The Trooper

Start date: 1 May 2014
Finish date: 9 July 2017

Designed by: Melissa Brooks with artwork from an Iron Maiden album cover
Created by: Melissa Brooks
Purpose: A "guys" quilt, created for my husband. Originally for a birthday gift, but worked on for over three years. The artwork and lyrics are from the Iron Maiden song "The Trooper", the words are a powerful reminder of the realities of war. My husband and I have been to a few Iron Maiden concerts together and I thought his would be the best quilt to make for someone who never feels the cold, this way, as a wall hanging we can all enjoy it.
Description: The central art work was printed on cotton using the Spoonflower fabric printing service. Minor piecing resulting in what I would consider a wholecloth quilt. Extensive freemotion quilting all over. Designs inspired by Karen McTavish. Quilting has been enhanced by Setacolor fabric paints, most noticably a pearlescent white that was diluted with fabric medium to give a shimmer in the sunlight. Designed to be a wall hanging, a small sleeve at the back with two triangular cuffs help to "float" the quilt on the wall and hide any fixtures. I'm really pleased with how this quilt turned out, its the most complex quilting I've done so far and I really enjoyed the creative process.

Design copyright applies - see disclaimer