The most fun part about making a mandala-style art quilt is that you really can’t add too much. I can bling to my heart’s content.
I had no problem with the raw edges of my applique, but I had all these beautiful braids, trims and specialty threads laying around.
One of my favorites is Kreinik Iron-on ribbon. I first used it in “Picatso: The Artist at Play”, and I had a little of it left over, so I used it to edge my outer blue gear wheel, which had started to fray.
Next thing I know, I was back at the quilt ship to buy more. I was glad I went when I did, because they had moved their entire collection of Kreinik to the ‘sale’ room. Since that usually means they won’t be carrying it anymore, I bought nearly all they had.
The thing I love about this iron-on ribbon is that it doesn’t seem to matter which side you use; both will stick to your fabric when ironed. The downside is that the heat shrinks it just a bit, so you need to go very slowly if you’re using it to edge a motif as I’m doing, and may have to pull it up and readjust. The glue keeps it in place fairly well, but I will still zig-zag over the ribbon with monofiliment to keep it in place.
Since this is a flat ribbon, there was no way to get a perfect point at the end of all my compass points. Fortunately, I had already planned to finish them off with crystals, and as you can see, this size should be just about right.
The other nice thing is that I can do these segments around my frustrating work schedule. Thank goodness I’m off this weekend!