Fabric of the Year 2012

Finished: Fabric of the Year 2012
Finished: Fabric of the Year 2012

Materials

  • 100% cotton fabric
  • 100% cotton thread

Techniques

  • Machine pieced
  • Longarm quilted

 

Details:

  • Year: 2012-2014
  • Size: 63”x56”
  • Fabric: various

Quilted By:

  • Colleen Granger

 

Details

This series started in 2008 with a comment by a friend. She suggested using new fabrics right away so as to know whether to buy more before the line or design was discontinued. The idea behind her comment was to figure out whether the new fabric was one you might use more of in, e.g., borders, backs or backgrounds. If we knew whether the fabric had potential we could buy more of the fabric before it was out of print and no longer available.

I always envisioned this series happening in tandem with my friend’s own FOTY project, but she made blocks from her new fabrics and I moved into another direction, which involves cutting the patches throughout the year, sewing the piece together in January of the following year and finishing before the end of that following year.

Fabric of the Year 2012 is the fifth in the series. I think that it is one of the most successful of the series. Practice does make perfect! The series has turned into an annual exercise that I really enjoy. I continue to find the series a really good exercise in exploring the interplay of colors and geometric shapes.

I found Fabric of the Year 2012 to be another piece in the continuum of the process. I lay out and piece this quilt during the annual CQFA Retreat and rely on the other members of the group to give their opinions as I work on it. Their comments and assistance keep me going when I get frustrated or stuck. As with the previous pieces, I really wanted to the colors to wash across the piece, which is difficult to accomplish when using prints. I think this may be the last colorwash idea I use in this series for awhile. I think it needs a rest and I am considering other options for the 2013 piece.

The fabrics in this quilt were fabrics I purchased during 2012. I also included fabrics purchased prior to, but used in, 2012 in this quilt. The rectangles are new fabrics and the squares are fabrics taken from my fabric closet.