Friday, May 13, 2011

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry

Amy's Creative Side

The Blogger's Quilt Festival begins today over at Amy' Creative Side.  I am excited to be a part of this great and exciting show.  Any quilt blogger may link up to her blog for this week to show a quilt.  Take some time to look at one or all of these beautiful quilts and read about how they were made. 


Tanzania Tango is my entry for this show.  Some time ago, I purchased some fabric made in Tanzania to add to my stash.  I really had no idea what to do with it.  Then, I discovered Ricky Tim's Harmonic Convergence and I fell in love with this process.  I like the idea of not having total control of the outcome.  (That is also what drew me to Victoria Findlay Wolfe's 15 Minute Play techniques.)  For the center of this quilt, I used four different fat quarters.  They were tied together in color, sort of.  Once I got the center sewn together, I was really excited about how the purple swirl pattern became a focal image.  I decided to pick up on the orange for the inner border.  I think that pulls all the fabrics together, and it contrasts well with the purple so that it really stands out.  I chose a gold on black fabric for the outer border because the gold pattern is almost a repeat of a pattern in one of the Tanzanian fabrics.  I used a deep purple binding to help bring out the purple swirls even more. 


I really didn't know what to do with the back.  I thought about going with a solid black, orange, or gold at one point.  Then, I decided I had just enough left of the quilt fabric to piece a back.  I am really glad I went that way.  Now, you can see what the original fabrics looked like.  I used a piece of the bottom row to make a label.  I actually finished this piece last night, and was excited to post it, but blogger got in the way.  I am happy they fixed their problems so I could share this with you all.
Joyful quilting, everyone.

25 comments:

Rachaeldaisy said...

Miki, It's stunning!! The center is almost like an image reflected in rippled water. All your border choices are perfect. The backing is amazing too. Awesome fabrics!!

Lisa said...

That looks wonderful! I love the convergence, I haven't tried that before, but I think you have just inspired me. The back is great too, I like that you can see what those fabrics started out as . . . .

Sarah Craig said...

It's gorgeous, Miki! I'm dying to try out this technique, just haven't had time - but this is enough to inspire me to do a little "playtime" for myself this week! Whoop whoop!!!

Karen said...

It is very different. I love the rich colors.

Candied Fabrics said...

OOh, I love convergence quilts, this is a great one!

Anonymous said...

A convergence quilt is on my to do list. I almost forgot, until I saw yours! Love the colors. Just lovely!

stitchinpenny said...

This is not a quilt I would make, but it speaks to me and thus is a great quilt in that it evokes emotion. Great job.

greelyrita said...

The surprise when you try a technique like this is certainly the fun part. Great result! Good choices on the borders too.

Eileen said...

Lovely quilt. Went to your hotlines too...fascinating and something I'd like to try. Thanks for sharing and have a great day

Janet said...

Gorgeous! What do you call it? I would like to do a Harmonic Convergence quilt....it's on my waiting list.

Brita said...

Fascinating how it came together, beautiful! I wouldn't have thought to use those fabrics, but now I'm inspired to try using some Australian aboriginal fabrics for a Convergence! Whoop Whoop!

Karen said...

This is great. The design certainly worked well with your gorgeous fabrics!

Linda at Roscoe's Ma said...

This is really a wonderful quilt. I love that you sort of 'let go' and see what happened. I need to learn more about Harmonic Conversion.

Lonci said...

This is a lovely quilt:)

CathWI said...

Your quilt is really beautiful and inspiring! Thank you for sharing the links as well. This technique sounds like one I'd like to try.

BunkHouseQuilts said...

I really like this. I had not heard of the Harmonic Convergence quilt. Looked at them and they are exciting. You did a great job with your fabric. Lovely quilt.

SewCalGal said...

Warm quilt with great use of light. Love it.

SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Diane H said...

Very interesting process with a wonderful result.
Lovely quilt.

Pattilou said...

Love the way your convergence quilt turned out. The colors are some of my favs!

Sarcastic Quilter said...

It's pretty cool-looking.

Editfolt said...

This is a special piece.

Unknown said...

What a fun quilt! I collect fabrics when I travel and I can't wait to get to Africa!

Carol G said...

Striking quilt! I went to a Ricky Tims seminar in January and it was so inspiring. He is so creative but also very down to earth. You have reminded me I must try one of these.

Allie said...

Love this! I really want to do one of these, but not having total control scares me - but after seeing your quilt, I want to do it even more, this is lovely!

quiltmom anna said...

I love convergence quilts and lots of Ricky Tims other patterns. I really liked the colors and fabrics you chose to create your lines converging.
I have played with this pattern myself and used it to make larger versions of it. It really is fun to see the great designs you can make with it.
If you would like to see some of the larger versions I have made with it, you can find it here:
http://quiltmomsjourney.blogspot.com/
Regards,
Anna