My first trip to the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio inspired this small, improvisational quilt. I have been doing a lot of block based quilts lately (posts to come!), and seeing the organic shapes and natural color shifts inspired me to return to improv.
This quilt does not replicate a single area of the conservatory, but instead incorporates the colors and shapes I was most drawn to. A wide range of greens dominated the overall palette with depth coming from deep violets and highlights of vibrant pink providing some nice focal points.
The piecing is a mix of straight-ish and curved lines, but I didn’t use any rulers until I squared up the pieced quilt top. The quilting continues the organic theme with mixed motif free motion designs. I ended up going with an aqua thread to coordinate with the dominate greens, but provide enough contrast to add another layer to the design.
Greenery is the Pantone Color of the Year, and the pink accents include the Kona color of the year, Flamingo. This combination was a recent challenge for the Central Ohio Modern Quilt Guild.
Quilt Stats:
Title: Greenery in the Garden
Size: 40″ x 28″
Techniques: Improvisational piecing
Quilting: Mixed motif free motion quilting
Fabric: Assorted solids and prints, mostly cotton with accents in linen
Batting: Hobbs 80/20
Thread: 50wt Aurifil
Binding: Facing which matches the backing
7 Comments
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
May 30, 2017 at 9:37 amIt looks like you had a lot of fun with this quilt; it has a nice sense of movement and flow. I really like the organic shapes you quilted as well.
Rochelle Summers
May 30, 2017 at 11:40 amI like both sides of the quilt and I’m always in awe of the success of improvisational quilting. I love the way the design captures the essence of the gardens. Without the pink and purple colors, the piece wouldn’t have the snap that it does.
Jenny M
May 31, 2017 at 1:29 amStunning improv quilt ~ love everything about this…shapes, colours & stitching. Good luck in the competition.
Pamela
May 31, 2017 at 12:50 pmI absolutely love this quilt! It reminds me of going to the Botanical Garden when I was in high school – the lush plants were amazing!
Eileen
October 19, 2017 at 12:41 pmLovely! This really captures the vibrancy of a garden
Entries for QuiltCon 2018 | The (not so) Dramatic Life
December 1, 2017 at 11:52 pm[…] “Franklin Park/Greenery in the Garden” is the only quilt I have actually written a more in depth post about. It is entered into the Improvisational category. […]
Zenith | The (not so) Dramatic Life
May 11, 2018 at 4:00 pm[…] colors of the year into a single sewn object. My project for last year’s challenge was an improv quilt inspired by the Franklin Park Conservatory. The quilt I made for this year’s color challenge is also improv, but it is more structured […]