Day 287 – Swirling Spheres
Whoo Hoo! Having Hot Cast done just makes me want to dance! I’ve gotten so excited, I’m already designing her sister quilt, Forged & Welded.
And this is one of the designs I’m definitely going to use on the next quilt. It’s a bit crazy, but given its own area to shine, this is going to make an awesome background design:
It reminds me of swirling planets in the cosmos, something we saw at the end of Dr. Who Season 4. I can’t wait to try another variation using several different designs in the circles. Maybe that should be called Mixed Planets?
Anyway, let’s learn how to stitch this in free motion:
Difficulty Level – Advanced. This is a pretty complex design, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible! The best way to start is to stitch Swirling Water and Matrix first.
After getting the hang of that design, then try Poseidon’s Eye and Globes of Matrix. Once you get the hang of those two designs, then Swirling Spheres will be no problem at all!
Design Family – Branching. The basic idea behind these designs is branching off with a long flowing line (or jagged line), then echoing this line 3-5 times to build it up on the surface of your quilt.
The variations I’ve created most recently involve stitching a shape at the end of the wavy line and filling it. Every small change alters the design and creates a new texture and it’s fun to play with all the different things you can do with these designs.
Directional Texture – All Directions. The swirling lines surrounding each sphere will make this design flow and twist around your quilt. The circles are going to stand out a lot, so make sure to put this somewhere you really want to show off!
Suggestions for Use – Instead of filling the circles with matrix, you could instead fuse a circle of fabric. It might make for a fun way to play with polka dot fabric too!
As for where I’d use this, definitely an open space where it doesn’t have to compete with other designs. You could even take this and quilt it on plain black fabric for an awesome simple quilt.
Oh, I really like this one
This reminds me of Medusa, would be great for curly, flowing hair