I love creating abstract quilts, to my mind, it allows for a range of freedom experienced nowhere else in quilting, other than when doing crazy quilts of course.
When I began to think about this technique I envisioned a vortex or a whirlpool. I didn't want to create anything too structured and I wanted a free flow rough edged version as well as a folded fabric version.
I prepared a pile of strips in a chosen color family, the first one was in pastels, and sat down to play.
I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the technique that I had envisioned in my mind came together under the needle.
I decided to do a second raw edged piece in bolder, brighter colors
Exactly what I had envisioned
The second, the folded edge one took a while longer to create after I had invested a bit more time thinking about how to do it.
I didn't want to use pattern pieces, rather, I chose to create in a free form flowing fashion, again I am very happy with the result.
This tutorial has two art quilt techniques – a rough edge spiral and a folded fabric spiral. I enjoyed creating both.