Batik Daydreams by auntietk
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Description
Anybody remember I said I was spending all my time this winter working on a new quilt? Well, it's finally done. Yay!
I found the floral panels last winter and couldn't resist them. The parrot tulip and lily panels are by Stephanie Brandenburg for Camelot Cottons, and they're from a series (now discontinued) called Daydreams II.
A couple of weeks after I bought the panels, I found a roll of batik strips that were all in the same colors as the panel backgrounds. Then I spent the next several months taking my little tote box of fabric around to different fabric stores (along with paint swatches to make sure everything would go with the color of the room), buying more and more and more fabrics that would blend with what I already had. We even made a special trip to Hamilton, Missouri, when we were in Kansas City in October to visit the Missouri Star Quilt Company (aka the Mother Ship).
Finally, sometime in November, I started designing, cutting, and sewing. This was sort of a design-as-you-go thing. Ummm ... that means I didn't really have a plan when I started. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, but since I was designing on the fly, it couldn't be too precise. Any symmetry would have to be fluid enough that if my work was uneven, it would never show. How's that for a goal? :P
Once I had the top and the pillow shams done and the backing was ready to go, I took it to a woman here in town who does long-arm quilting. If you care what that is, Google it, and look at the images. It's pretty amazing. The quilting pattern is called Paper Poppies b2b. That's the stitching pattern, btw, and has nothing to do with the fabric. If you look at the bottom right-hand image, you can easily see the stitches.
So credit Stephanie Brandenburg with the floral panels, credit me with the design and execution, and credit Corina's Longarm Quilting with the actual quilting.
The quilt is king sized, approximately 108" square.
Comments (10)
Faemike55
Dayum! that is sure a pretty one!!!! All kidding aside, this is a lovely and intricate piece of art. thanks for sharing your passion with us.
LivingPixels
Exquisite!!
RodS
This is quite lovely, Tara! That looks like a pretty involved quilting project.
My aunt in Oak Grove is into quilting in a big way - or at least she was. I think she's slowing down on it as she's in her lower 90s. She has one of those long-arm machines, or did last time we saw her. It's an amazing machine.
anahata.c
I've looked at this full zoom, and it's a huge design, Tara. Magisterial in scope. I feel constricted by the frame of the photo---I'd love to see it in person. I'm amazed by the scope of the project---when you said you were working on this, I didn't realize how huge a concept it was. You told me dimensions, but I didn't know how many elements you were putting together---in a single design. I understand designing as you 'go along', letting each addition tell you where to go next, balancing one side with another, etc etc. But this is a symphony, and it must've taken a very big commitment---meaning, you couldn't stop after 2 days, because the piece was far from finished; you just had to keep doing it. And keeping a sense of "the whole" in mind. Your color contrasts are powerful---purples and greens, the small crimson and orange strips outside the big squares, and how they conrast with the blues and greens, etc. The many mini patterns---this is an aerial view of a multi-patched landscape. Lots to manage. Managing large numbers of elements in a single work demands real patience, I know, and the ability to rekindle your concentration the minute you pick it up again. I assume it 'called' you, pulled you back to that state. It's a major effort and piece.
You used the Batik strips powerfully too: Beautiful accents, borders, etc. Love your design sense.
It really is a communal art, isn't it: I mean, you designed the whole thing, but you depended on what you found as you went along, what hit your eye, and probably had to shift your vision several times. And then the quilting, on top of it: Quilting patterns, on a piece like this, are kind of like (I hope this isn't too obscure) a "chorale prelude" by Bach: He writes a whole composition---your blanket---with lots of interacting lines (his counterpoint); but then he places these single, simple lines on top---they float on top of the whole composition, and miraculously blend right in. It's Bach's version of blending. That's what the quilting, here, is like. Huge vision, Tara, you take your place alongside Andrea, with her magisterial fabric banners from some years ago. (For a church, remember?) And it's stunning...Man, if you have 3 or 4 of these laying around, I'll take 2. I'd put this on my wall. Terrific.
wysiwig
This is beautiful, Tara! An amazing piece of work. Just one question, where do you find the time?
beachzz
I AM SPEECHLESS!!!!!!!! I don't think there are enough words to tell you how much I love this and how impressed I am with what you did. Quilting is such an amazing art and with this piece you have brought a dimension completely original and creative. I still have a buttload of fabric; and I don't think I could survive the quilt company you mentioned without buying everything in sight---and I rarely sew anymore at all. WOW!!!!
durleybeachbum
Such a triumph! Wow, Tara, I could never even begin to imagine this, never mind make it!
It is beyond brilliant, and intensly covetable!
Meisiekind
Hun - as Marilyn, I am speechless.. You have hidden talent gal!!!! This is spectacular. I want to feel it and feel the texture of the quilting. The colors just sing in total harmony - blues, purples, greens and then the white Arum lilies popping the whole design. My knowledge of the English language is really not adequate enough to describe the beauty of this wonderful quilt clearly done with much love and dedication!
helanker
OH MY GOODNESS! What a masterpiece. It is absolutely wonderful. Must have been a HUGE work and you must have been exhausted after one hours work. I know I would :) What a fabulous artist you are. :))) 108 Inches. WOOOW! it is HUGE !!!. You can really be proud of this, lady !!!
kgb224
This is amazing work by all involved in this project. Superb captures and collage Tara. God bless.