2016 Silk Pillow

I recently had the privilege of taking a class from Chris Wickert, an award-winning maker of hand-quilted silk applique masterpieces. It was a two-day class that gave me and my fellow students great experience with handling silk and improving our applique stitch.

2016 Silk Pillow

Chris uses a pattern adapted with permission from Deborah Kemball. It made a 14″ square pillow, backed with the fabric in the picture background.
What a wonderful experience!

Genesee Valley Quilt Club – Quiltfest 2015 – Best of Show and Previous Ribbon Winners

This gallery contains 8 photos.

It didn’t surprise any of us when it was announced that our own Chris Wickert won 2015 Best of Show for her masterful silk applique piece “Le Jardin Joyeux” or “The Happy Garden” in French. We featured member quilts that had won recognition at major regional/national shows. Here are just a few from that special exhibit: […]

Update 2 – Ohio Star

Taking apart my father’s ties underscored how different silk fabrics can be. Some with woven motifs are sturdy, others are as slippery as scarves. I am fortunate to know award-winning silk appliquer Chris Wickert, who suggested using fusible interfacing to stabilize the fabric and cut down on fraying on the straight of grain. (Silk doesn’t fray on the bias.)

Interfaced fabric – Ohio Star back

Since I also have some non-silks in the mix, I chose a solid red cotton, a solid blue silk from a pocket square, and a metallic woven stripe to experiment with. All adhered well to a light nonwoven Pellon fusible. I cut a quick template for the triangles and used my even feed foot to machine sew a 6″ x 6″ block. This represents the smallest Ohio Star in the planned quilt.

Interfaced fabric – Ohio Star front

The piecing isn’t very accurate; I need a better template. But what I’m more concerned about is that the silk isn’t flat along the on-grain edges. So I’ll draft a better template, try a different foot, and switch fabrics for the next attempt.