New Skill: Modified accidental landscape quilting.
This quilt took more time to make than any of my other quilts have. The center panel of this quilt is based on a family member’s photograph of a place in Ireland called Cushendall, County Antrim. I was asked to make this for some family members who were having a baby. Even though I took some creative liberties with it, I hope they enjoy it.
I struggled a lot with tension problems in this quilt. Specifically within the center panel. So much so that I hadn’t even really considered what I was going to do with the rest of the quilt. Then I came across this stunning Celtic fabric in a small town quilting shop, and it all came together. The tension did get a little worse though because I had to go back and incorporate some of the new fabric into the already mostly finished center panel. Adding long strips as boarders seemed to fix the majority of the tension issues so I’m glad I went with that option.
Aside from the photograph, I was inspired by a quilting technique called accidental landscaping or accidental landscape quilting. Since I couldn’t find anyone online who had done it as more than just a wall hanging or a decorative quilt, I had to figure it out as I went along.
My goal was to have no raw edges, to not use tulle (as they typically do with accidental landscaping), and to not have vertical seams in the rolling hills, ocean, or sky.
I know it’s just a quilt, but this quilt is so stunning. I generally don’t get to use beautiful fabrics because I’m often making quilts with childish themes so it was exciting to get to work with pretty fabrics. I have some leftover so maybe I’ll make a little something else as well.
Below is one of the two photos of Cushendall I used as the inspiration/template for this quilt. I’ve also included a photo of part of the craziness that was putting the rolling hills together.
Quirky Quilts 