Since I've been sewing (about 11 years) I've made more bargellos than I can count. They have been popular with people who commissioned me to do work for their walls, I think because they can be very traditional or very contemporary, depending upon the design and the fabric choices.For years, I usually made them witha selection of 12 fabric choices, because that's the way I learned it, and when I designed my own, I just stuck with that magic number; it allows for several repeats, and gives me a chance to get the fabric blend I wanted.
But a couple of years ago, I branched out to design several bargellos with more fabrics - 18 to be exact.
This little bargello I just finished is one of four from the same fabric mix.
The advantage of using 18 fabrics is that, well, more is better. But the disadvantage could be that it elongates the quilt vertically, or reduces the number of repeats.
In this little quilt, I just used one repeat of the fabric set from top to bottom.
I really love these fabrics, and it is a luxury to get to make four bargellos with the same fabrics.
In this one, I experimented with inserting four vertical strips of a hand-dyed fabric that I also used in the quilt.
I have always felt that, for my bargellos, the quilting that simply follows the curves of the quilt's design enhances the quilt in the best way. I have seen photos of other quilting choices, but this is just my personal preference.
On this one, I love the way the Japanese ladies' faces are fussy-cut to peek out of the larger strips.
I also added one appliqued face, too, in the corner.
This last photo is the first quilt of the four. I finished it last winter, and was bought right away by a couple who have a lot of Oriental furniture and art in their home.
It is my favorite, and it was hard to give up. It has two repeats of the fabrics, and the appliqued faces appear in it, too.
The third quilt is almost finished, and the fourth is yet to be designed...
I will say more about bargellos in later posts.
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