Breakthrough Challenge with cqgb

This is the quilt I made and entered for the Contemporary Quilt Challenge 2010. The title "Breakthrough" could be interpreted in whatever way we wanted, but the criteria was that the quilt be either 60x60, or 90x90 cm's, and at least two layers held together by some stitch.

I finally found inspiration at Denby's Vineyard near Dorking last summer when I went to view a textile exhibition. The car parking area was partially covered in concrete, but had rows of "X" shaped holes incorporated to allow grasses and meadow flowers to grow through. Out came my camera, and the grasses and flowers "breaking through" the x shaped holes were the answer to what I had been trying to work out for the challenge.

After experimenting with different interpretations from my photots, I finally decided to use a cotton wadding for the background, which I embellished from the front and back with some wool roving and sheer fabrics to create the texture of concrete. I then used a variety of fabrics which I felted onto the background with my embellishing machine into the x shapes, and gradually built up the layers with hand and machine quilting.

It was a real thrill to learn that my quilt had been accepted, and is at present in the Breakthrough" exhibition in the Bailey Gallery of the  Quilt Museum in York, until the 3rd July 2010.

I will be there on Friday 4th June, demonstrating some of the techniques I used to m ake this piece.