Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Peacock Quilt


This gorgeous quilt was brought to me by the husband of  one of my clients.
Richard does absolutely stunning handwork, as you can see! 
I love the fact that he and his wife both quilt and compete against one another at the state fair.
They are both very talented quilters and are as sweet as can be.


I'll be honest with you, I struggled quite a bit trying to decide how to quilt this quilt. I knew that I wanted to really maximize the quilting on the white fabric, but after drawing up about 4 different designs I still wasn't sold on what I had.
The only thing this quilt really "said" to me was that I needed to frame the peacocks with an oval and then do filler quilting on the rest, but I just wasn't sure of what fill to use. Since this quilt felt more traditional to me, I decided feathers might work.
I went ahead and quilted out the first block, and guess what? 
I wasn't in love with it. Ugh!
So began the unpicking.





After spending a bit more time researching design ideas and drawing them out, I finally settled for what I'd call a little bit traditional and a little bit modern.

The peacock feather wreath seemed geometric enough that I decided a more modern back and forth line fill would suit it nicely. When I tried quilting feathers around it, it felt chaotic and cluttered.


The peacocks got the lovely quilted feathers on the outside of the oval frame and paisleys on the inside.

I think I hit a good balance of curves and straight lines.





I encouraged Richard to not only enter it into the state fair, but also into HMQS next May. I'm not sure if he will, but I think it would do really well there. It's simply stunning in design and handwork execution.














9 comments:

  1. I love how you quilted the oval in the peacock block and the feathers around it-wonderful! The spinning peacock feather block would have me stumped for sure!

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    1. Thanks Vicki! Yeah, that spinning feather block took a few of my brain cells, but in the end I think it turned out okay! :)

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  2. Love it. Great quilting designs.

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  3. Oh my gosh, absolutely MIND BLOWING! Truly magnificent as it is everything I'd ever desire in a quilt. Congratulations!

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    1. I absolutely agree!!! This is quite the stunning quilt! Beautiful work done by the inventor & maker of the quilt, Richard, & the quilter. The spinning feathers are ingenious & the actual quilting around the framed peacocks & feathers were a definite plus! You chose well. Sometimes we quilt makers have to experiment & brainstorm until we find the perfect fit. In the end it is all worth it! Complete gratification for a piece of art for generations to come!

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  4. Oh my gosh, absolutely MIND BLOWING! Truly magnificent as it is everything I'd ever desire in a quilt. Congratulations!

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  5. Oh my goodness. I am obsessed with peacocks, so much in fact I named my 2018 book {"Broken Wing Peacock"} after them. I will be sharing this page on my Facebook page, as I'm looking for peacock quilt ideas. This was the best out of millions. Many blessings in your future endeavors.

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    1. I share your obsession for these gorgeous creatures!!! I ❤️ the irredescent shine of the feathers! I also appreciate tiny hummingbirds & other gorgeous birds & animals that the greatest artist, our Creator & His Son designed!
      My first encounter with these stunning birds was when I was very young & had the privilege of seeing them up close as they roamed free in the " Sterling Forest Gardens" & the Bronx Zoo, both in NY. I was completely stupefied by their sheer magnificence! That love has persisted many decades.
      Just a side note, you may also find Sheena Norquay's peacock quilt to be exceptional. Her talent with quilting & embroidery thread-play is extraordinary! Also, the Quilt named: "The Great Peacock Frustration of 2014" is another of my favorites! It is one very large appliqué quilt of a beautiful 'dancing'peacock. The designer & maker of this wall quilt explains her struggle with making this stunner on her blog. The outcome was well worth her struggle. That being said, the number of peacock quilts out there is growing rapidly as others such as us, share the passion for these beloved birds-this quilt included. Thanx for your post, fellow quilter!

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