Saturday 18 May 2013

BQF Bed Quilt: Along the Jetty

This is my recently-finish beach scene quilt, which I called "Along the Jetty".


Each of my beach scene quilts is a little different, and this is one because of its size (single, or twin)and borders. To make the scene work on a bed, we (the friend who commissioned it and I) decided to make the scene to cover the top of the bed, and use a coordinating pieced border for the drop at the foot at sides, otherwise key parts of the scene would be lost. I also thought the scene might not work so well at the much larger size.


Something else new on this one is the appliqued kite. I continue to add to my stash of fabrics suitable for these quilts, and the kite print was a recent purchase. I like the extra pop of colour, and it's fun on a child's quilt.


The sun is the only section where the foundation-piecing is pre-determined. Everywhere else I allow the prints to dictate the cutting. In the lower section of sky, I used both an as-purchased section of a commercial pinkish sky print, and a few pieces of the same which I'd over-painted with a blue wash a while back - I like the over-painted bit better!


This time I also tried adding in an extra hut from a different print as an applique. I left a little of the background around the hut in the applique piece for a few reasons; to include the dog, to see if it would blend in better (not really!) and because the applique stitches would blend better on the background than over the edges of the hut.


Because of the taller scene section, I built the reef deeper than usual. This is all foundation-pieced onto sections of lightweight interfacing. Because the reef isn't right at the bottom of the quilt, I didn't quilt it quite as densely as usual, so that the quilt would be flat and have an even hand.

It's all free-motion quilted; I started by going along in the ditch where the beach section is appliqued to the sky, and where the water is appliqued to the sand, and then did the kite strings. The sun is quilted in the ditch, and then has a row of peachy-orange flames surrounding it, and the rest of the sky is filled with wind-like swirls. The sea is filled with wavy lines, which get more free-form deeper down, and I quilt around the feature creatures as I get to them. The reef is quilted in a multi-coloured variegated Superior Rainbows (trilobal poly) thread to add to, blend and complement the prints. I quilted in the ditch around the border frames, but left the actual strips unquilted for contrast.

I really like the way the borders worked; it just took a little luck and some calculations to make it all fit nicely.



Size: Approx 66 x 82in
Completed: April 2013
Design: Original
Techniques: Free foundation-piecing, machine applique, free-motion quilting

I am entering this quilt in the Bed quilts category of the May 2013 Bloggers' Quilt Festival.

11 comments:

Anne D said...

Gorgeous. Perfect with the beach scene on the bed and the borders for the drop. Love the beach huts

M-R Charbonneau said...

Fantastic, Emma! Such wonderful details!

Unknown said...

Hehe you already know how much I love this work. Interesting how much detail I hadn't really noticed until you photographed it.....

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Emma this is an amazing work of art as well as a bed quilt. I love how you have the foot and sides as panels, leaving the bed top os a complete scene. Your collection of suitable fabrics must be quite large. The way you have quilted each section is just perfect.You have created something of timeless beauty.

CitricSugar said...

I love that this one of your picks! It made my jaw drop the first time I saw it...

SuperMomNoCape said...

What a gorgeous quilt! You could look and look at this quilt and then come back and see something different.

Karen said...

Your quilt is stunning. They always are! Love the kite fabric and the beach huts especially. It really does make me think of Summer at the beach.

Robin said...

Such amazing detail! When I was looking at the thumbnails at BQF, this quilt really stood out in a beautiful way. Up close, it is even more amazing! Thanks so much for sharing. :)

Jackie said...

Lovely,charming,and beautiful work. The color choices and design work beautifully together. Very inspiring.
Also the photos are excellent. Great work.
Jackie

Aoife said...

I could spend all day staring at this and not see all the little details you've added! It's really lovely work :)

Nana said...

This is a wonderful quilt.

Nana