Happy Friday Quilters! I have been working on this batik Mariner's Compass quilt with a sea monster theme for a while now and I finally got it done!
This isn't a CiL quilt, it's a personal one. I really enjoyed the process of brainstorming, looking at references, sketching out a design and taking it to completion. Designing a quilt and seeing the design come to life is my favorite part of quilting.
I made a somewhat similar batik mariner's compass way back, so it was fun to approach the same design in a different way.
I tried something new with the quilting on this one, mixing in some ruler work with the FMQ. I used a ruler to make the straight lines and the wavy ribbon of quilting in the outer border.
The center was paperpieced and I thought that would be the most difficult and time-consuming part, but I seriously underestimated how tedious it would be to line up all the diagonal borders where they pass "under" the square borders.
After quilting I used a (machine) blanket stitch to applique the sea monster's tentacles coming around one of the corners. To make these I traced templates from my computer screen and used those to cut out the fabrics.
Initially I was going to put the cardinal direction into the points like I did in this quilt (so I guess I've actually made 3 mariner's compass quilts.) But I decided on monster eyes instead. I made them by essentially arranging 4 cathedral windows around the yellow fabric. (How many different techniques can I use in one quilt?)
After the first photos were taken I decided to make the eyes rounder by rolling the cathedral window edge back again, essentially making a double fold. I didn't take a whole new set of pictures, but you can see the difference in these last 2 photos compared to the ones at the top. I think it made a big difference.
One of the biggest things I have learned in the past 6 months or so is how much I missed the creativity and freedom of quilting and how much I had let that go by the wayside because I was so busy with the charity. Setting aside time for personal quilting is definitely going to be a lesson I keep going forward.
Happy Quilting!
Linking to Finished or Not Friday
Wow!!! That one is so pretty!! what a cool design - and all the quilting elements - perfect!! Glad you can set aside some time for your creativity - I am with you - TOtally necessary!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great and creative quilt, Kat! Congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible quilt, Kat!! Glad to hear that you are setting some time aside for personal quilting. It's extremely important in order to ward off burnout!
ReplyDeleteYes, you definitely need to take time for your own creative endeavors. And what a wonderful quilt. That last kittie picture is adorable.
ReplyDeletePat
That's such a beautiful, unique & awesome quilt. You have really taken it to a higher level with all the techniques, piecing & quilting. Your friend should be very, very pleased to receive this from you. I never realized that your quilting skills were of such outstanding quality. I'm just blown away by this quilt.
ReplyDeleteNow for kitty....looks like he/she is saying "this is mine, mine, mine & no one is going to take it away from me". Love it!
Your cat looks like he's trying to tell you something ... maybe that personal quilting is a great decision! As my doctor keeps telling me, there's nothing more important about treatment than keeping in mind it's all about quality of life. The quilt is beautiful!
ReplyDelete