Iris Medley – the perfect picture of a fractured quilt. Typically, these are landscape scenes which have been ‘broken’ into pieces. Each piece or ’fracture’ contains part of the landscape, and is assigned a value of dark, medium, or light; which is then reflected in the fabrics chosen for that particular piece
For example, consider a tree in the forest. The base of the tree is darker because it gets less light on the ground… overshadowed as it is by other foliage. You would assign it a ‘dark fracture’ value and choose deep brown-coloured fabrics to define it.
Midway or so up the tree it’s a little lighter in colour, more sunshine filters through here. So, it would be assigned a ‘medium fracture’ value, and use average brown, middle of the road shades for definition.
Then we have the top of the tree which receives full sunlight. This is designated as a ‘light fracture’, and fabrics used here would be paler in colour i.e., a tan or beige-coloured.
One tree – three values: dark, medium and light. Using these three shades of the same colour gives the tree depth and dimension, allowing for a sense of movement. And this is what forms the basis for Iris Medley and the fractures which define it.
Iris Medley is fabric rendition inspired from a painting by artist Barbara Goss, as shown here. It depicts two irises against a background of fern and tree. A simple enough presentation. However, the balance between them, and the contrast of colours lends itself beautifully to a landscaped quilt – fractured of course!
The quilt is sketched onto paper and fracture lines are drawn. This will serve as a template, to help ‘translate’ the scene into fabric. The two irises will be the main focal point, as well as the primary source of colour. They will feature upon a background of tree limbs, ferns and grasses in assorted shades of greens and browns. Combined together, this will offer a pleasing array of contrasts.
The sketch is ‘broken’ into 12 different parts – or fractures. Each fracture is now assigned a light value, as explained above. The lower half of the quilt will feature mostly darker hues, as presumably the forest floor gets less sunlight.
The irises are each given their own fracture, using lighter shades, the better to emphasize and highlight them. As the main focus of the quilt, fracturing the irises themselves would be too confusing for the eye to fully focus and identify.
You can see how the fractures were broken into what looks like rays of light, each containing an iris blossom of its own. The fractures at the top of the quilt were assigned shades of a slightly darker hue. This was to better emphasis the irises in the middle, as the highlight of the quilt.
Still new at making fractured landscapes, there were some important lessons learned. Over all it looks complicated and very involved. From a quilting point of view, it felt overwhelming. However once broken down into the 12 smaller pieces it seemed a little simpler. By letting the bigger picture go, and focusing only on each individual fracture at hand, it became less intimidating. And therefore, felt easier to do. One small fracture at a time… would soon add up to a complete quilt.
This was especially important as each individual iris was made with over 50 different pieces of fabric!! All of which first had to be basted into place… then top-stitched and outlined so as to look like one single bloom. These various patterned and coloured fabrics needed to blend in, and complement each other in order to make one complete flower.
Generally speaking, a wide variety of fabrics are used in fractured quilts. But the nice part is – you don’t need much of any one particular piece. This makes a great way to use up whatever stash of materials have been accumulating over time.
Once all individual fractures are completed, they are ready to be sewn together, thus making one whole quilt. At which point a border is added to ‘frame’ the iris presentation.
Solid shades of material are chosen for the border. This is in contrast to the many multi-patterned fabrics which make up the landscape. First, is a green fabric which blends in well with the foliage surrounding the flowers. Then a bright yellow, which picks up the colours from within the irises themselves. A little continuity here, which ‘rests’ the eye, and helps it to make a connection with the floral centerpieces of each bloom.
Lastly a border of darker fabric, in this case a purple shade also from within the irises, serves to finish the quilt off. In addition, smaller squares of purple are placed at each corner.
This gives direction, pointing the eye back into the center of the quilt… and those beautiful irises. The outer border was done in a traditional Flying Geese pattern, with triangles of a contrasting colour ‘chasing’ each other around the edge.
The quilt is then sandwiched with batting and backing. Top-stitching, using a machine-based satin stitch outlines the various shapes. This stitching goes right across the fractured pieces, to better guide the eye and tie it all together. It also gives further definition and form to the individual leaves, stems, and floral pieces.
The top-stitching echoes onto the back of the quilt, which is a rather interesting feature. It also holds the different layers together. A decorative form of ‘quilting’… and very different from that which can be done by hand.
And so, Iris Medley is complete. There was a lesson learned here which has served well over time. Quilting can do that… acting as a metaphor for life on occasion.
When looking at the picture as a whole, which then had to be fractured and sewn back together again… with oh, so many different fabrics – it felt overwhelming and confusing. This caused me to question the ability to pull it off successfully. However, when concentrating my focus only on the single fracture at hand, it became less intimidating. This allowed me to feel more comfortable, and confident of the results.
Rather like life sometimes. Looking at the larger scheme of things can be overwhelming, fueling doubts and uncertainty. However, when taken one day (or fracture) at a time, we are less apt to feel intimidated by circumstances. And this allows for a greater feeling of confidence in the ability to cope with whatever a given situation presents.
It’s easier to believe in yourself this way, and believing in yourself regardless, is so very important. Makes a big difference… and sometimes surprising things can result.
Like a Medley of Irises!
Note: two quilts of this design were created… one of which is available for sale in the Quilt Shop.