Artist's Statement

Turkish Roses hangs flat and square at 21 x 27 inches and is made with Artistic Fabric, my own hand-painted 200 count cotton fabrics, it is fade resistant.

I created this quilt for the Turkish Delights Restaurant in Wells, Maine.

I began by researching Turkish designs and found that in many of the sultan's palaces there were many pieces of artwork with roses. I decided on a stylized version of a rose and a vase resembling one I saw in a photograph taken in such a palace. The yellow flowers were also an element in many Turkish designs.

Each flower and leaf are individual pieces of fabric, as well as the vase, and were hand-painted - so this quilt will not fade. The vase is detailed with a treble stitch (by machine) which gives it form, then hand-appliqued to the background before it was stipple quilted.

Once the flowers are leaves were arranged to my satisfaction, I free-motion quilted them in place (the veining of the petals and leaves). Then, I free-motioned a satin stitch all around the raw edges with a flecked thread and within each rose to give them individual petals. The center of each flower is also given detail with free-motion sewing.

The background was quilted with a free-motion stipple design. Before the binding finished the quilt, I hand-painted the purple "border" blending it into the background - this also colored the stipple stitching threads so it all blends in nicely. Fabric for the binding was also hand-painted to match, before it was attached.