The Great Pumpkin Collage

 

I finished my first collage quilt this weekend! It was super fun once I got into the rhythm of it. I learned a lot and I'm glad I started small because it can get out of control quickly if you let it. This was my warm up/ practice project because I have plans to make the Laura Heine Snow Globe for Christmas. I know I'm nuts, but I think that's been established for quite some time... 

My friend Janet gave me a cute pumpkin drawing to get me started. She suggests looking online for coloring pages or simple clip art pumpkins and just enlarge to the size you like. Make any adjustments to suit your taste. It's not only a great way to get good outline shape for a pumpkin, but any simple shapes you might need.

After I laid out the pumpkin pieces, I started adding the fussy cut elements (that I had already added fusible to on the back) and it's easy to see how one can get really carried away! It was fun adding little bits and pieces all over the place, but in the end, I decided to add some but not all of the options. for those of you that know me, you won't be surprised that some selvages made it onto the final layout!

Once everything was fused, I was able to layer it and start the grid quilting. I began with a simple beige thread and sewed lines through the center and along the edges to serve as my basting. Then I added randomly spaced lines throughout the quilt in a grid. It was so fun that I decided to add additional color threads. The more the merrier!

Once again, the hard part was knowing when to stop! I could have continued with more thread colors and more quilting but decided to stop when most of the lines were about 1/4 inch apart. I did not mark any of the lines, I just used a walking foot and it's not perfect but it's 'organic' and I like that!

Here it is all quilted and just waiting for the binding. usually go with a dark binding but I didn't want it to stand out too much, so I went with this neutral print. It is a favorite and was already laying on my work surface. See what I mean when I say all of my quilts are mystery quilts, even I don't know what they're going to look like in the end? It's a fun perspective and sounds more professional that 'flying by the seat of your pants'! LOL

As you can see in this photo from the back, it is heavily quilted and could probably stand up on it's own. It is about 16 inches square and I used 3 full bobbins for the quilting alone. I added the binding by machine. I sewed the binding to the front, and then put an invisible thread in the bobbin before stitching the binding down from the back. Because the quilt was small and so stiff from all the quilting, the binding went on like a dream!

I hope you enjoyed the story of my first pumpkin! I'm no expert at collage by any means but if you want to try it, here are some resources for you to check out.

Pumpkin clip art to download

Tutorial on collage that I watched

Fusible I used

Scissors I used

Pattern ease for layout

Note: you will use much more fusible and pattern ease than you realize. I was shocked at how much fusible I went through for this tiny project. (probably more than a yard!)

Enjoy!

Diane