Jennifer Sampou has done it again with her latest collection Continuum - in stores this October!
Jennifer originally created the beautiful designs with encaustic painting (aka hot wax painting) - a technique she learned while living in Mexico that combines beeswax with color pigment.
As you can see, the results were fantastic! Continuum's circular-themed designs range from small to large scale, and the layers of rings and dotted stripes are complemented perfectly by the distinct brushstroke texture. Click here to view the whole collection.
Jennifer hand-selected her friend Melinda Lin to design, sew, and quilt this gorgeous quilt using Continuum and some Kona solids. Melinda did a wonderful job and was gracious enough to provide us with a look into her creative process, which you can read below in her own words. So if you were searching for inspiration, look no further!
Fabric Requirements:
Fat Quarters of all the prints and color solids (lt. aqua, lt. blue)
1.5 yds of white (1yd-ish for back and .5 for top)
Accent Colors (scraps or a fat eighth or less; orange, greens, dk grey, turquoise, yellow, dk. blue)
Quilt Directions:
Cut Continuum FQ prints into 6" strips.
Cut these 6” “rows” into 1" to 6" “blocks."
Do the same with the solids, but not the accent colors; these pieces are the filler/field color pieces. There is no need to be too perfect with the dimensions of these since they are random pieces to fit into the overall "rows". As you go along, you will notice that you will begin to custom fit these pieces into the rows. Always cut larger than you anticipate since you may or may not sew your seams square, but straight. With enough precut solid pieces you will be able to play with the placement of the filler pieces.
Take the Continuum print pieces & start to create rows, vertically or horizontally, using these prints as focal points. Think of these rows as your blocks. Remember that not all row widths must be 6" wide.
Next start placing the solid pieces into the rows that you have created.
You will start to see your quilt start to take on a composition. Always stand back and look. Take photos. Move the prints around to see what looks best to you. Use the photos as references if you want to move pieces back to where they once were.
Once the rows are filled in with the prints and main solids, start putting in smaller, skinnier prices in the larger solid areas. Taking away the negative spaces and making positive ones & visa versa.
Once you are happy with the overall design place the accent colors. I use scraps so often times the size of the scrap dictates the size of the accent! I like to think of these as zingers of colors.
I do not sew any seam until I have the entire quilt top laid out. I work back and forth between my cutting area and wall. And when I think I am finished I allow a min of 24 hours for the quilt top to sit on the wall to let it germinate.
When you are ready to start sewing, sew the rows that you created. Press every seam. Sometimes you will find that you end up short & will need to add fabric(s) to make your rows even. Or the opposite will happen and you will need to trim the excess.
Quilting:
For the quilting design that is on this quilt I used the rows as my “straight” lines and stitched in the ditch. The other lines are free form (eyeballed). I like the wonkiness that happens when the lines are not perfect and the washing of the quilt adds more texture to it too.
When you start to quilt, begin in the center and work your way to the edges. I quilted this in a continuous fashion – I never picked up the needle to trim threads; the stitch “pattern” is a continuous s-shape.
Binding: I like narrow binding. The strips are 1.5" wide. I also add accents in the binding to make the binding become part of the quilt top.
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