A spiral. In art it’s a symbol of rebirth—of new beginnings. Is it time for a new beginning for you? In fabric collage? Well, this blog post may give you the incentive you need to try your hand at collaging a spiral as your next fabric creation.
In the photo above, Donna Konigsberg, has begun her spiral, surrounded by a selection of cut shapes ready to be placed and glued onto the foundation fabric. In the post below, Donna shares her finished spiral, along with scrumptious spirals by Maribel Marrero and Ruth Warner.
These ladies share not only their finished quilts, but how they approached the technique of fabric collage—through my book, blog, or Spiral eWorkshop.
Maribel Marrero
Maribel Marrero of Cortland Manor, NY, learned fabric collage from my book “Serendipity Quilts” and from watching my (blog) videos on YouTube. Her quilt is an I Spy Spiral. I love it when a quilt engages me in some way, and I’ve been combing this spiral to find the items Maribel has included. Very fun—and the story of the time spent with her sister is lovely. But you need to include ginkgo leaves on your list, Maribel!
List of items found in Maribel’s spiral:
1. Cow over the moon
2. Bear
3. Yellow, white, red and blue stars
4. Palm tree
5. 2 sets of red roses
6. Tiger
7. Frog
8. Autumn leaves
9. Stars and Stripes
10. Hearts
11. Elephant
12. Alligator
13. Panda
14. Giraffe head
15. Woodstock (from Charlie Brown)
16. The word “Joy”
From Maribel:
I have been an admirer of Susan Carlson for many years but never felt I had the skills to attempt a collage quilt, even though I have been making traditional quilts for the last twenty years. Anticipating a visit from my sister (who I hadn’t seen in 18 months because of Covid) I decided to take the plunge and asked her to make a spiral collage quilt with me. After many attempts on making the spiral we took scraps and spent an entire weekend laughing, reminiscing, enjoying each other’s company and creating our first Susan Carlson quilt. My sister was able to finish her spiral by the end of the weekend, but I wasn’t even half way finished when she had to leave.
I had given myself “parameters” that I wanted to stick to: I had to use only scraps that I had, I had to keep cutting to a minimum, I had to use at least one of every type of scrap I had (Christmas, Halloween, patriotic and tons of baby fabric etc). Why did I make it harder for myself – I don’t know? lol As I worked on it I decided to make it an “I Spy” quilt and incorporated 16 items for friends and family to find. I made a lot of mistakes but loved the process and it now proudly hangs in my new quilting room. I’m looking forward to my next Susan Carlson project: the “Sea Turtle.”
Donna Konigsberg
Donna Konigsberg from Fairfax, VA, also sent in a photo of her creative space—complete with natural light and as Donna says below, “… a good chunk of foam insulation board in the basement.” I have to wonder if there’s a garden outside those windows that could have inspired Donna’s very verdant collage that (as I see it) surrounds a spiral dragon.
From Donna:
As I dipped my toe into fabric collage for the first time, I took Susan’s advice and started with the Spiral eWorkshop. I learned a lot on this exercise which I hope to apply to future collage projects! I was a little hesitant to get started, but once I got rolling it was really fun. I frequently referred to the workshop links and past and current blogs. Thank you for being so generous with information!
I’ve been seeing fabric collage patterns in the quilt stores for months, but have been uninspired by their subject matter. Once I came across Susan’s website all of that changed and I went far down the collage rabbit hole! The Spiral eWorkshop was the best place to start. Other than tulle, I had all the other supplies on hand – even a good chunk of foam insulation board in the basement! After doing this “glue method” collage I am now going to try the “fused method” and see how they compare. I can definitely see advantages to both and may come up with my own combo method. I have family in Maine and hope to be able to attend a workshop with Susan up there – maybe next time my husband takes classes at the Wooden Boat School.
Ruth Warner
Ruth Warner of Poole in Dorset, England, has begun her fabric collage journey with this flower-filled spiral. What a splendid beginning. Ruth, there may be a few steps in between, but I do hope fabric collage takes you toward “managing a portrait.” In the meantime, cheers!
From Ruth:
One Sunday at a Zoom church meeting a striking contemporary picture by Ed Guzmann was on screen during communion. I was drawn to the colourful image so full of beautiful symbolism. A thought occurred to me, “I have all the fabric colours in this image leftover from the many masks I had been sewing for the community. Maybe I could just make a collage of it? (Permission was later received.)
And so my journey began: to discover how best to glue my piece-by-piece collage of this picture. Trawling the Net for gluing techniques is how I discovered Susan Carlson. The more I searched the more fascinated I was with Susan’s wonderful artwork quilts. I bought both her books and although the spiral didn’t initially appeal, I knew I needed to begin somewhere and learn some of the techniques. I’m so glad I bought the Spiral eWorkshop. I have no experience whatsoever and have never had any sort of art teaching. I know no-one who’s doing this kind of artwork so I’ve done this completely alone, but I’ve been inspired and drawn so much from the videos and the blogs that Susan regularly posts.
With my limited stash and budget I am reasonably pleased with my first attempt at freestyle fabric collage (my first attempts at free motion stitching leave a lot to be desired). This first piece I am giving to my daughter next week for her 40th birthday. I have named it ‘Life Begins at Forty!’ which seems appropriate to the concept of the spiral. Thank you all for the brilliant quilt journeys that you have shared, which have been so inspirational. Will I manage to go on and make a portrait?
I’ve gotta start one.
I’m inspired ????
Your Spiral workshop taught me how to properly collage with fabric. I made a different project that i can’t share yet because it’s part of a mystery challenge with one of my mini quilt groups. I will share later when I can. I recommend this class to everyone. I have ideas for future collages. Thanks