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By Patricia Belyea
WAUCONDA WA After making a series of medallions centered in blocks, I challenged myself to make medallions in circles. Then I inserted the circle medallions into quilt tops.
Although I made three wildly different medallions and quilt compositions, I used the same 18"-sized circle in each one.
DAISY MEDALLION QUILT
I learned something quite critical in making a medallion with five segments. The sewing of the medallion required a Y seam right where 15 seams were intersecting. It was tough to sew and I had to take out my stitching two times before I was satisfied.
ZAG MEDALLION QUILT
The original sewing of the medallion segments looked too simple for me so I added the fine red bars. Working with two red solids, two-colored (indigo and white) yukata cottons, and triangle shapes, I had a fun time making the background composition.
CAMO MEDALLION QUILT
I played with negative space in this design. I wanted the background of the medallion to meld into the background of the quilt—like camouflage. The lively patterned fabric was created by Sou Sou, a Japanese design company based in Kyoto.
Below: Auditioning background fabrics
It's a intriguing way of designing a quilt—from the center out! I'm pretty excited about Modern Medallions and look forward to teaching my approach to students online and in-person.
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria sell Japanese textiles online, host creative quilting experiences, and lead quilting & textile tours to Japan.
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