Water Lily and Dragonfly II by Ann Fahl

Price: $650.00  Size: 16 x 23 inches
Additional Images: 1  2  3 

A large purple dragonfly flits above a rose colored water lily and several lily pads. All rest on a hand painted background of coral and blue. The purple dragonfly embroidery is highlighted with an iridescent metallic thread; the lily pads are embroidered with a heavy magenta, green and blue Madeira metallic variegated thread.

Because the hand painted panel was so narrow, I decided to add a wide purple border similar in color to the dragonfly. This gives the quilt more “presence” and emphasizes the long narrow shape of the center.

All the images are fused, machine embroidered and the background and border are densely quilted. The edges are bound with a purple binding. Wool batting.

How long did it take to make this little quilt? Years! First, I painted the interesting background and took a long time to decide what to put on it. Much later I fused the lily, pads and dragonfly in place. One year later, I decided that I didn’t want to bead the piece; it was strong enough to stand on its own. I added the border and quilted it in 2 days.

At the very end, I decided to add one last thing. I embroidered over top of an additional purple tulle lily pad, adding just one more detail to the quilt. Four items in the landscape, just didn't feel right to me. So the addition of the fifth lily pad made the composition a little more interesting.

Some quilts just take a long time!