Leaves

It is very interesting how many leaf patterns there are and how many different wall hangings can be made using just a leaf.

For the first wall hanging, I went to the back yard and picked up leaves,  The leaves were used as patterns.  Each leaf was fused together with a backing, making a double sided leaf.  The piece was machine quilted before the leaves were attached,  After stitching around the leaf shape with a zig zag stitch, they were attached to the  piece with built in embroidery stitches, stitching down the center and leaving the leaves free standing.  

Moonlight is made with discharge dyeing. When you discharge dye, you never know what color will remain on a black piece of fabric  Every black has a different base color.   I picked leaves and branches from the yard.  Using a foam brush, I painted the leaves and branches with bleach and pressed them on the black fabric with a brayer.  It is important to have a bucket of vinegar and water prepared ahead of time so the fabric can be immersed as soon as the bleach has done its job.  After the fabric had dried, I made the moon.  A circle was cut out of freezer paper and the paper was  pressed in the middle of the piece.  Bleach was spritzed from a spray bottle. Again, the vinegar rinse is ready for use as soon as the discharge looks like you want it to look.  Quilting with gold thread brought the leaves to life.

I had a class with Sarah Ann Smith at the Vermont Quilt Festival.  We painted the leaves with  a metallic paint stick and then machine quilted around the with metallic thread.

Look around your house and yard,  There are lots of design elements just waiting for you to use in quilting.

Have a great day and happy quilting.