A Glimpse at The Iguana - Mosaic

I have spent the last two weeks completing Prairie Sky and working on my commissioned piece (which is in its final stages).   In between I am quilting my mosaic reptile a few rows at a time.   I started by drawing a small picture of a lizard/iguana,  colouring it in with markers and dividing it into small squares.   I counted the number of squares on each side and decided to make each mosaic 'tile' one inch square.   Where there were two colours on a tile I further divided it into 2 triangles.    By doing it this way I didn't need to make an actual size pattern.   I just counted squares.    I chose fabric for each different colour of square, attached fusible to the back, and cut several one inch squares of each colour.   Sometimes I needed to audition several different fabrics if the one I had chosen did not fit with the rest of the piece.   I used a red transparent plastic 'viewer' to look at the whole design from time to time.   If one colour does not blend it will really stand out when you are looking at it through the red plastic.     I really enjoyed the process of fitting the pieces together and seeing my reptile appear.   The difficult part was placing them on the black background without ironing them down until all were placed and I was happy with the result.    I kept knocking them off and my cat seemed to have developed an interest on jumping up onto it at the most crucial moments.   Finally I was happy with it and I carefully pressed and fused each square into place.  I left the black background showing between the squares.  I decided it was prudent not to stitch each square by hand.  Instead I chose 4 colours of quilting thread which matched the colours in the piece and, after adding batting and backing, I quilted the whole thing in snaky lines across the piece.   I am not quite finished but here is a photo of my drawing and my piece before starting to quilt.  I'm not sure if I will call it an Iguana or Lizard.  Any ideas for a name for this colourful creature?

I started with this small (5 x 7") drawing.

Here is the piece just after fusing and before starting to quilt (it's a little curvy because I placed it over the back of my sofa to photograph it).   When it is finished I'll post another photo of the end result.  The finished size should be about 24" x 16".

For my next mosaic I would like to tackle a human face......but first to finish this one.  I'll probably just add a narrow black binding after quilting.

Painting Fabric

After borrowing Mickey Lawler's book - Skydyes - from our Fibre Arts Group Library in February, I got inspired and  I decided to dye some fabric with Setacolours.   I had some motivation (besides playing) since I am starting a mermaid piece and wanted to use hand dyed skies and water.   Of course it required first purchasing more colours of dye and some good white cotton fabric.   A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and started painting.   I have done some dyeing before but tried to approach this as an experiment.   Over the week,  I had several sessions with the paints trying different brushes and colour combinations.  I dampened the fabric and used sponge brushes for broad strokes and some watercolour brushes for finer details.   I used coarse salt on some of them to create movement (sometimes got more than I bargained for).   One thing I learned is to keep the colours clean or the whole piece will end up looking muddy (this happened to me before!).  I loved the way colours ran into each other - as long as I was careful about which colours to place next to each other.    I think ML discusses this in her book.   BTW, I think ML's book is well worth purchasing.   I found it very informative with lots of practical suggestions.    Sometimes just looking and the beautiful results of someone's work can motivate us.


I hope to use one of these as a one-piece background for my mermaid.  Who knows where the others will turn up.  I tried experimenting with some darker colours for rocks as well with interesting results but haven't photographed them yet.

Prairie Sky Wallhanging - A Work in Progress

Ever since I first heard Jody Benjamin's song about the prairies called Infinite Blue, I have been visualizing a panoramic piece with rolling hills, prairie fields and lots of sky.    In the cold of January I decided to give it a go.    I started by painting my sky on a piece of satin with caran d'ache crayons and water.  It took a couple of tries before I got the sky I was looking for.   Then, rather than fuse all the layers (which would have made hand-stitching a bit of a chore)  I just tacked them down with fabric glue and bits of fusible here and there.   I started at the top and worked my way down, cutting, placing, discarding, starting over, till I had the right combination of colours, textures, patterns and plains (no pun intended).   The strip at the bottom was rather serendipidous when I accidentally placed it across the quilt and saw that it gave the piece the panoramic look I was after.   I am still working on stitching the pieces together.  I think I will finish it pillow case style with no binding.    Lately I seem to be drawn to long narrow shapes - both horizontal and vertical.     And I am still working on my mosaic piece - many little squares.

peace quilt completed

For several weeks my friend Shirley and I met with a group of immigrant women to create a quilt.  The theme is 'what does peace mean to you?'     Some of the women have sought refuge in Canada fleeing war torn countries.  The lucky ones came here with their children but others had to leave family members behind.    Some had lost family in wars.   Many carry the scars of war and oppression. They miss their native countries, friends and family.  But they came here so that they may live in peace, freedom and equality.  This quilt stands as a symbol of their dreams.   Finally last month the quilt was finished and we got together with the staff and clients of Immigrant Women's Services to unveil our peace quilt and celebrate our accomplishment.   Immigrant women from several countries including Afganistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Korea - took part in this project.   One woman told us that it re-awakened her creativity, another was happy to be among other women and not be so isolated - and spoke of the sense of community.   Staff spoke of how this process helps the women in their healing.  They said they will bring this quilt into the community to let the community know about the importance of funding organizations like this one and programs like this.   Hopefully this project was just the beginning of a program to bring women together to create and heal.     For myself and Shirley, this was a wonderful opportunity to connect to a group of  bright, strong, creative women  from many different cultural backgrounds - and to celebrate our commonalities and differences.   I would like to show you photos of all the women who took part but I need to respect their privacy.   So here is a photo of their quilt with Shirley and I holding it up.  (please note the interesting embroidered piece on the wall in the background entitled 'my wife does not work'.  Lots of irony in this intricate piece)  Hope you enjoy the quilt.

 

Tryptych

I am way behind on my blog posts but I have been busy - working, quilting, singing, attending a workshop, and volunteering.   I will start with our tryptych.   Several months ago I blogged about some of the challenges Shirley, Iris and I have been working on.    For this one, Shirley drew a quick sketch of beach houses by the sea in Suffolk England.  She cut the pattern into 3 pieces, each 6" x 18" and gave one section to each of us.   The only rules were that the major lines needed to be line up with one another, the houses that join should be the same colour, and the piece would be done in a folk art style.    We each completed our section on our own and finished it with narrow black binding.  Here are photos of the finished piece.    The best part was the unveiling and seeing them lined up together.   Mine is the one on the left, Iris' is in the middle and Shirley's is on the right.  As you can see we did not line up perfectly but there is a lovely blend of styles. It is interesting how each of us interpreted the theme.   And now for something completely different - our next challenge is to complete a mosaic piece.   I've already gotten a good start on mine and finding it to be a very relaxing project - a bit like completing a puzzle.

Calendar Contest Entry

Last month I created a piece for the Quilting Arts Magazine Calendar contest.   It wasn't chosen as one of the finalists but was an interesting exercise to do.   The theme was 'feeling pet-ty' and I chose to do a scene from the forest near my home.  It is a protected area and the animals know it!   Chickadees eat seeds out of our hands.  Porcupines sit in the trees.  Quite regularly we are scrutinized by deer as we walk the trails.   Some are bolder and will walk right up to us.  Others peer at us from behind trees and bushes.   If we stand around long enough they will go about their business, eating, socializing and scratching their ears with their sharp hooves.  This scene is from late afternoon in late winter/early spring.

I painted the backgrounds with caran d'ache crayons and water, painted the tree trunks and deer with acrylics then appliqued them onto the background.  I used couched yarns for the bushes in front.   The whole piece is hand stitched and hand quilted.    It is 12" x 12".     It was a fun piece to do because I got to play with paints.    Combining paint with fabric is an area I continue to explore and experiment with.  I still have a lot to learn.