Fibonacci on the Seashore: Mini Quilt #2

January 11, 2015

This week, I set out to create a snow inspired wintery-beyond-belief mini quilt.  That did not happen.  There were unexpected technical difficulties that I have not been able to resolve yet.  I still have a couple options to explore to make this work, but I need to track down some supplies.  This quilt is not eliminated (although the original design may end up altered), so I will share those challenges when I write about the finished mini quilt.

If I can’t play in the (fabric) snow this week, I decided to celebrate the beach!

Fibonacci on the Seashore

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Front View


The Fibonacci spiral has long been inspiring to me as a designer.  I am fascinated that art can be derived from mathematics, but since I am definitely not a mathematician, I will not be going into any specific details about how it works!  The Fibonacci spiral is based in a grid which starts with a square which is duplicated.  Then those two squares together determine the length of the sides of the next square. Now the size of all of these squares determine the side length for the next square.  This can continue on forever if you want it to!  This gridded image shows the basis for the spiral.

/Users/cassandra_ireland/Desktop/Quilt/Quilt Designs A.dwg

To get the spiral, you draw a quarter circle in each square.

/Users/cassandra_ireland/Desktop/Quilt/Quilt Designs A.dwgFor my mini quilt I started with two 1″ square blocks, and added 2″, 3″, 5″, and 8″ blocks.  Each block is essentially like sewing a Drunkard’s Path block, but the illusion created due to the size shifts is like a seashell.

Fibonacci on the Seashore with Grid Overlay

I selected subtly colored batiks with the thought of having the quilting thread inject a bold moment of color to the shell.  There are six different blue, pink and lavender batiks used to create the “Shell” and the “Sand is created with one batik which is both incorporated into three of the blocks as well as the border strips.

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Detail

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Detail

I quilted the “shell” first using a silver metallic thread as well as bright pink and purple.  This was done using the walking foot, but I shifted to free motion quilting to create “pebbles” in the sand.  My free motion quilting is definitely a work in progress, but this is a vast improvement over past attempts.

Fibonacci on the Seashore Detail 2

The back of this quilt is another batik print that I selected to incorporate both the yellow of the sand and the blue tones of the shell (as well as implying water).  I think the quilting on this piece makes the back as interesting as the front, although in hindsight, I wish I had used a batik with a less rigid pattern.

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Back View

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Back View

The binding is another purple batik that I selected to: (1) Draw the purple used in the center of the quilt out to the edge, and (2) play off the yellow of the sand fabric- I seriously love using complementary colors.  To create a greater sense of definition in this quilt, I used a decorative stitch to secure the binding and enhance the spiral shape.  I liked using this technique of finishing the binding, and now I wish a had a few more options on my wonderful little mechanical machine!

 

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Binding Detail

Fibonacci on the Seashore: Binding Detail

Quilt Stats

Title:  Fibonacci on the Seashore

Size: 12″x16.5″

Techniques:  Curved Machine Piecing

Quilting:  Outline and curved quilting using a walking foot, and free motion pebbles in the background.  All quilting was done on a Bernina 1008

Fabrics:  Batiks (I have never done an all batik quilt before!)

Batting:  Warm and White cotton batting

Thread:  Pieced with Gutermann Mara 100 in white.  Quilted with Light Blue cotton machine quilting thread, Gutermann Silver Metallic thread, and Mettler cotton quilting threads in Magenta and Purple

Binding:  Blue and Purple batik- cut in 2″ strips, machine straight stitched to the front, top stitched to the back, and accented with purple decorative stitches.

What was new:

  • An entirely batik quilt
  • Using bright quilting threads on a pastel background
  • Trying out metallic thread for machine quilting (I need to explore other thread and needle options for use in the future- Does anyone have suggestions?)
  • Decorative stitching for quilting and securing binding
Quilt 2 / 50

Quilt 2 / 50

Finish #1

Goal #1 is Finished!

This post is linked with Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts.  Please stop in to see all of the wonderful creations that have been shared!

9 Comments

  • Reply
    Mini Quilt Mania 2015 | The (not so) Dramatic Life
    January 11, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    […] Pingback: Fibonacci on the Seashore: Mini Quilt #2 | The (not so) Dramatic Life […]

  • Reply
    Cynthia Brunz Designs
    January 11, 2015 at 9:07 pm

    Another nice mini. I love how you echoed the decorative stitch out on the binding. Really finished the quilt off nicely!

  • Reply
    Kim @ Leland Ave Studios
    January 13, 2015 at 4:41 pm

    This is very cool! And I loved hearing about the process! And I love that it was something new that you challenged yourself with. Awesome!

  • Reply
    Jasmine
    January 18, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    So neat! I love math, and this idea is super cool. I may have to try it sometime. What a beautiful finish.

  • Reply
    Lorna McMahon
    January 21, 2015 at 5:25 am

    You amaze me. This is an incredible piece. Love the quilting. And your use of the decorative stitch to enhance both the shell and the binding. Just gorgeous!

  • Reply
    Triple Heart: Mini Quilt #4 | The (not so) Dramatic Life
    January 22, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    […] emphasis in the form of more decorative stitches.  I liked using decorative machine stitches on Fibonacci on the Seashore, and I was eager to experiment with using machine stitching for appliqué.  For this project, I […]

  • Reply
    Judy
    February 5, 2015 at 4:49 am

    Beautifully done!! I think your FMQing looks great!! I have used metallic threads on a couple of occasions. A 90/14 Topstitch needle works well, tension lowered to 1 and a stronger thread in the bobbin has worked well for me. . . Superior Threads has a couple of great videos on using metallic threads – definitely worth a look 🙂

  • Reply
    Adrianne
    April 8, 2015 at 3:38 am

    Beautiful quilt and I love the amount of thought that went into it.

  • Reply
    Rochelle
    May 25, 2015 at 11:14 am

    Thank you for the explanation of the match. As an analytic it helps to understand the creative process. I am in awe of all those little pebbles in the sand. And I love the thread painting.

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