I’ve submitted this one to the OMG (Organic Modern Graphic) quilt movement (https://www.facebook.com/groups/OMGQuilts/) for acceptance as an OMG quilt. If accepted, it will get an OMG #, but until then, I’ve called it ‘Synapse’. Update: Accepted! This is now ‘OMG #31: Synapse’. This art quilt is now available for sale from my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/605096612/synapse-art-quilt
My interpretation of ‘organic’ for this one was at the cellular level and beyond. It’s a 7×10 piece. How I made it is described below the photo (click on the photo to view it larger).
The background fabric is some old navy linen I had from my dressmaking days, and the synapses are some old pink poplin (or similar) from one of the first quilts I made in the late 1980s.
The base of the quilt is a 7×10 piece of Floriani ‘Stitch n Shape’, layered with some batting, and covered with the navy fabric. I turned over the edges and glued them down (Elmer’s School Glue). Then I used another piece of navy fabric to cover the back, turning under the edges, gluing it to the back, and then topstitching the layers to hold them together. Next, I added Velcro hook pieces on the back as per the OMG guidelines (NOTE: If I did another like this, I’d add the Velcro to the backing piece BEFORE gluing and stitching it to the back).
Next I fused Mistyfuse to the back of the pink fabric, drew the free-form synapse shapes on the back, then cut them out and placed and fused them to the top, making a couple of them wrap around the edges.
I stitched some background DNA-like ladder structures in navy thread (Fil-Tec Glide ‘Navy’, colour 32965), then the synapse applique pieces and their tendrils in a bright pink thread (Mettler Poly Sheen, colour 1950).
The end result is a nice stiff enclosed piece, with some texture and puffiness from stitching on the top and leaving certain areas unstitched to allow them to ‘pop’.
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
