But it is so different with my quilts as the title somehow has to reflect the core of the quilt... When I had to complete the entry form for the National Quilt Festival for this quilt, I was almost at panic stations as I could not think of anything apt... Then one day as I was looking at the quilt in progress on the design wall, it came to me that it was such deep, rich jewel colours... Immediately the image of the Kristall Gallerie in Swakopmund which we visited last year while on holiday in Namibia, came to my mind... It was one of the most amazing places I have ever visited - all the glittering crystals on display... So, I thought GLOW might be a good title for this quilt and after a few days, it felt right. Short and sweet!
Last time I told you how I battled to create harmony between the different elements of Glow. I prepared the top middle section in a much paler shade to complement the lighter purples of the tiles at the bottom of the side panels. By doing that, I balanced the colours... The next challenge was to incorporate the painted and heat treated Lutradur pieces in this section. I reshaped it to fit the space and stitched it down into position with the machine. My main objective was to create lots of texture to this section as it would form the focal point of the quilt. I needle punched lilac handspun merino wool along the inside of the border which I fused around the edge. I stitched burnt pieces of organza and tulle to the Lutradur section to create texture. Couching of recycled silk yarns and adding hand made fabric beads created more texture. I added a mixture of metal, glass and wooden beads as well as sequins to fill spaces. Burning of the Lutradur caused open spaces through which the background fabric was visible. These spaces were filled with hand embroidery stitches - seed, fly, cross, French knots and running stitches. The spaces between the needle punched wool were filled with various beads in similar shades to the wool.
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| Glow - Embellished Lutradur section |
The next step was to make long beads which I placed around the border section - I used similar fabrics to those used for the tiles. I decided to wrap old gold embroidery thread around the beads to make it more interesting - it was quite difficult as I had to use pliers to get the needle through all the layers.... I machine quilted the border section, but somehow it did not look right.... After a good sleep, I realized I could use the same embroidery stitches which I used to fill the spaces on the Lutradur section and it somehow did the trick. I sealed the raw edge around the curve with cord made from string - 10 metres in total made for this quilt. This top section was quilted separately and attached to the quilt after the main body of the quilt was quilted!
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| Glow - Embellishing completed with fabric beads sewn into position
The next step was to bead all the tiles. As the top section was heavily embellished, I had to create texture to the side panels of the quilt to once more create balance. A combination of wooden, metal and glass beads were used for the 14 tiles. As I scrutinized the work in progress one day, it came to me that the beading on the tiles looked like brooches.... I was very happy as it reflected the title of the quilt... I was very happy with the effect of the beading as I felt it had to be very subtle - at a distance the beading only ha a hint of a shimmer, almost receding into the space. Exactly the mood I was trying to create...
Detail of beading on some of the tiles...
Creating Glow was really a challenge and it took me on a wonderful road of discovery as I had to delve very deep... Next time I'll share how all the different elements came together....
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