Quilt Alliance 2012 Contest Entry - Part 1

This is my third year in entering one of my pieces that are made specifically for this contest.   Home is Where the Quilt is - theme - website scoop.  The quilts, both traditional and art are donated to the organization and then sold on eBay, to raise money for their programs.  I like the new house shape, and decided that I really needed to think outside the box on this one.  I used 1" graph paper to make a pattern.

Then I slid my pattern underneath a Goddess Sheet, a silicone sheet made by Mistyfuse.  I will build my fabric on the sheet, and then move it to the wool blended felt when the white space is all covered up.

I am using Mistyfused red scraps of fabric in sort of a collage fashion.  This is part of my signature style to make my backgrounds this way.

And since it is on a Goddess Sheet, I can easily lift it off, and everything is fused together.  And the purple nail polish is a nice compliment to the red.

I took my pattern out and pinned it onto a piece of wool blended felt.

Carefully laying the ruler on the side, and over the pins, I trim with a Havel's Comfort Grip rotary cutter

I took my fused red fabric tower, and ironed it to the wool blended felt

To make the trimming easier, I flip it over and cut from the back.

How beautiful is this?  I added a black and white polka dot Batik - 1/4" strip to the roof top.

Free motion machine quilting through the red fabrics and one layer of wool blended felt.  I have found that it is easier to FMQ the entire front, which will be the background of whatever is placed on top.  My usual organic leaf, stem and swirly pattern, because I want it to flow, when you look at the piece.

After it's FMQ'd, I press the piece back down to being flat.  Stay tuned for the next part, where the focus portion is made, added and the finished art quilt is revealed!