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Koi—DONE!

The Koi quilt is done (well…except for the sleeve and label, what else?!!!), the photos have been taken, then entry form for Houston filled out and mailed in. So now I get to share the quilt with my local guild chapter, my friends, and wait until August to see if they get into Houston. And in the meantime, they will travel to Augusta, Maine, for the annual Maine Quilts show in late July. All of the photos should be clickable to make them larger so you can see more detail.

When deciding on how to make the water, I looked at Pauline Burbidge‘s water quilts, thinking they were what I had in mind for the water, but it turned out not so. So I just went ahead and made what I did…then I realized that the pattern is very much a typical Japanese style design for water.

And here are some detail shots of the koi, the quilting and the beading. The beads represent the surface disruption / rippling caused by the movement of the fins and tails just beneath the surface.

I took the pictures before sewing on the hanging sleeve because I didn’t want the quilt view on the back marred by the sleeve. This is the reverse side…as if you were lying on the bottom of the pond looking up at the sky. You’ll notice that you are looking at the bellies of the koi, and the fractured sunlight streaming through the water, with the branches above visible through the water:

If I had a detail shot, (which I don’t) you could see that the top facing isn’t really a facing, but a narrow hanging sleeve that is the same width as the facings on the side and bottom. For quilt shows I will sew on the regulation 4″ hanging sleeve, but when it has done it’s quilt-show-journey, I will buy a metal slat, drill holes in the ends, and slide it into this top facing. That way, the quilt can be hung with either side out … or both… think room partition? Here’s one more (sideways…dontcha love blogger?) closeup of one of the koi on the reverse / back side:

I think I’d like to do another koi quilt (or two), not so large, maybe just one koi, but with overhanging branches, shadows from the branches on the water, and maybe raindrops forming circles/ripples on the water……

As for technique: I painted with a very thin wash of irridescent paint over my own hand-dyeds for the fish, which were quilted separately, then appliqued to the already-quilted surface of the pond (the ones on the back by machine, the ones on the front by hand). I pinned VERY carefully to get the fins and tails to line up on both sides of the fabric and quilted them in one pass. The background is fused, using my own hand-dyes and commercial batiks. The fins and tails are multiple layers of sheers (three different ones…a white, a cream and a pale gray for the white fins, and a totally tacky red floral for the orange-red, but which cuts up nicely!). I used Misty Fuse for all the fusing, including on the sheers.

Now, to crash on the sofa before heading to Saco, Maine, tomorrow where I will be doing a demo of machine quilting at the Art Quilts Maine exhibit at the Saco Museum. Hope to post pics on Monday or so…. Thanks for surfing back in to see the final result. Cheers, Sarah

19 Responses to “Koi—DONE!”

  1. Gerrie Says:

    Beautiful! I especially love the water – I mean – I love it – I do.

  2. Vicki W Says:

    Sarah, it’s awesome! Every little detail is so well thought out and executed – making the back the way you did was just inspired. I see ribbons in your future!

  3. zquilts Says:

    It’s already a winner SB !

  4. LoieJ Says:

    I would love to see this in person. It seems to have so much “movement.” Wonderful.

  5. Stacy Says:

    It’s absolutely exquisite! I love the front & back sides & my favorite thing is the water! You did a spectacular job & should be so proud of yourself!

  6. kathy york Says:

    the fish are fabulous! thanks for posting. i love the design of this quilt and the quilting is very nice too!

  7. Anonymous Says:

    This is lovely

    caroline, UK

  8. Wild Thread Studio Says:

    Tranquil and beautiful. You have captured the essence of koi perfectly.
    Denise

  9. Ferret Says:

    Oh my, what an amazing wonderful quilt.What a shame it will only show one side at shows. The Festival of Quilts, NEC UK does let you havve a double sided entry and will hang it with your slat. Actually forget I mentioned it, I don’t want to compete with this quilt 🙂

  10. QuiltingFitzy Says:

    Spectacular Sarah, I wish you many ribbons.

    The entire quilt exudes peace and tranquility. Simplicity of sight, then a shocker with the intricate detail.

    Simply fabulous.

  11. Carol Says:

    Absolutely stunning, congratulations

  12. judy coates perez Says:

    looks beautiful. i am not going to say good luck with jurying because i know it will get in. good luck with judging! may it get a very lovely ribbon and some cash ^_^

  13. Anonymous Says:

    Stunning. Absolutely stunning. I stumbled upon your blog recently, and am sorry to see the koi quilt completed. More, please!

    A St. Paul, MN Quilter

  14. dee Says:

    Sarah, I could sit in front of that all day just admiring the coolness-really beautiful work. Every inch has something lovely to contemplate. WOW

  15. Deb Says:

    This quilt is totally awesome! So much detail and thought in creating it! You do a fantastic job and I can’t wait for your book to come out!

  16. Caitlin O'Connor Says:

    DEFINITELY needs to be shown double sided and then hung that way permanently – way cool! I’ve loved seeing the process in this quilt but the end result is so much more than the sum of its parts. Well done, YOU!

  17. Joy Ely Says:

    OMG! It’s wonderful! How did you get all those wavy pieces together??
    I love the transparency of the fins…
    Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

  18. Brigitte Haydel Says:

    Sarah….beautiful job on this piece. I love the way the water shows movement. Very creative. Can’t wait to see more of your work.

  19. Jaye Says:

    I have to agree with all the Mavs, even though I didn’t post it there (a day late and a dollar short this week!). This quilt is gorgeous. I am so thrilled that you showed it to us. The details are wonderful also. I hope to get to see it in person sometime.