Issue 60 of Quilt Now is out now.
and this time my contribution is a pattern called ‘Indian Birds’ to make four appliqué cushions with birds on.
I thought you might like to hear the story behind the design. In January 2017, I accompanied my husband to Chennai in India where he was attending a conference. It was a memorable experience. I bought a lightweight souvenir to bring home, in the form of a box of very small, carved and painted wooden birds. They are each about half an inch (12mm high). At home I have a print tray hanging on the wall and the small sections that once held the hot-metal pieces of type for printing now contain various small objects, including the birds.
I thought it would be fun to portray some of these little creatures in appliqué. I began by painting them in watercolour, trying to capture their slightly quirky appearance. I then chose the four I liked best and started to work them up into designs that could be appliqued on to a plain background. I wanted to use strong bright colours to frame them, to reflect the choice of colourful fabrics seen everywhere on the streets of Chennai.
The whole process reminded me how much I enjoy appliqué (especially when it’s combined with a bit of hand embroidery, as here), so I think there will be more soon! Are you influenced by your travels when it comes to design?
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Sticking with bright colours, here’s my fabric design ‘Summer Leaves’. You can find it here.
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