The Quilted Lizard Fiber Art Studio

 

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Circle / Mandala Designs

These quilts represent a little side adventure for me. My inspiration for the first piece (Turquoise Turtles & Friends) came from the colors and shapes used in Mola designs, and motifs used by South, Central, and North American Indians. I find the circular format to be very soothing. The repetition of "critters" that I relate to is also very comforting and I enjoy being surprised by the designs that appear with the repetition of shapes.
Turquoise Turtles & Friends

(April 2009) 43" x 45"
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Originally this design was supposed to have a layer of tulle to cover the raw edges (as I use in my Happy Villages), but I couldn't find a color tulle that didn't dull the black.  The shapes are lightly glue-basted. The edges are secured by doing a free motion straight stitch 3-4 times around every shape.

This piece inspired the 1st pattern in my "Circle of Friends" series, It is called simply "Turquoise Turtles" measures 25"x 25" and contains beach related motifs. Fused applique is the technique used in the pattern.

Chocolate Moose & Friends

(June 2009) 43" x 43"
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Here are the creatures that roam around our home, some we love a little more than others! In this piece, I attached the shapes with a light weight fusible. The shapes didn't stay "fused" very well, so I used a layer of tulle to keep everything in place.

This piece inspired the 4th pattern in my "Circle of Friends" series. It is a simplified version entitled "Mountain Moose". Fused applique is the technique used in the 25" x 25" pattern.

Busy Bees & Friends

(November 2009) 43" x 43"
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I love to garden and especially enjoy watching the birds, bees and butterflies coming to visit. This quilt celebrates that joy. To make a long story short, this piece was not quite a joy to make, when I realized that the tulle I was going to use didn't work. You would think I learned my lesson from Turquoise Turtles & Friends above. So, instead of securing the edges with a free motion straight stitch, which judges frown upon, I couched every edge with a fine chenille and/or perle cotton. The judges were impressed and gave me a 1st place ribbon at the AQS 2010 show in Paducah :)

Elements of this quilt were used in my "Blue Butterflies" pattern, which is #2 in the "Circle of Friends" series. To keep it simple the pattern uses fused applique to create a 25"x25" wallhanging.