Let’s Dance
by Marsha Loewenberg
62” X 62”
Ever since seeing the bias tape appliqué quilts created by Latifah Saafir, I have wanted to make a quilt of my own design using this technique. The Robbing Peter to Pay Paul quilt provided immediate inspiration for experimenting with this process. I looked at the basic design element of the inspiration quilt, translated it to a design outline on paper, and then, to have more design flexibility, cut the design element in half. The Robbing Peter to Pay Paul pattern can be whimsical and cheerful; I wanted to maintain that feeling in my quilt. With no set design in mind, I started placing the paper design pieces on the design wall. When the end result made me smile, it was time to make the bias tape strips to replace the paper templates. One length of bias tape is used to create each design element, which is then machine topstitched onto the quilt. Stitching down the strips felt like dancing as the quilt circled and curved around the machine. This quilt still makes me smile!