This is my process for making a landscape quilt. When I need a break or I’m looking for inspiration I’ll make what I call mini quilts. The finished size ends up being 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches, I add a ribbon and turn it into a door fobs.
I start with a piece of muslin 5 by 7 inches. To me, having that framework to work within helps me with the design. I start with a blank piece of fabric when working on my larger quilts too. The other reason to use a piece of muslin is because it gives the fusible web something to adhere to.
I start a the top with the sky. This picture shows some of the fabrics I considered for the sky. I use Wonder Under Fusible Web (805) to fuse the fabric to the back ground. Wonder Under comes with a paper backing. I cut about a 6 inch wide piece of the Wonder Under and cut that down to approximately the size I need for the piece of fabric I want to fuse. Take the paper off and place the fusible on the back side of the fabric. Iron using a Teflon pressing sheet to protect your iron. It’s a good idea to have the Teflon sheet under your fabric too, so I have one that’s big enough to fold over the fabric.
My plan was to make a garden scene using the figure in the fabric as the focal point. One reason I like doing the mini quilts is it gives me a place to explore a design that I might like to use in a larger quilt.
Here I have the fabric laid out. This is when I change things around. I may leave a design pinned on my design wall for days to see if I like it. Another trick is to look at the design through the wrong end of a spotting scope or take a picture with your digital camera or phone.
Fabric Layout
Look for the next step in my next post.
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