By Patricia Belyea
SEATTLE WA Late last summer, I made three samples for my Inserted Curves Workshops. The technique involves inserting curved design elements into a quilt top.
WORKSHOP SAMPLES
The workshop samples are three variations of an idea for students to consider when designing their first Inserted Curves project.
All the curved elements are pieced and the final composition is completely flat! Here’s a peek at the back of one of the unfinished samples.
The blue fabrics used in the samples are indigo over-dyed yukata cottons. (Some of the vintage fabrics that Okan Arts imports show their age. We collected these minimally damaged fabrics for a commercial run of natural indigo dyeing.)
This summer Victoria and I worked with Kathy Hattori of Botanical Colors to over-dye hundreds of yards of yukata cotton. We washed the cottons, over-dyed them, washed them again, pressed them, and then packaged them.
I’ve been continuing on my personal projects working with Inserted Curves. Since early July when I wrote about my Big Grid with Inserted Curves series, I’ve made two more tops. (To read about the first quilts in the series +click here.)
IKEBANA
The background grid of Ikebana, made with classic indigo and white yukata cottons, glows with the minimally changing values of blue. There are triple Inserted Curves in the circular elements—first there’s a curved line inserted into each circle, then each circle is inserted into the quilt top, and then another curved line is inserted across each circle. Whew!
HHHH (Hurricane Harvey Hits Houston)
This quilt design is my response to last year’s disastrous hurricane that devastated Houston two months before Quilt Festival. The background grid combines high-energy yukata cottons in red, pink and plum. To make a large swath of fabric for the hurricane swirls, I pieced together a gold yukata cotton in a starburst-like configuration. Once the big swirls were inserted into the background, I opened seams and tucked in more curves—in turquoise and orange. A few more curved bits will be added before I finish this quilt top.
INSERTED CURVES CONTINUES
I’m working toward completing a suite of 21 quilts in this series. Right now I’m just finishing up the first one-third. I’m enjoying leap frogging from one idea to the next and not knowing what the outcome will be!
Patricia Belyea is teaching online Zoom workshops focusing on Creativity + Curves. To learn more +click here
