With my trusty old Bernina portable machine, Art in Action, Waterperry, 2015. I had a great time at Art in Action this year, with Nature in Art. There were lots of visitors over the four days and the weather stayed good - if sometimes rather warm in the glasshouse.
It was good to get home too, with no particular deadlines except for my French knot embroideries which are ongoing. Luckily I have until the Autumn to finish them.
I take part in the Contemporary Quilt Group journal challenge and have finished four more, May, June, July and August. these four pieces all use as a basis scraps of fabrics from previous pieces as their starting point. My challenge for has been to transform them into some sort of credible design and if possible reflect what is going around me at the time, in true Journal fashion.
It was good to get home too, with no particular deadlines except for my French knot embroideries which are ongoing. Luckily I have until the Autumn to finish them.
I take part in the Contemporary Quilt Group journal challenge and have finished four more, May, June, July and August. these four pieces all use as a basis scraps of fabrics from previous pieces as their starting point. My challenge for has been to transform them into some sort of credible design and if possible reflect what is going around me at the time, in true Journal fashion.
This black and white landscape has a background of loosely collaged fabrics scraps of different materials and weights, with foliage machine stitched over the surface. It wasn't quite wide enough so a strip of white silk added on one side created more interest.
It reminds me of the view across the valley in the winter.
It reminds me of the view across the valley in the winter.
Here I've used offcuts from the Ledbury piece, Mists of Time. I used wools, cottons and linens and fused them to a calico backing. They were all looking a bit scrappy so I then stitched random straight lines over the surface, from the back of the fabric, so no distractions from the shapes on the front. One of the inspirations for Mists of Time was William Langland's Piers Plowman. I'm also interested in using calligraphy so I stitched distorted letter shapes from the poem within the grid. Still not too happy with it, I altered the background by adding a layer of cotton scrim. Swallows were wheeling and darting across the valley as they had decided to come back for a second chance of nesting in the garage. The lettering had the angular feel of the swallows wings, so they were an easy choice to appliqué on top.
I tend to save strips cut when straightening up squares for more geometric designs and I had a short length of fused fabric in shades of green, looking like fields if they were oriented horizontally.
In this piece I stitched elements from the landscape, leaves, trees, hedges and walls on to the background.
This time a buzzard was being mobbed by rooks so these were also appliquéd on top.
In this piece I stitched elements from the landscape, leaves, trees, hedges and walls on to the background.
This time a buzzard was being mobbed by rooks so these were also appliquéd on top.
 Another length of vertical strips reminded me of seashore breakwaters. I had a couple of pieces of fabric that had been printed using foam blocks at a workshop I had been to in Mevagissey, run by my dear friend Di Wells. These were perfect for some rock and water elements. |  Little blocks were cut from thin foam, scored with a design then stuck to card. You can make a handle to make the printing easier with a small strip of tape. These are so easy to make and great for a quick result. To embellish the rock surfaces I had a happy time changing my bobbin tension and using a machine whip stitch to make the texture of seaweed and barnacles. I now need to see the sea - maybe a trip to Robin Hood's Bay in a week or so, re -visiting childhood haunts. |
RSS Feed