Thursday 5 September 2013

Free Motion Peacock Feathers


Inspiration for this  experiment in free motion quilting came from a book about Art Nouveau.  I was very taken by a picture of a vase decorated with a peacock feather design, and realised that it could turn into a fairly uncomplicated design for quilting.



I started with the eye of each feather, and worked outwards adding the concentric shapes. 



Then I did a line of stitching down to the base of the feather and worked back up adding the fronds. At this stage I was a bit worried that the whole thing may end up looking like fish skeletons, but I think the fronds are wavy enough to prevent that.

In the end I thought the quilted panel actually had an Art Nouveau look about it, which I was very pleased about.  I quite liked the feeling of having quilted it using a treadle machine, technology that was contemporary with the style of art.  Also, the feathers interlock well with each other, so this design would look quite effective over a large area.  Best of all, it was quick and easy.

Linking up again to Leah Day's blog for Free Motion Friday...
... and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday...
... and Nina-Marie's blog Creations... Quilts, Art... Whatever for Off The Wall Friday 

29 comments:

  1. Beautiful, Muv! What an outstanding whole cloth lap quilt this would make. *applause*

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  2. This is very beautiful, Lizzie! I think it came out great!

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  3. Hello Muv
    Oh I like this a lot and so does the much belovéd. I would be really interested to see more of a pattern repeat to get a sense of how it works over a large area. It reminds me of some Liberty fabrics I have seen. Again that arts and crafts/art nouveau influence and not a hint of dead fish.
    Hugs
    G

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  4. Beautiful quilting. I like the design.

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  5. What a wonderful design you've created! Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Very lovely art nouveau! Nicely done!

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  7. Very very nice! Love that you shared your inspiration, and I can't believe you did this on a treadle! Whoop whoop!!

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  8. Lovely feathers! Beautiful design.

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  9. This is really super, thanks for sharing it.

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  11. I love this. I've wanted to raise peacocks for a while now. Probably not going to happen since I don't live out in the countryside anymore.

    You've done a beautiful job!

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  12. Thank you for the art nouveau reminder for fmq design inspiration. I have several books on the subject that I need to re-examine. Your work is lovely.

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  13. This is gorgeous! There's a real Liberty vibe. I love it even in the plain white!

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  14. Replies
    1. Hooray hooray, the first comment in Cyrillic!!

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  15. These are amazing! I love the double lines in the construction. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  16. Wow! Your fmq peacock feathers are fabulous! They are so pretty. You are indeed painting with thread on your treadle. I'm so impressed. Bravo extremely well done! I might try this with green and blue variegated thread.

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  17. Wow, I just love this. i am not this brave yet, but what a great use of FMQ skills!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Indigo! It was actually one the easiest patterns I have come up with. Give it a try sooner rather than later.

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