Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Map of Prague: A Finished Quilt

Finishing this quilt was a really happy moment; it's a culmination of 2017, and until it was hung up on a wall, the year didn't seem complete. I became spellbound by the city of Prague during my visit to the Czech Republic in 2011, so this quilt holds a lot of meaning for that reason, too.


Timna Tarr, who taught a class for the North Jersey MQG, asked us each to bring a map (I blogged about the class and the beginning of the process here). I purchased a "DestinationMap" of Prague by National Geographic and based the quilt very loosely off of it (copyright 2014 by National Geographic Maps). After enlarging the map itself, I made some sections slightly bigger or smaller to surround the most major streets in Prague. I decided not to include all the very small streets that intersect the city.

Thanks to Timna and her guidance, I learned techniques for making map quilts. More specifically, I became intimately acquainted with using Heat 'n Bond Lite. My goal was to highlight various sections of the middle of Prague with different colors. This important part of the city surrounds the Vltava River (which, according to Wikipedia, runs under 18 bridges!). Six of the bridges made it into the quilt, as a matter of fact.


Orange: Jewish Quarter; red: Old Town (where we spent a lot of time on our trip). I specifically chose and fussy-cut saturated colors with a bohemian feel, and spent lots of time deciding where each one would end up. I only had a scrap of that rose fabric, and it fit perfectly!


The quilt seemed to ask for echo quilting with my free motion foot. This technique emphasized each unique shape. With a good audiobook to listen to and zen out with, it took a month or so of on again, off again work. The river itself was really easy and fun to quilt with waves.

I used several different colors of Aurifil thread to blend with the color sections, trusting that the texture would be the star (2250 Red, 1133 Burnt Orange, 4012 Copper Brown, 1320 Medium Teal, 4225 Eggplant, 1148 Light Jade, and 2024 White). I talked more about my quilting decisions for this quilt here.

Purple: the castle area (purple for royalty); purple/pink: "Lesser Town" and Petrin Park


I was really pleased with the results of echo quilting on the back! Texture won! Not that I'll see it much, but it makes me happy. And that's what matters, right? This fabric is "Painted Pottery" by Carrie Bloomston.


The map was one of the last pieces I planned to hang in our apartment! I love how it looks in our living area. You can even see it when you walk in the front door. The quilt that my guild gifted me (which I use pretty much every day) matches well. One might think these were my colors or something. :)


Here are some pictures of my trip to Prague, which I still think about quite often. It's funny; there are so many places in the world I'd like to visit, but some of those I've already been to (Prague and Berlin) are high up on the list. There's something about those cities. I've even made two other quilts inspired by Prague {here} {here}.

So, have you made a map quilt? Would you like to in the future? What place inspires you?






15 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the finish! It looks perfect where you have it hanging on display... and yeah, those might just be your colors, huh? :) <3

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  2. oh I loved seeing this finish and reading all about it. It's really stunning, and I agree - wonderful hung in your home!! Congrats on such a meaningful finish.

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  3. What a beautiful finish. It is bold, bright and stunning! Your travel pictures are gorgeous!

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  4. Just gorgeous, Jess! And so packed with meaning for you. Your skills as a quilt artist just shine through in every detail--I'm gobsmacked!

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  5. Great job of bringing a bucket-list item into a quilt! It looks perfect hanging over your couch! Gee, you could never tell a quilter lives at your house!!!

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  6. It is stunning and is perfect on your wall. A truly stunning quilt. So clever!

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  7. Love your map quilt. Such a great idea.

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  8. I love your map quilt and the quilting that you did. I haven’t made one and am tempted. Not sure where I would do it,but thinking the island we live on in Maine.....

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  9. Great finish, it looks awesome hanging on the wall above your couch.

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  10. This turned out really beautiful and looks great on the wall! I'd love to make a map quilt...hmm, someday...

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  11. That turned out GREAT!! I'm SEW glad that you've already got it hanging on the wall. LOVE it!!

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  12. Looking good and I'm happy to hear Prague made such impression on you :)

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  13. Absolutely wonderful!!! I'm sharing!

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