Joie de Vivre -- My Houston Journal Quilt

Journal quilts have been very popular in recent years and this was the last year they were going to be exhibited at the 2007 International Quilt Festival in Houston so I decided to give it a go.

First, I made my quilt sandwich with two layers of felt instead of batting, and started laying out some wool fibres. This was definitely a false start. Let me try again.
Now, this shows more promise.
Time to audition silk tops for the centre and it was a real Goldilocks dilemma. This one was too blue ...
... and this one was too pale ...
... and this one was too green ...
... but this one was just right.
Next, I started to add threads and novelty yarns.
Some closeup shots
Instead of using Solvy, I used one of the hot water bags that hospitals use to sterilise laundry. I cut it open and it fit perfectly over the top. And then the machine quilting started. First I did the green/blue section.
Then the purple star section.
But when I dunked it into a sink of hot water to dissolve the plastic on the top and pulled it out, I had a heart attack. The water had turned blue! Solvy doesn't do that. But it was OK because the colour was just in the water and didn't transfer to the quilt.
And here is the finished journal quilt.
And a closeup of one corner.
I don't have a photo of it actually hanging in Houston with the rest of the Journal Quilts yet, but I'll post it when I get it.