ASL Wall Quilt Set

I found some batik strips one evening as I was going through a tote of fabric and decided to see what I could make. I thought about what I could do and then settled on the idea of sign language. I sketched an “I love you” sign and heart. From there, I was able to make a matching set of wall quilts.

I believe these have been claimed, but I’ll update this post if I’m wrong.
I’m very happy with how these have come out, and I’m loving the sign language idea and will probably make another set at some point.

Handbell Choir Director Wall Quilt

After I completed the pipe organ quilt, I was approached about making a quilt for the handbell choir director.  I looked around for a while and then figured out a really fun idea after seeing this clip-art image.

img_2158

I realized I could use batik fabric and make the stained glass look more realistic.  I would use my beloved crepe back satin to make the bell.  The question was how.  There were too many colors to try a reverse applique, and I didn’t think piecing them together like I do in paper-piecing would look like the slightly imperfect leading of stained glass.  In the end, I realized that I couldn’t do much else than piece it together like a puzzle and applique it onto the white fabric.  Since it would be a wall quilt, I knew it wouldn’t take a beating like some of the other quilts I make.

So first, I picked out the fabric.  It’s one of the few times I have bought fat quarters. I also had some blue batik on hand at home from a previous graduation quilt.

img_2157

I used a projector to trace the clip-art onto paper at the proper size, and then I traced the image onto the fusible interfacing.  This explains why the image is reversed from the original clip-art.

In order to keep the piecing straight, I had to number them and take pictures for reference.  Then I cut the pieces out and ironed them onto the different colors, mostly at random. There were so many pieces that I had to put my husband to work helping me.  He was thrilled….

img_2154

Then I reassembled the pieces and ironed them down.

img_2151

From here, I began the tedious task of using the close-set zigzag stitch between all the piecing to recreate a “leading” look like there is in stained glass windows. Then I used some leftover black binding from a previous project and made the window outline.

img_2150

At this point I was ready to quilt.  I used a black backing and black thread on my bobbin with a white top thread.  I did a normal stipple in the white area.  I thought long and hard about how to handle the window part.  I didn’t want anything taking away from the stained glass look or the bell.  In the end, I played it safe and did a simple straight stitch over the black leading between the batik fabrics.  Then I used a dull gold/yellow thread I had to give the bell curves and add depth to it.

The last thing I did was add a sleeve.

So there you have it – from clip-art to quilt!

img_2149

Related Blogs and Posts:

handbell happy!

Advanced Quartet Rocks the Handbells

Handbell ringers want to pass on ‘dying art’

%d bloggers like this: