped me extend my selection of orange fabrics by sending me orange squares to create this colorful piece. I was hoping for 100 squares, but I actually received more than 300.  Wow, That's Orange is one of my top 10 favorite quilts in my career. There is more of the story on my website.

Wow that's Orange, (c) quilt by Ann Fahl

So what's the problem?  I'm wearing an orange top and jacket today; and I needed to wear my only pair of orange socks; my friend Sally gave them to me a few years ago. When I put them on, I realized there were holes in each heel, but I wore them anyhow! It's about time for these socks to go, sooooo sad, because I love them.  I guess I know what I'll put on my list for Santa!

Ann's favorite orange socks

 It is a sad day, but I will recover!

Merry Orange Holidays to everyone.
Ann Fahl

Garden of the Sun God--The End

The last challenge is to find the right fabric for the binding. At first I thought perhaps it would work best to piece a variety of red fabrics together. But then I realized there was a lot of stuff going on in the border already, perhaps one or two fabrics cut on the bias would be a better solution.

It's wonderful when I go digging in my stash and can find a number of possible fabrics for the binding. I chose a red batik with lights, mediums and darks marbled through it.  Perfect. Always cut binding on the bias, the corners will turn flatter, and the long sides will lay flatter. For a thorough discussion on binding your quilt see my booklet on bias binding.

Announcing the completed quilt, Garden of the Sun God, by Ann Fahl, this quilt is now included in my Ancient Artisans gallery on my website.

The completed quilt, Garden of the Sun God, 52.5 x 63 by Ann Fahl © 2012

Ann

Embroidery on The Sun God's Garden

After spending so much time and thought on the composition of a quilt, it's fun to actually begin the machine work. For me, the embroidery is what adds rich texture, and holds all the pieces in position.  I do this in a hoop so I don't need any stabilizer underneath the pieces.  This creates a softer quilt top and allows the quilting (over wool batting) to add more dimension to the finished product. For more information on how Ann handles her embroidery refer to her book, Coloring with Thread.

Detail of Scraps of a Different Color showing rejected embroidery pattern

Being a coneflower fan, I wanted to begin with them.  I had already decided how I wanted to embroider my angular flowers. First I had experimented on another quilt where I discovered that I didn't like my first idea. This is why it is so important to test out ideas first, so problems can be avoided on major pieces of work. So I had to rethink my ideas and this is what I came up with.

Embroidery and quilting detail of coneflowers with honey bee

Each petal was detailed in the opposite direction with a variegated pink thread. This was a simple plan which I could easily accomplish, yet different than anything I had done before.

The papyrus was another challenge.  How will I embroider them?  I chose to use metallic blue and green thread to detail the heads, and gold thread for the sepals. This was lots of fun and a challenge to work with metallics.  I had finished writing my Mastering Metallics booklet by this time, so I tested out some of my suggestions! The detail on the curved edge is really pleasing and adds richness of texture.  I also love the little circles that hold the seeds in the papyrus head.

Harry becomes the focal point using Superior Thread's Midnight Rainbow #844

 And then there is Harry. I knew all the embroidery on the bird was going to make him come to life. I didn't worry too much about individual feathers, I just wanted texture.  Midnight Rainbow add the color I wanted over the double dyed blue/purple fabric. Notice that the grass behind the bird adds more depth to the quilt.

Now that the embroidery is complete, all that remains is the quilting.

Time to put the Sun in the Garden

The sun rests above the garden.

The black "bowl" above the heron's panel is actually a cow horn headdress.  It holds a flaming sun that I created from a commercial fiery red fabric. One of the earliest symbols in ancient drawings and art is the sun disk.  In early Egypt is was shown as a headdress worn by the goddess Hathor, or seen as simply a round disk in the sky.  Now the flaming red sun fabric can warm my quilted garden.

It is now time to permanently fuse all the pieces in position.  I do this on my design wall, after painstakingly removing the paper backing from the Wonder-Under.

I thought I was done. After reviewing a photo of the "finished" piece, I realized that the panel behind Harry needed a little something.

Addition of grass in center panel

I cut out some little grass like shapes and they seemed to fill the soil area behind Harry. Yes, this is a small thing, but the empty field now has what it needs.

Now it is time to begin the embroidery.

Garden of the Sun God-or-Harry the Heron comes back

Harry the Heron has been fabricated and fused onto baking parchment.

Needing to concentrate on the heron, I removed the papyrus and coneflowers that had been floating on the background. Doesn't he look great standing in front of his new home?  This is such an exciting part of the design process when everything is flowing well.

I wanted to make the coneflowers, one of my favorite images to use in quilts; look Egyptian.  So I drew them to fit in a diamond shape to become more angular.

A left-over Egyptian coneflower.

 I cut out more coneflowers than I needed, but that always leaves some to use for embroidery practice. If you look at my quilt Scraps of a Different Color you will see an extra one that has been inserted into a collage.  By doing this, I learned how I didn't want to embroider the flower in my Sun God quilt!  If you look at the close up images you will see how it was embroidered. Allowing yourself to play with your images and experiment with ideas is important because it helps you make better decisions when it comes to your more important work.

Here is Harry now standing among the papyrus and coneflowers.

The coneflowers have been pinned in place, with long graceful curving stems and a few green leaves to anchor the plant.  The papyrus are back in position, with a warm brown fabric that was eventually used for the stems. Things are looking good.

Why is Harry still pressed on baking parchment?  Because at this point in the design phase I want to be free to move the all elements around until I am completely sure everything is in the right spot. His beak, feathers and legs are too long and narrow to be able to shift around; so he stayed on paper until it was time to fuse everything on permanently.

Tune in next time, to see if Harry gets glued on!

Ann Fahl

Garden of the Sun God part 2

So here is the unveiling of the border.  I did struggle with possible ideas. At times of indecision like this, I will look back over my earlier quilts for ideas.  If nothing comes to mind, look through the books and magazines I have saved over the years.

For this quilt I finally decided to add an irregularly pieced border, including as many rich red fabrics as I had in my stash.

3 border strips pinned up around the edges.

Then comes the question of what to do with the corners.  Do I use a square in each or do I just continue with the strips?  Hmmmm, I liked the idea of light turquoise in the upper corners to carry out the feeling of "sky." But what do I do for the 2 corners on the lower border?

Borders are attached, the background is complete.

So I compromised.  Two turquoise at the top and I carried the pieced border all the way across the bottom to create a firm foundation for my design elements. If you look closely you will see that the bottom border is actually a little wider than the 2 sides and top.  This is a technique that I always teach in my workshops. When a quilt is meant to hang in one direction such as a landscape or pictorial quilt, make the lower border a little wider.  It isn't obvious, but it adds "visual" weight to the quilt, its purpose is to create a base for the entire composition. This little trick works well. 

The important elements pinned in place.

OK, so you aren't impressed.  But I was pleased at this point in the progression of the design.  I loved my Eqyptian style coneflowers, and the blue and green heads of the papyrus.  To you as the viewer, all the little images are just floating on the background.  But to me, everything seemed to pull together when the drawing of the bird was pinned up. I did have a few moments of indecision, because my original plan was to include 2 or 3 birds in the center. But the birds would have been sized too small to have a family of them in the picture.  As it worked out, I gave up on that idea and included just one much larger bird. It makes a stronger statement this way.

What will happen to Harry the Heron?  More info in my next blog.

Ann Fahl

Garden of the Sun God

It is time to introduce to you my latest quilt, completed this past spring.  You can visit it at Houston if you go to the big show in October.

At the time of its creation, my teaching schedule had slowed down considerably, so I had more relaxed embroidery and quilting time with this large quilt. It was a joy to make.  I did envision how this quilt to should go together, the background is 4 basic pieces, a little different from my usual style, but similar in feel to Egyptian Garden II.

The working title for this new quilt was Egyptian Water Garden III. The plan was to paint a large panel of fabric which would be divided into 3 thin strips for the background. I always cut the white base fabric a little larger than needed, to give myself some options in how to trim it up for the quilt. So I used about 1.5 yards of "prepared for dying" white cotton.  I poured and dribbled lots of sky blue stuff on the top and browns, greens and yellows for the lower edge.  I twist up the fabric into a long log so the Setacolor paints intermix in interesting patterns.

This is the hand painted panel, pressed, sliced into 3 sections, auditioning a sashing strip.

I envisioned a water garden, with papyrus, pink coneflowers, and a blue heron fishing in a lily pond. So above you see the very beginning! Remember, this will have an ancient Egyptian feel to it, but I created most of symbols to make it mine!

The sashing strips were cut from a rich hand dyed fabric by Dagmar Plenk of Milwaukee. It was a luscious fabric blending red, gold and rust dyes. It made me think of very hot desert when I saw it for the first time. Above the shorter center panel I will place the symbol of the Egyptian sun god.

The strips are pieced with the red sashing. The lower dark blue strip is being auditioned for the water.

The heron is supposed to be fishing in the pond, and I have decided that the special water fabric I have purchased is too heavy and dark.

Auditioning another lighter turquoise for the strip to become the pond.

This lighter fabric blends and subtly contrasts with the upper section, so I'm much happier with this selection.  Good thing I had it left over from my Orange Coneflower Quilt.

Auditioning red fabrics for outer border.

Now the inner section is complete. All the while I have been working on the background, I have been unsure about what to use for the outer border.  It must harmonize with the inside, yet be heavy enough to hold all the sections together. I'm not there yet.

More border auditions.

It seems that I'm getting closer to a border.  I like the fabric on the lower left that changes from bright red to dark red. This creates an interesting border with some movement; this works well with the water idea.

Tune in next time to view the exciting conclusion.......What will be chosen for the border!

Have a good weekend.

Ann Fahl

Quilts in France!

Right now, as I am contemplating my age, career and life's goals; an opportunity to exhibit my work in France came along. It is such an honor to be one of the artists exhibiting.  Eight of my quilts will be included in:

Quilt Expo Beaujolais

ParcExpo

9400 Villefranche sur Saone

near Lyon - France

April 12-15, 2012

Wow That's Orange (c) Ann Fahl

There will be quilts from Europe, but there will be special exhibitions from Japan, Australia and USA.  I will be included in the American portion. Of course I had to send my two brilliant orange quilts for them, they are such attention grabbers.  And by the way, UPS sent my quilts from Racine to France, and it only took two days.

Orange Coneflowers (c) Ann Fahl

So if you will not be attending this Quilt Expo, you can at least see my 8 quilts, right here, in the comfort of your very own home.  The rest of my quilts included are:

Really Purple Coneflowers

On the Nile

Egyptian Garden

Egyptian Water Garden II

Ginkgoes Galore

Landscape Ginkgo

If I could speak French, I would put all this in a different language, for you to peruse. But I can't, so you will have to read this in English!  So, go get yourself a beautiful stemmed crystal glass, and put some French red wine in it, get comfy in your chair and visit all of my quilts online. 

My thanks to Margo Bimler and Monique Bonnet Imbaud for arranging this exhibit!

Ann Fahl

The Quilted Garden

I’ve blogged about my exhibit several times, but a solo exhibit is a big event in the life of a professional quilter! I wanted to blog about it one more time. These shows are so much work, that I’d almost prefer to be a part of a group exhibit instead.  This helps to share all the costs involved in making and shipping quilts to and from the show location. Shipping expense is a huge consideration, that 2 or 3 years ago when I agreed to have the show, was not as large a cost. Any of you considering shows now, should think about this cost long and hard!

Back to the show at the La Conner Museum.  I always make a quilt especially for my exhibitions. As you know Coneflower Fiesta is the featured quilt for this one.Why did I choose coneflowers? I’ve done so many coneflower pieces and still have some in mind.

I wanted this one to be large, showy, and have flowers that dance across the width. This carries out the theme from my book on free-motion quilting, Dancing with Thread.  The quilting is spontaneous and adds lots of interest to an otherwise boring sky-like background.  And lastly, it carries out the garden theme for the show: The Quilted Garden.

Background of Coneflower Fiesta in process

I began this project by piecing together blue and green strips to create the background. Most are 6 -10 inches wide. I was tired of making quilts with pieced squares in the background and wanted to create a simple yet striking setting.

Fused top of Coneflower Fiesta. The multi-colored cones are a favorite rainbow commercial fabric.

Eventually one ginkgo leaf and a fallen petal were added before the embroidery was started.  After the top was completed. I marked where the quilted flaming spirals were to be placed by safety pinning paper circles on the top. So if I got carried away with my dancing/quilting, the important space for the spirals would be reserved.

So the show is up, the doors are open, and my quilt is on display. You can check my website for more of the story of its making. Make sure you look at the 3 closeups to view the flowers and spirals. Or better yet, go see the exhibit.

This quilt has become a new favorite of mine.  Thanks for reading.

Ann

The Really Big Show

Here's the UPS truck, loaded with my treasured quilts, heading down the street on the way to La Conner!

 After spending most of 3 days packing quilts, I am now done.  There are 8 boxes packed, sealed and labeled for UPS.  There are more than 30 quilts rolled up in these boxes. This exhibit has taken more of my time, than any other I've done.

The next part is they have to travel from here in Wisconsin to north of Seattle to La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum. This is a long trip for the quilts, so this shipping bill will be a big one.

There were so many decisions to make. If you have an exhibit, large or small in your future, here are some things that I did as part of the plan that might help you.

• I sent out a pile of show proposals to quilt museums around the country. 5 years ago!
• Decide on a title: The Quilted Garden (this was a year ago.)
  
• Choose the works to be included-2 months before
• Arrange the quilts on the floor plan of the La Conner
• Draw up an inventory list with sizes, prices and descriptions for signs and send to La Conner
• Send out publicity to as many web sites and print media as possible, 3-6 mo. ahead
• A special quilt was made to anchor the exhibit Coneflower Fiesta
• Now it is all packed up in U Line telescoping boxes and ready for the UPS man to pick them up. I usually take them to UPS myself, but my car isn't big enough to hold all the cartons. I now have more respect for the after the show crews that pack up all the quilts and return them to their owners! This was lots of work.
• I sent an inventory of the quilts; their sizes and values to my insurance agent.  We had to discuss my coverage and made some adjustments to my "inland marine" policy.  If you enter shows and competitions, you need one of these policies. Homeowners insurance won't cover quilts that travel. I am grateful to my State Farm agent for spending so much time with me on the phone, and working out something that I could afford.
• Also I shipped a separate box of books, patterns and booklets for the giftshop at the La Conner to sell, so if you find your way to the show, you can see my new Oreo book.

Coneflower Fiesta, the featured quilt of my upcoming exhibit.

I hope many of you in the northwest will be able to see the show. A huge amount of effort has been put towards the show.  The show opens Oct 5 and closes Dec 31, 2011. The hours of the show are: Wed-Sun: 11am-5pm; Mon & Tues By appointment only. The La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum, 703 S. Second St., La Conner, WA 98257, 360-466-4288.  Open to the public, admission fee for non members. For more information go to the museum's website.

Please tell all your friends and local guilds about my show. I'd like it to be the best one they have ever had!

Oh yes, UPS did a great job, and the quilts safely arrived in under 5 days. No more worries there.

Ann Fahl