The Goal

In April of this year I made the decision to reinvent a number of my existing works of art (see Operation Renovation). We were in the midst of our “safer at home” quarantine for the Covid 19 virus and I was itching to create something new. The items chosen were small in size and easily adaptable for attaching to a stretched canvas frame. Mounting fabric art pieces to a frame is my favorite finishing technique.

A Little History

Courthouse steps is the name of a quilt block pattern. The pattern, a variation of a log cabin, is easy to make. In 2018 I participated in a block swap with a group of online quilters. The pattern chosen for the swap was the courthouse steps. I received twelve finished blocks from the swap. Most of the blocks were made from color combinations that I didn’t like. The unusual groupings gave me the opportunity to use my abstract piecing skills.

As the name of this item suggests there were fourteen new art projects that resulted from my experiment. The first post written about Courthouse Friends 11 of 14 was shared back in August, 2018. In that journal entry I shared the details of this small fiber art piece.

Step One

Since Courthouse Friends 11 of 14 was currently in a completed state I had to first strip it back to raw edges. Once that was completed I could begin making plans for the new design. The body of the art work remained unchanged. To adapt it for framing new borders were added. One of the fabrics used in the original design was still in my inventory. The specimen, a purple fabric with multi-colored orbs, was selected for the first border. The variety of included colors helped to bring more focus to the pieced center.

For the final border I chose a royal blue material printed with varying shades of blue spheres. This blue along with the circular printed design added complimentary elements that helped to unify my project. As an added benefit the circles in both the first and second borders reminded me of polka dots and polka dots are among my favorite embellishments.

final touches

To polish off my newly remodeled fiber art quilt I used coordinating threads to stitch designs similar to the original version, then stapled it to a 16” x 20” frame. After sealing the back with a barrier, affixing hanging hooks and wire, soft bumpers for ventilation and a label, the jazzy art quilt was ready for display.

a new name

Before declaring my refashioned fiber art quilt complete I had one last detail to attend to and that was a new name. Going through all the steps to redecorate this lovely project without assigning a new identity seemed unheard of. Courthouse Friends 11 of 14 was christened Visions of the Past.

the reveal

Let’s see how Visions of the Past looked in the before and after photos.

I think the redecorated fiber art quilt turned out rather nicely, if I do say so myself! Then again I am probably a bit biased.

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