In August, I finished the Fleur Lumineuse art wall hanging. When we left off this project, the base quilting was finished.
I turned attention to the collage. The rose was assembled on parchment paper, but the stem needed to be recut. I wanted to have the stem hang off the edge of the base, to have something unexpected.
The new stem is cut, and lightly tacked to the flower with just pressure. The tacky nature of the Steam-a-Seam 2 makes this possible.
On the back side of the bottom of the stem, I fused green fabric so it would be finished.
Next, I bound the base so that the stem could extend over the binding with a small section hanging freely. I used all the bits left over, so the binding has a lot of piecing in it. Some sections match the piecing, extending that look onto the binding. Then, the scary part, actually fusing the rose. I placed it, then stood back to look a few times to be absolutely sure it was where I wanted it. Then, I took that deep breath, summoned the courage, and fused it in place. Fusing requires patience as you cannot ‘iron’ the applique. You must use an up-and-down motion with the iron, leaving it in place long enough for the glue to melt.
I completed the fusing, then let it sit for an hour to completely cool. Next was to stitch the petals. I began by finding thread colors to match the collage.
I started with the dark pink, stitching the darker petals with a straight stitch near the edge. I looked at all kinds of ways to do this. Some people use a zigzag, some use a satin stitch, others stitch the edge like this, and a few even try decorative stitches. It seems like it is one of those things that is just a choice, not a rule.
I did the light pink next, finishing the rose.
On the stem, I added some curved lines on the stem to give the impression of dimension. The edge stitching goes all the way around the stem at the bottom, through the binding.
The last thing was to add a label.
All done. I am fairly happy with the way it turned out. For a first attempt, not too bad.
I had planned to embellish it with some seed beading and maybe some rhinestones to simulate dew drops on the rose, but I ran out of time. I entered it into the Mountain State Fair as it was. I was delighted to see it with a second place ribbon!
I have until May of 2028 to decide if I want to bling it up for the next guild quilt show. What do you think? Have you tried fabric collage?
That rose really sets it off. I’m not surprised you were a winner! Congratulations!
Carole, beautifully done. I have not tried fabric collage. Seems too intricate for my patience level. Congrats on the ribbon. Niki
Add bling. Your Koi pond piece was elevated to spectacular by your painstaking efforts to meticulously bead the fish.
Carole, it is beautiful! Congratulations on a ribbon!
Aww, go ahead & add the dew drops. It was your original plan.
Congratulations on the ribbon. The beading would be beautiful. Have a great day.
Lovely and so creative! I can see why it won the ribbon. Congratulations!
Hi Carole,
Based on your experiences with county and state fairs, I took the plunge and entered a twin quilt in the local county fair. Surprisingly, I won a Reserve Champion ribbon in the category! Thank you for showing us it can be done. It was a guild challenge quilt of my own design so I was doubly surprised it won.
I love your rose quilt and really like the whimsy of the stem hanging off. Congratulations on your ribbon!
Wonderful and exciting to win a ribbon for this lovely little quilt. I wouldn’t be able to resist adding some beading. I’m sure you will know what to do to add the final little touches.
Mary :))
That rose is so beautiful!!! Congratulations on the ribbon!
Very pretty! Congratulations on the ribbon!
I really like that you took the stem off the edge of the quilt. I have yet to make a collage quilt myself and enjoyed watching your journey with this one!
Un análisis muy constructivo y claro sobre Finishing Fleur Lumineuse. Destaca aspectos clave esenciales para entender el tema con profundidad.
A very constructive and clear analysis of Finishing Fleur Lumineuse. It highlights key aspects essential for a deep understanding of the subject.
I have enjoyed your process on this. I am working on a mum in mind and have not settled on technique, but am definitely inspired by this. Glad it got a ribbon – a nice acknowledgment of your fine work!