Life and Fire Quilt

It was January and I was having trouble sleeping, but one night I managed to dream and I saw this image. I can remember feeling the strength of this woman's power, her fiery red hair. Her body is full of life - the swirl is an ancient symbol for creation.

This quilt was created using Ann Holme's "No Sew Till You Quilt It" french fusible applique technique. This is a very simple technique that allows you to piece very intricate quilts with curved seams without stitching at all until you're ready to baste and quilt the whole thing. Life and Fire is the largest quilt I've made using this technique.

When one of my sisters saw this quilt she commented "Hey Leah, are you going to give birth to a snail?" Ha!

When I first finished this quilt I was extremely disappointed without it came out. The dense stippling in the body of the goddess caused the fabric to pull together tightly and was not balanced by the open quilting in the borders. This caused the quilt to hang badly with a noticeable wave.

But this quilt marked a huge learning experience for my quilting, and marked a significant time in my life. Now more than 3 years later, I'm extremely pleased with this quilt and I love her despite her flaws.

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