Focus on Embroidery: Splash of Color

Not all quilters are embroiderers, and not all embroiderers are quilters. But when you do mix these two art forms together, the results are pretty incredible! 

This week we'll be focusing on embroidery here on the blog--specifically embroidery collections that coordinate with some of our fabric lines. If you already love embroidery, consider this a heads-up of some of the fun designs available for your next project. If you haven't jumped on the embroidery bandwagon, we hope you'll consider this week's posts an introduction to what is possible. Enjoy!

What do you get when you combine beautiful fabrics with stunning embroidery? A quilt like Sarah Vedeler's "Splash of Color," which is currently being featured as a series in McCall's Quilting. 

"Splash of Color" by Sarah Vedeler; machine quilted by Gina Perkes;
features in McCall's Quilting

We asked Sarah to tell us about "Splash of Color," and how this quilt design developed. 

How did Splash of Color get started?

I designed a quilt for McCall's using my new [at the time] fabric line, Transformations, and some of my newer embroidery designs. They loved the quilt and wanted to use it as a series quilt in 2016. (Instructions for making the quilt are spread out over six issues, beginning with the January/February 2016 issue of the magazine.)

Tell us about why this quilt design works so well with your Transformation fabric line. 

I designed it so you can do a certain amount of fussy cutting. I used the infinity circle print in the borders--they're each one row of circles, and the quilt was designed around this. For some of the appliques, I fussy cut the fabric--for example, I used the stripe in the scroll heart, and then I fussy cut the tree of life fabric to center it in a heart shape as well. 

Tell us about the applique work. 

I created the quilt using my embroidery machine; the applique is all digitized so it can be done on the embroidery machine. But because of the strength of design of the fabric, it's more applique work done on the embroidery, and not your typical embroidery with so much stitching. The embroidery actually features the fabric. I have a signature satin stitch that has a triple stitch around the outside edge and a triple stitch around the inside edge. It gives a really nice 3-D look and creates a beautifully clean satin stitch. It's kind of a satin stitch plus. 

How can quilters purchase the embroidery designs?

They're available on my website. The digital downloads include the designs in two different styles:  basic embroidery designs that highlight the applique, and then embroidered applique designs with solid fabrics to show off the gorgeous threadwork in the designs. I also created a Facebook group so anyone making the quilt can follow along, post photos, and ask questions. 

An example of the embroidered design used on solid fabric.

Click here to see Sarah's Transformation fabric.

Click here to visit Sarah's website and find the Splash of Color designs. 

Click here to find McCall's Quilting magazine. (The May/June issue, pictured below, is #3 out of 6 in the series.)