Found Cloth

Last night (after reading my Quilting Arts Magazine) I finally decided to do something I've never done with my Longarm: make found cloth.
I started out with a modest pile of fabric and thread bits that are left from the last few projects I've worked on ( you know, all those wee bits from trimming up, all the threads that are cut and discarded during machine quilting) and some backing fabric that I wonder why I ever bought, and got to playing.

The first step for me was to lay some batting on my backing, a top fabric (you can barely see it here, the white/pink/blue blotty fabric). Next, I got to laying out all the bits and pieces on top of it in a mosaic-like way, layering them and trying to cover my background fabric. (Later I didn't bother with background fabric, but layered directly on to the batting).

With a wild colour of thread and whatever bobbin thread I wanted to use up, I got busy stitching it all down. It started out as a somewhat random process, but as I went, I found myself looking for specific colours and threads for rather deliberate placement.

After years and years of being so careful not to stitch folds into fabric or leave an extra thread hanging this was immensely liberating! I folded and bunched threads and fabrics, then stitched the heck out of them to make them lie relatively flat - I could give this little quilt a haircut!

Here are some photos from the final piece. I'll make more later today (as long as my scraps hold out), then cut it all up. I think there will be a piece for my January Journal quilt, then I'd like to try the wallet and coffee clutch patterns from the new Quilting Arts magazine. I'll keep you posted.


Happy quilting,

Lisa