Day 318 – Paint Squirt Flower

Every once and awhile I find myself asking weird questions like “What kind of texture does a paint squirt have?” While this may seem odd, it can certainly help to create new, interesting textures like this Paint Squirt Flower:

This is a good example of how the center of a Center Filled Design can make or break the overall design. If I was to stitch this out again, I’d probably give it a much bigger, more interesting center shape.

A large center spiral would probably be the best start for this design and it would work a lot better with the paint squirt petals because there would be more space around it for everything to connect.

Oh well, as with all of these designs, it’s a learning process for me too!

Difficulty Level – Intermediate. Paint Squirt Flower is really pretty easy, you just need to focus on first evenly spacing all the wiggly paint squirt petals, then simply echo quilting to expand each one.

Design Family – Center Fill. This design starts in the center of your quilting space with a circle, then the “petals” branch out from the center filling the space completely. Because of the way it’s created this design will work best in the open areas of your quilt.

Directional Texture – Center Focused. This is a filler that draws your eyes inward to the center of the flower. Depending on how wavy and wild your petals are will really change the look and feel of the texture around the center. If you’d rather it look more like a flower, try keeping the wiggly petals smaller and don’t let them touch and interconnect so much.

Suggestions for Use – Since we’re heading into fall and then quickly into the holiday season, this fill would look great on a set of coasters or ornaments. You could also use it in small areas in your quilts, like the large centers of flowers, where you want a nice center focused texture.