Fall nest art quilt

It is starting to feel and look like fall outside.  The change in the season has made me want to come back inside and make some more nest quilts in my mixed media fiber art series.  Naturally, I started thinking and planning for a quilt with fall colors and one that would have that feeling of changing colors and nature's last gasp before winter.

I started this art quilt by making the nest with Angelina fibers, wool roving, yarn, lace, shredded material, and.....  It was covered with brown tulle on the top and the back, then stitched and trimmed.

I remembered something that I read somewhere (who knows where?) about stiffening fabric with glue.  I started with 4 different fabrics and mixed regular school glue half and half with water.  I painted the glue onto the fabric and let it dry overnight.  Freezer paper worked really well for the base; when the glued fabric was dry it just peeled off the freezer paper.  Oh, if you're going to do it, make sure you paint the glue on the shiny side.

I used some sketches of leaves that I had made and traced them onto Golden Threads quilting paper. I love this paper because it is see through, is easily stitched through, and is easily removed.  It's also a great paper for quilting designs.

These were stitched through (from the back side), then the paper was removed. 

On the right side, I zig-zag stitched again over the top of the first line, and then added the veining.  I used a small zig-zag, 0.6 mm long and 1.4 mm wide, that was just right for these leaves.  After I did all of the stitching, I carefully trimmed away the excess fabric.  

The finished leaves

 I made a couple more leaves with organza and tulle, although they were a little more finicky to make.  The variation in fabric, leaf shape, and color of thread makes the pile of leaves for this quilt more realistic.

Autumn Brilliance by Joanne Adams Roth

My background is an ombre fabric that fades from yellow to orange.  I found this at the wonderful quilt store in Centralia, called Quilters Junction.  The fabric is Daiwabo Selection for E. E. Schenck Company.  I added 3 feathers that I found this year on my walks and tilted the nest to give that feeling of a nest that has fallen out of the tree at the end of the season into a pile of leaves.

I hope you like it.