In between work on the 100 day project and my Textural Styles class I wrapped up my fantasy village quilt. I had been quilting it in little bits for a few months, and decided it was quilted enough or maybe I was simply tired of working on it.
I used a pillowcase finish and spent lots of time steam pressing the thick edges. As the front is silk, I had to be careful about the iron’s temperature. It’s always an adventure to find the spot where the steam works and the iron isn’t too hot.
My inspiration for the village began with the work of Zoe Zenghelis, which I saw last year at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Her paintings were often for architecture projects so they tied into my interest in designing a village. I was also inspired by this photo of a Mexican town.
I chose to simplify and flatten the buildings for a primitive effect. It may not look like there’s much quilting, but the back tells another story. Most of the thread I used is black in two weights, as my experiments with white and red threads produced anemic results. The silk itself was sewn down raw edge with a zigzag stitch. A few of the tiny windows were glued down and then quilted over.
Of course my original vision called for a much larger village with more whimsical details, but reality intervened to narrow my focus to the possible. I still have more than enough silk to make three or four similar quilts. I’ll just have to see if that idea takes root.
The Snarky Quilter 
Lovely piece, and it is hard to know when to stop quilting with this type of image. I did The Quilt Show BOM Color My World and I quilted every feature on all the houses and trees and skys and and, ya, it was hard to stop. BUT I did get a first ribbon in the large category, so there’s that!
Congrats. I doubt this quilt will win ribbons for quilting but it makes me smile.
I love it, especially the little line of laundry and the curtains in the windows, and all the other little details! And the colors. And the thick black outlines defining the shapes. 🙂
Thanks. I’m glad you noticed the line of laundry, that personal touch!
I had to go back and hunt the laundry. I was reading on a phone so photo was small. Still, after I saw it on enlarged view, I could see it on small view. I live the whimsical feel of the quilt.
Oops. Love the feel
I see your fingers are like mine – often on the wrong letter. I am glad you felt the whimsicality I was trying for.
Mostly what I have is Dupioni, so I guess I’ll just keep fusing! Thanks.
I love this quilt! The silk front looks seamed, not raw edge, so did you interface your silk before you sewed it or how did you deal with the fraying? I have tons of silk and am always wondering how others sew successfully with it.
Thanks. Some of the silk is fused to a knit interfacing. Some isn’t. Dupioni is the champion frayer, so I usually fuse that. Same with old ties I’ve taken apart as they are bias cut. There’s silk in this piece that’s fraying, but I decided the zigzag stitch covered it well enough. I did trim frayed edges after I inverted the pillowcase.