Monday, March 28, 2016

Gold Rush Finish a.k.a. The Klimt Quilt


"Art is a line around your thoughts."
~Gustav Klimt

"Gold Rush" a.k.a. "The Klimt Quilt"


This scrap quilt reminds people of a Gustav Klimt work, although that was never my original intention. I didn't see it myself until a niece made a comment after seeing it online. It was interesting to me as I'm drawn to Klimt's work, and have had reproductions hanging in my house. I wondered if that was a subconscious influence. I don't know.

In the meantime, it drew the attention of Artsy, too. They asked if I might link to their Gustav Klimt page, and I agreed to with the finish. I spent some time there browsing, and the site is impressive. I wish it was around when our family was homeschooling. How much easier my life would have been! Their mission statement says, "Artsy's mission is to make all the world's art accessible to anyone with an internet connection." Online since 2012, they now also host commercial auctions, but don't let that stop you from seeing the treasure trove of art they've compiled. It's beautiful and inspiring!

Binding

Straight Cut vs. Bias Cut vs. the 'Compromise Cut'


There seems to be a division among quilters whether one should do straight or bias cut binding. Bias is ideal if you have rounded corners as it accommodates the bend with no tucks. Otherwise, straight cut is generally my pick, and is always cut with the crosswise grain. 

Lengthwise cut fabric has little to no give at all.
Cross wise cut fabric has a small bit of give or stretch. 
Bias is fairly easy to stretch and curve.


Question: What happens when you cut binding just a little bit less straight, but not yet at a 45 degree angle? 

I was reading in "The Quilter's Academy" by H. & C. Hargrave that it has the benefit of using less fabric than true bias, and slightly more give than straight cut. I gave it a try for kicks, and was pleased at what I found.

The Compromise Cut

It was ever so slight as you see in the picture above. On a 2" wide strip, I tipped my ruler just 1/8". 


I was cutting at a very slight angle over the whole width of fabric, and yet when I compared the stretch of the strip with a bias cut strip it was nearly as much. To do a simple curve as I would use in a stem for applique, I believe this would work as well as the 45 degree cut. I'll play around with it some more this week, and let you know what I find out. It's definitely a fabric saver. 


Another tweak I made was narrowing my binding. In the past I had cut strips 2.25", but here I made them 2". I attach binding by machine on all my utility quilts. First I sew it to the back, then turn it to the front. When stitching it to the front, match your bobbin thread to the backing. You can see here how close to the edge it aligns, and appears much like hand binding.


The longarm quilting was kept very loose and simple. I did long, slow waves across the quilt resembling water flowing through a stream.





It's hard to imagine how these diverse fabrics from a scrap donation blend together for the overall effect you see from a distance! I varied the widths of the strips, and included straight and gently curved piecing.


Another first, I repurposed 2 twin sheets for the backing. These were 50/50 cotton poly, and I used the same Procion MX dye on both. The cotton fiber accepts the dye while the polyester will not. These were the same brand of sheet, but the dye bonded differently resulting in 2 shades. It added another level of originality. The blend also feels more like a brushed cotton now, and is luxurious.



Just a few weights held down the corners while the wind whipped it around. Ta-dah!



#BraveQuilter

A friendly reminder to those of you who linked up the beginning of March: The final link  party for your March projects opens Friday, April 1, and closes April 3 at midnight EST. (Remember these do not need to be finishes, but are the one NEW thing you promised yourself to be brave and try.) Link up during this time to be eligible for the drawing of a fat quarter bundle of hand dyed fabrics. A new link up for April will open April 4-11. More information can be found in this post


Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's go sew.

17 comments:

Turid said...

This is a beautiful quilt. Blue, even though you've used som many other colours.

Linda Swanekamp said...

Love this quilt! Made fabric is one of my favorite things to make. I will have to try this. Great job. I machine sew my 2 1/4" bindings to the front, use glue basting to secure binding to back and sew in the ditch on the front just catching the back binding at the bottom. I like the way it looks and how it is sewn.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

This turned out beautifully. Thanks for sharing the tip about the binding too.

Vicki in MN said...

Great looking scrap quilt! Now there's a thought on that faux bias binding-will be interested in seeing what you find out with using it for stems. I hate wasting fabric on bias bindings!

SarahZ said...

Great find on the binding! I only use bias if I need it for curves, which is VERY rare! You have a super nice finish there, for sure!

Yanicka said...

I am also working on a quilt inspired by Klint....how NOT to be when you look at his work!!!

Stitchin At Home said...

Lovely quilt! I started using a 2 inch binding awhile ago and like the results, plus using less fabric.

Unknown said...

I like the finished quilt. Wonderful job!

Unknown said...

I love this. Al those colors together are so beautiful. Great job!!!

Gina said...

It's a lovely quilt and I can see why it reminds people of Klimt, THe colour combination is spot on

evaj said...

Thank you for your participation and inspiration you give us Show and Tell Monday !! Bambi Hug

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

This is a great quilt. Thanks for the tip on the binding. Interesting that a slight angle makes a difference.

Kate said...

Beautifully done! I've always worked with 2" binding strips and they typically work out pretty well.

Bonnie said...

Thanks for the info on the slightly bias binding idea. It is definitely worth a try. I, too, use machine stitched binding a lot. I need to use narrower fabric as I have too much in the binding. Thanks for that suggestion too.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

A great finish Julie! I love how it has that 'everyday' utility look about it! Interesting thoughts on binding too!

Susan said...

Such pretty colors, and a great organic feel to this - love it!

Cath said...

great quilt and interesting info on the binding. Thanks for sharing at Design Board Monday.