Quilting42: February 2015

I have always had an interest in Frank Lloyd Wright and have admired his vast and varied accumulation of work. I like to make different types of quilts so I thought it would be fun to make a quilt using inspiration from Frank. I love his stained glass windows made for the Avery Coonley playhouse in Riverside, Illinois in 1912. Some of these windows are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This is my Frank Lloyd Wright inspired quilt.

I have titled it Happy42.

This was my inspiration.

Designing The Quilt

I took photos as I made this quilt. Proof for myself that an idea can turn into beauty. Or as Frank once said, "An idea is salvation by inspiration." And so my journey began with a 3 inch grid the size of my desired quilt.

I gathered the tools to make this quilt: fabric, glue, iron, thread, scissors, and Mt. Dew.

Once the color placement felt right I added the 1/4" biased tape. I made the quilt in quadrants so that I could manage them easier.

When the left top and bottom where done I sewed them together. I hung the left panel on a wall for awhile so I could judge the balance of colors.

I was then ready to work on the right side. Laying the right side next to the left side I could get the correct length. I wanted the two sides to interlock so that there would be no obvious connection seams.

Making the lines straight at the beginning was one of my biggest priorities.

When both sides were completed I pinned them together, fan folded them, then sewed them together.

Once the two sides were sewn together, I added biased tape to cover my seams.

Quilting The Quilt

It was finally time to quilt my quilt. I chose to place an 80/20 cotton poly blend and a 100% cotton batting in the quilt. Why two layers? I wanted definition for the quilting. I started with stitch in the ditch.

Then I added long lines in the white areas. I varied the width to keep it interesting.

In the colored areas I sewed fun fills to add a playful look.

When every inch of the quilt was quilted I blocked it so it would be nice and square. The binding was the last step. I spent about 200+ hours making my Frank Lloyd Wright inspired quilt. Was it worth it? I think so.