Wanderlust

Wanderlust

                                               19" x 37"

detail:  This work entirely hand embroidered and has taken me the better part of a year to complete.  Luckily I have had a lot of time on my hands, and needed to keep them (my hands) busy to keep my mind peaceful.  

detail:  this turtle was inspired by the photo below that I took while exploring the Galapagos Islands.  This was an unforgettable adventure that was in the true spirit of 'wanderlust';  defined by Merriam-Webster as a "strong longing for or impulse toward wandering"

Watching these prehistoric creatures wander was mesmerizing.  With seemingly no where to go they patiently and steadily kept on going.

detail:  this depiction was inspired by the photo below.

I began the project with the hand-dyed, yellow cotton and drew the 2 tortoises on to the fabric.  I created the shell, the under cavity of the shell, and the faces with embroidery floss.  Their legs I worked through with free motion stitchery because I wanted them to have the three dimensional feeling of the real dimpled legs.  After the tortoises were done, I felt that they needed a context since they seemed to be 'floating on the fabric' and so I worked hand dyed silk organza and cotton around them to set the scene.  Then I stitched seed stitch over the layers of organza. in various tones with embroidery floss.  Not a straightforward path to the destination, but then wanderlust is never straightforward.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote; " I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel's sake.  The great affair is to move."  This is what I miss most during COVID.  The freedom to travel freely for travel's sake.  I have an itching lust for wandering.

 

weaving with fabric

Shades of Blue

93" x 75"

My third queen size covid bed quilt.  As you may have noticed I am always trying to come up with something new, as well as trying to challenge myself.  Not a pattern follower.  I was still working with scraps, and most of this fabric is from my hand dyed cottons.  Working with a very limited palette of hues, I was trying to create the illusion of depth shading from light to dark.  Since I wasn't willing to buy new fabric to get a more gradual shading affect, I am not sure this goal was met.  I also wanted it to look like the pieces had been woven like a warp and weft and too, not sure that worked out.

Nevertheless, because I have such an expert long arm quilter who has my back; (itchintostich Jeannie Jenkins) no matter what I put together she makes it work with her amazing quilting.

Many people don't care for a large rainbow of colours, and to that point, this quilt has already been claimed by someone like that who loves it.  

so.....the lesson is you just never know....and even if you think it wasn't all that successful in meeting your personal goals, it can still touch someone's heart.

This is the back of the quilt.  Really shows off Jeannie's stitching.

 

quilt for Newlyweds

 

Wonky Log Cabin

I created this muted quilt for a young couple, recently married.

92" x 99"

As one of my quilting consorts suggested, if they get bored while sleeping with it, they can try and figure out what the pattern is!  This young couple is part of the cohort that decorates with minimal hues, focusing on greys, whites, and texture.  In an effort to respect their style, while still working with my scraps, I kept my colour ways minimal.  This is the second completed of my 5 queen size quilts that I have created during the pandemic lock down.

In this close up, you can see the beautiful quilting done by Jeannie Jenkins on her long arm machine.  We chose a heart pattern.  Corny perhaps, but appropriate I thought.  Jeannie is also known as "itchin2stitch" and I think she is an expert and pays exceptional attention to detail.

Backside

 

I created a braid that I inserted on the back of the quilt, using all the same scraps as the top. I love using a braid for its symbolic value.  the intertwining of two into one.  Like the log cabin design that is representative of the hearth and home, the braid suggests the joining creating harmony.

There is also an extra large log cabin on the back, just for fun!

Due to the pandemic, unfortunately, I was not able to attend this wedding.  so....I tried to convey how much I have been thinking of them, and sharing in their excitement, through this creation of love.  

 

 

 

Waiting Too

Waiting Too

15" Wide by 40" High

Detail:  The title of this work references I piece I published here in November of 2018 which had been exhibited at OCADU.  I felt I had another image to create on the same theme.  These are the same goats who are waiting in the first work, and stitched again, using the photo/water soluble technique I use.  

detail:  The background fabrics are created by ME! All hand dyes on cotton and silk organza

 

Stitching leaves in the tree is hand done with embroidery threads, over hand dyed silk organza.

second set of covid posies

24" wide by 41.5" high

Covid Posies

Detail:  the first composition of these hand embroidered medallions was a horizontal one, and in my 'what if' musings: I wondered how this would work in a vertical composition.  I do find that it is helpful to go at an idea in more than one way sometimes.  In the end I think it is probably personal preference in terms of which you prefer, I don't think one way is considerably more successful than the other, but I am certainly interested in your feedback.  The previous version was posted in November.

Detail:  this detail demonstrates how the centre pops out from the background.  Every centre was hand embroidered, but in this work I did more embellishment with the machine in free motion when attaching it to the background.  The more sewing, the more it pops out.

Detail:  All the machine stitching on the background as well as on the medallion is with free motion, the stitching on the petals became more wild as I carried on and my ideas got looser.

detail:  The background fabrics, both the green and the grey, are from my hand dyed collection. The green piece had quite a few different layers with different techniques of dying and printing.