This is my offering for the Twelve X Twelve rusty colorplay theme. I was inspired by the postage stamp quilts created by Kathleen Loomis. She does huge installations! In my quest to try new techniques and ideas for the Twelve X Twelve colorplay challenges, I thought I would try a small version.

I had a criteria that Kathleen does not have, mine had to end up at a specific size. I started by grabbing some quilted scraps and cutting them into 1 & 1/2 inch squares.

I tried lining them up on a 12 inch ruler, but I could not get them to fit. I then tried  1 & 3/4 inches which worked perfectly with 6 across and 6 down.

I sandwiched and quilted the silk fabrics that I had rusted and discharged.

I cut the squares and worked on an arrangement. I wanted them to be random, but with only two fabrics, I couldn’t get a layout that  I liked.

So, I eventually went with the alternating squares. I thought I could just grab a row of squares and start stitching. Noooo! Remember, I needed these to fit into a 12 inch square. My solution was to use a strip of painter’s tape which I laid across the 12 inch ruler. I then lined up the squares and took them to the machine and stitched down each side.

My next problem was how to hang this. I decided that I wanted to have a copper rod with a verdigris patina. I found 12 inch rods at the hardware store. I googled how to add a patina to copper and put one in Miracle Grow and one in ammonia glass cleaner. The one I used was in the ammonia. The Miracle Grow was very nice, but in my haste, I did not remove enough of the lacquer so the patina was not even over the rod. Here is the one that I used.

Here is a detail:

I decided to leave dangling threads. I also tried zig zagging the edges, but that added too much distraction.

Now, I must finish my self portrait which needs to be submitted today. If you haven’t seen the other rusty pieces, go on over to Twelve X Twelve.