Carnival

Last summer I took a quilt workshop with Sujata Shah where we followed techniques outlined in her book Cultural Fusion Quilts. Sujata is inspired by the tribal quilts of India which are very bright and cheerful. This is my version of a cultural fusion quilt. I decided to name this quilt "Carnival", it is truly a riot of color.

All the blocks are cut freehand and the idea is to make a different sets of blocks and then combine them together. I made a few blocks at the workshop, but carried with me some blocks that I had made earlier and was not quite sure what to do with them. 

Tribal Indian quilts are usually very colorful and tactile with mirrors, pom-poms, buttons, shells and what else. I decided to follow that prompt and do the same with my quilt. I added a prairie point edge which ties all the colors together. 

I quilted it in sections, each time using a different technique. I tied the center blocks. Machine quilted the strips, button tied the cross blocks and hand quilted the rest. Finally added pom-poms to the four corners. I was tempted to add mirrors but refrained...:)

Here are a few more pictures.