2018 was the year I first took Heidi Parke’s class Layered Quilt. What is a layered quilt you might ask?

A layered quilt has four layers

• a bottom layer of muslin
• batting for the second layer
• miscellaneous fabrics for the third layer and
• a top layer of a transparent material such as silk organza.

The two most important layers are

• layer three because that’s where your design resides and
• layer four because it’s degree of transparency determines how visible your design layer will be.

Once the four layers have been assembled it is time to begin stitching.

I can’t tell you how much fun I had making my first layered quilt. After sandwiching my muslin and batting I pulled out my bags of fabric scraps and discarded threads. From the bags of scraps I pulled handfuls of fabric and began dumping them on top of the batting. No special effort was made to arrange them in a particular order. Also added were leftover scraps of thread. To top that all off I added a few strategically placed floral shaped remnants. This is how my layered quilt looked when I was finished.

With my four layers all in place it was time to start stitching. I gathered together my stockpile of decorative threads, my needles and my stitchery books and began the explorative process of adding the quilting. This was a great opportunity to try stitches that I had never used before. Learning the new stitches and watching them take shape was so amazing. The more I stitched the more I enjoyed the process.

Part of the joy was documenting my daily progress through photographs and now that my art piece is finished I am so glad that I did. While I would love to share all of the photos with you I’ve decided to share just a few.

The journey to create and finish this art quilt was one that I will always remember. I am so pleased with the final outcome and so happy to be able to share it with you.

Thank You for spending this time with me!