The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, Aurifil, and Hobbs.
My July Island Batik Ambassador challenge was to use three weights of Aurifil in fabric art/non-traditional quilting/sewing/thread painting technique. I doubled up with my Aurifil Artisan challenge to create a seasonal project and chose to make a whole cloth patriotic pillow featuring Island Batik Smoke from their Basics line. I had the perfect sized remnant of Hobbs Tuscany 100% wool batting. Hard to see, but the batting gave it a lovely dimension.
I had a wide variety of possible threads to use for the project and ultimately opted to use four weights of Aurifil thread in three different colors to create my fireworks. Before this project I have primarily quilted with Aurifil 50wt, with an occasional foray into 40wt.
For my free motion firework motif I googled "fireworks line art" for some inspiration. That helped me with the angles of the lines. I started with Aurifil 28wt Liberty Variegated (#3852). I love the bold line it creates.
This is the firework right in the middle of the pillow. It's about 4 inches across.
My next firework was the larger 6 1/2 inch firework at the top in Aurifil 40wt Liberty Variegated (#3852). Then I opted for some more subdued fireworks in Aurifil 50wt Red (#2250) and Aurifil 40wt Peacock Blue (#6738). I added the final firework on the right side in Aurifil 12wt Liberty Variegated (#3852). I need some more practice doing free motion with 12wt, so I opted to do some hand quilted stitches (my first ever!) for this last firework. This really made me want to do some more hand quilting.
I figure the pillow can make multiple visits to my red couch throughout the year, for New Year's Eve, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Veteran's Day. It's pretty subtle from afar, but I love the fireworks. They were really fun to stitch and the Island Batik Smoke was the perfect choice for the look of a smoky night sky.
I've linked up to the Q3 Finish Along Finishes post. Check out my whole Q3 list of projects.
Anita
Your fireworks pillow is gorgeous! It is interesting to see how the different thread weights work out in the quilting. All the different Artsy Fartsy projects inspire me so much!
sarah
Post authorIt was fun to see everyone's different spin on the challenge. Thanks for visiting!
Kathleen McCormick
Great pillow! I love the fireworks motif - one I go back to every once in awhile. I think I need some liberty aurifil for my freedom project! Thanks for convincing me!
sarah
Post authorThank you! Liberty is awesome! I just ordered Lemon Blueberry to add to my variegated Aurifil collection. Have fun!
Emily
Love the stitching in the fireworks! I think the hand quilted one is my favorite. This is a great idea and I love how it looks!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Emily. It's nice when things come out someone as pictured in my head. The hand stitched one really makes me want to do more hand quilting.
Anja @ Anja Quilts
Wow...those fireworks are awesome. Well done.
sarah
Post authorBoom! Thanks, Anja. :-) They were fun to stitch.
Kate
Versatile and fun!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Kate!