Judy W. "South Bound"

"South Bound" by Judy Wedemeyer

After looking at the previous postings for this theme, I was surprised how many similar renderings of flying geese were depicted.  Originally I'd been focusing on spirals and staircases due to their downward 'southerly' direction.  Heading south kept coming to mind, probably because as a lifetime Alaskan, heading south is a  term we Northerners deem for resident 'snow birds' desiring to escape the long, dark, cold winters here.

Alaska has glorious sunsets and my neighborhood is within honking distance of Potter Marsh bird sanctuary where I can hear the geese and Trumpeter Swans call as they flock to rest at night during their migratory Fall conditioning exercises.

Southern view from my back deck.

Trumpeter Swans at Potter Marsh, South Anchorage

I Googled flying geese images to determine which Sillouette shapes I preferred for my design.  After drafting a diminishing, curved flying geese pattern, which migrated in a southerly direction, I quickly chose the background batik fabric I felt best suited the environment and subject matter.  I'd never drafted a curving pattern for foundation piecing and was a bit apprehensive, but thankfully, it came out remarkably well.  The subtle striped fabric was intended to reinforce the directional pattern.  I used an iron on stabilizer as the foundation and chose not to remove it after the piecing in order to avoid fabric stretching.

Hand stitched reverse applique enabled me to insert the geese pathway onto my background with the most precision. Once inset, I trimmed the path to within a quarter inch of the seam.  Fusible applique using WonderUnder adhered the geese Sillouette's (including the white accents on the geese) to the quilt top.

My chosen finishing technique was to layer the batting, backing (face up), and then the quilt top (face down) in a sandwich, before stitching entirely around the quilt on the pre-marked seam line. I carefully cut a slit through the batting and backing to pull the quilt right sides out.  This is not how I normally do it but I needed to stitch on the tops seam line for proper alignment.  I placed the opening where my label would cover the slit, and adhered a finished label over the slit with fusible web before I quilted.  I choose this method when I don't want a binding and know I will be quilting in an all over pattern.

Preferring not to individually stitch around the shapes to permanently anchor them to the fabric, I machine quilted a simple echo pattern using a variegated Isacord thread (Saffron color) that would subtly blend with the background while simultaneously securing the shapes and echo the flying geese pathway for an added sense of motion.  I enjoyed my first Maven's challenge and look forward to our next one.