The Kawandi Style Mini Quilted Wall Decor

 

And here's my first finished quilt of 2021. A mini wall hanging which took me quite a while to finish:)

I started making the Bali batik background in 2019 I think. The plan was to make a panel for a tote bag. I even drafted the bag in detail! But then lockdown happened and we stuck at home. I know I won't need a tote bag! I kept the panel in my UFO Bin and got busy making face masks and whats not :D

And then the Kawandi class happened and I'm hooked to the Kawandi style of quilting. It's therapeutic to just do running stitch round and round, and the result is always satisfying! 

So I decided to make a mini wall hanging. And as I browsed Suzuko Koseki books, I saw the cherry blossom applique quilt. I made the applique before for my kindle cover and I decided to add applique. I chose a chikan white fabric which I have in stash and started making the applique pieces. I have not done applique for a long time so it took me a while to get finish the first flower. Well, practice makes perfect, the second one came out pretty quickly. 

Unlike my previous hand quilting projects (THIS and THIS) where I used cotton batting,  this time I decided to use needle punch batting. Actually, I tried using polyester batting but after I started quilting it, it shifted so much even with a lot of pinning. Although I quite like the result when I did the outline stitching around the flower. 

this is using polyester batting

So I unpicked the whole stitches and changed the batting. The best part about hand quilting is unpicking stitches is so much easier :). Well, there are a lot of learning experiences here, as I incorporated the Indian Kawandi/Gaudi style of quilting and the quilting from Suzuko Koseki's book. In her Playful Patchwork book, she did outline stitching around the applique and then quilt the background in diagonal gridlines. The Kawandi style quilting is done from outward going inward in a circular motion. In this quilt, I did the quilting by section as I quilted circling the appliques. Sometimes, I did the quilting from the back as I can see more clearly :)

As I was finishing the quilting, I drew the last lines using an erasable pen to keep track of where I should go. Oh, by the way, the quilting is around 1/4" apart. It's quite dense :).  While the kawandi quilt doesn't have binding, I used yellow and white stripes as binding here. It gives a good contrast with the indigo block print fabric at the back, doesn't it?

Well, I am happy now it's done and probably I will frame it! I will keep practicing hand quilting this year, Insha Allah, and let's see how this year will unfold. No more resolution for me. I will go with the flow, doing what I can, and hopefully, I can share more tips with you all.

I posted the video on my Youtube Channel from the process and a more detailed view.

Quilting Stats:

Finished Size: 15" x 15" 

Fabric: Bali Batik for background, Indigo block print for the backing, chikan cotton fabric for applique. 

Thread: Anchor Pearl Cotton No. 8

Thank you for stopping by!

Take care & Happy Sewing!

Elvira

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INDIA QUILT FESTIVAL 2019

Hello,

Yes you heard it right! Finally the First Ever India Quilt Festival is going to be held in Chennai on 25- 27 January 2019!! Make sure to check out the WEBSITE and LIKE THE PAGE on Facebook to get the first update! 

Theme : Dance of The Peacock 

Alright, here is the detail from the website:

Category: 

1.  Traditional Quilts

Quilts made using traditional quilting methods and designs from India or rest of the World. The quilts can be wholecloth, pieced, appliquéd, hand quilted, machine quilted or made using a combination of techniques

2.  Modern Quilts

Modern quilts are more contemporary in design and form. These include the use of bold colors and prints, minimalistic designs, high contrast and graphic areas of solid colour, improvisational piecing, non-traditional fabrics and embellishments. Can be wholecloth, pieced, appliquéd, hand quilted, machine quilted or a combination of techniques.

3.  Art/ Innovative Quilts

An art quilt is an original exploration of a concept or idea rather than the handing down of a ‘pattern’. It experiments with textile manipulation, colour, texture and/or a diversity of mixed media.  An Art Quilt often pushes quilt world boundaries.

4.  Novice Quilts

Quilts made by a beginner with less than 2 years of quilting experience as on January 25th, 2019. This can include all styles and construction methods including the ones covered in the above categories.

5.  Theme Quilts -  “Dance of the Peacock”

Any technique, style and method of construction can be used to create a quilt that showcases your personal interpretation of the theme. It could be a literal interpretation or it could be abstract or even impressionistic. It could be the colours or the joie-de-vivre of the magnificent creature. Let the theme speak to you and let your thoughts manifest into a quilt.

BROAD GUIDELINES FOR THE QUILT SHOW :

1.    The quilt must be completed in the 2 years leading up to the festival – which means it must be made after January 2017.

2.    Finished size for categories 1 to 4 [mentioned above]

o    The maximum FINISHED size – no more than 9 ft [ 108 inches] on any side

o    The minimum FINISHED size – no less than 2 ft [24 inches] on any side

3.    Theme quilt – The quilt has to necessarily conform to ANY of the following FINISHED sizes ONLY: 

o    4ft x 4ft

o    3ft x 3ft

o    4ft x 3ft or 3ft x 4ft

o    2ft x 4ft or 4ft x 2ft

4.    You can enter up to two quilts per category.

Quilts not meeting competition criteria can be entered for Exhibition alone.

Quilt Submission Date : 1 September - 31st Dec 2018 

Why the wait? Go and get busy !! Sew those stash you've been collecting through the years. It's time to show the world of your craft!

and if you need more quilting fabrics, you can always go HERE and HERE.

Happy Quilting!