Diversity

We had our annual Spring Show at the Dias Quilters' Guild last week where I also taught a workshop, so life stays busy....

Two years ago, my friend Yolande Bowman of the Pied Piper quilt shop and I sat at the Spring Show and "cooked up" an invitational creative challenge for the 2012 Spring Show.    We identified 12 quilters (including the two of us) to participate and were thrilled that everybody accepted the challenge.   It added a wonderful dimension to our annual quilt exhibition which sparked interest for a similar challenge for this year...

The 2013 challenge was to make a piece in the format of a diptych within prescribed size restrictions.    We received 17 entries which was on display as a satellite exhibition of the 2013 Spring Show.   It really was WOW!

Currently I am intrigued with fusing squares as backgrounds - I find it a wonderful foundation to complement basically any kind of design.    Personally I have rediscovered the beauty and peacefulness of neutral shades, also in my home decor.   Maybe a new phase of inner peace...?    Any way, I bought so much fabric to have a good selection of neutrals when I made the Willa quilt.   I still have quite a stash and at the moment, I just love the effect....!

Having made two major quilts this year already, I did not have lots of time to work on the diptych challenge and it had to wait for after Festival 2013.    I had a completely different idea for this challenge, but when I started work on the other idea, I realized that it will be a major project for which I did not have enough time as Willem and I also had a holiday planned.    So, my original idea was shelved and I had to make another plan.   I offered the piece to my daughter Elizabeth who was excited to get something from her mom!    That made it so much easier for me as she chose the colour scheme, size etc and I could start work, almost the same as being commissioned.

Traditionally a diptych is two panels attached with hinges like a book.   I thought that I would make fabric hinges to hold the two panels together, also to be able to hide a sleeve at the top back to hang the piece from.   I pinned the the two panels to my design wall with an asymmetrical triangle across the top which would be one hinge, but my friend Brenda wanted to know why I would spoil the effect by doing that....?     It made me think!   Somehow Brenda's remark uncluttered my process and put me on the right track.   I drew circles and generally just played a bit with colour adding some silks for that rich lustre.     Every piece of fabric was fused and stitched using the raw edge applique method.   I stitched extra detail onto certain sections and also couched decorative threads at others.    In the end, it took me about a week to make this piece which is quite unusual for me!

Diversity 2013

Some detail of the stitching on one of the circles and background

Diversity - Detail of the 2 hinges

The diptych is attached by the two circular motifs which was made separately and stitched onto the quilt after the two panels were completed.    I satin stitched around the outer edges of these two circles to secure the edges which also gave it a neat finish.   Personally I thought the mood of the quilt is understated and the more I looked at it, I realized that true beauty often lies in the simple things in life...  

I was so pleased with this piece and Elizabeth could not wait for the exhibition to finish so that she could take Diversity home....!    I also had the honour that the Dias Quilters's Guild Committee used this quilt to make a poster advertising the 2013 Quilt Show! 

Glow Part 3

I'm back safe and sound after a lovely two week holiday touring up the West Coast seeing beautiful flowers in Namaqualand and visiting areas in the Northern Cape for the first time.   What a diverse and beautiful country we live in....

Well, back to Glow.   At the stage where I stopped my story last time, I had beaded the tiles on the sides, the top strip as well as the semi rounded section at the top of the quilt...    Such diverse elements each on its own - I had to find a way to create unity between this lot otherwise all the hard work would have been in vain...

My initial idea was to make fabric beads to hang at the bottom as a fringe, also to hang a combination of fabric beads and patterned circles  from the side panel tiles....     I however realized that I had to complete embellishing the centre panel first as that would dictate the embellishment and mood of the rest of the quilt.   As I only used Lutradur in the top section of the quilt, I needed to repeat it in some other place.   I had prepared a round piece of Lutradur when I iniatially prepared the pieces - it was so delicate and lacy and perfect in the end.    I also felt that I needed to use the reddish purple centre panel as a backdrop for another element...     I prepared a square piece of light purple silk and stitched the round piece of Lutradur to it and embellished it in the same way as the top section.   Repeating the colours and techniques with these two sections created the desired unity.   This square placed on point was hung from the top section with 5 beaded cords running through the piece and lying loose on the reddish purple background of the centre panel.

Glow - embellished Lutradur section hanging from the top section lying loose on the centre panel.

I also prepared two round cut out patterns in different sizes and finished it off similar to the tiles on the side panels and hung it from 3 beaded cords from the square on point.    The colours, embellishing etc did the trick and pulled most of the elements together.   I made various fabric beads and hung it at the bottom of the centre panel, combining the fabric beads with wooden, metal and biggish glass beads.

Glow - Embellished centre panel.

At this stage I felt happy that the top section was not in isolation any more as I managed to repeat some of the materials and techniques in the hanging elements over the centre panel which also softened the strong colour of the centre panel.   The fabric beads at the bottom also balanced the heavy texture at the top of the centre section of the quilt.

Another element which needed to be repeated somewhere was the very structured fabric beads which I placed around the curve on the top section.

Fabric beads around curve of top panel, gold thread wrapped around beads...

I made fabric beads similar to the green ones at the top of the quilt to hang  at the bottom of all the hanging elements - all capped with a brass spacer.   I had this grandiose idea of making all these round shapes to hang from the side tiles with fabric beads and quickly realized something....    I would spoil the quilt by overdoing the hanging elements and I had to stop before the quilt looked like a badly decorated Christmas tree....  At that stage I had stitched various round motifs and already beaded it, ready to be added to the quilt...   Instead, I made inchies and twinchies using silk fabric in the same shades as the small squares of the centre panel and hung it from the tiles, finishing it off with one of the bullet like fabric bead.    Choosing these shades complemented the colour of the centre panel and brought it all together.   I did however add two round and 2 square motifs to the hanging elements on the side tiles as the shapes balanced those of the hanging section of the centre panel.     I placed the square pieces on point to complement the bigger on point square of the centre panel.  

One of the hanging sections on the side panels with a similar bead at the bottom to the beads on the edge of the top section.

It was only after reaching this point in the process of making this quilt that I realized that it worked and that in fact I had a quilt....    The journey was intense, challenging and interesting - yet very satisfying....  I chose difficult elements to combine in this quilt and had to create balance with repeating colours, techniques and the different design elements.

Glow 2013

I was fortunate to win 1st Prize, Freestyle Masters at the 2013 National Quilt Festival in Bloemfontein with this quilt....    

  

Glow Continued...

I always find it extremely difficult to name my quilts...   It somehow was much easier to name our children. Elizabeth was named after my mom and Jopie after Willem's dad!   Easy, we did not even have to think (or disagree) about it...

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.    

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!

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....

Glow

These past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about the creative process as I'm working through some administrative stuff with others.   Ideas for certain quilts are relatively easy to apply and execute, but other concepts can be such a complex journey as it continually develops...    One goes along within the process, waiting for inspiration for the next step - nothing can rush it....!    Patience is one of the most important qualities needed ...

I will share my journey making Glow with some images so that you can understand how I managed to combine such varied elements.....

More than 3 years ago, our little art quilt group Transitions experimented with painting fabric on gelatin moulds and some time after with paper folding and cutting techniques.    It was great fun and opened various creative possibilities....

In September 2011, I started cutting patterns from 10cm x 10cm  folded pieces of paper.    Some looked good, others awful - I had no idea what I would do with it!    I also kept the pieces of fabric which I painted on the gelatin moulds for something special and thought I could maybe use it for this paper cut patterns - it was all greens and purples, so I had a colour scheme....     At this stage it was only a concept, making a quilt from this was only a distant thought...     Eventually I decided to prepare 14 tiles from these designs, cutting two similar designs from the same piece of fabric.   A vague idea started to form - I thought that these tiles could form side panels alongside an interesting centre panel.    Repeating the colours would provide some symmetry and balance... The purple fabrics used for the tiles were mostly blue purple tones and I decided to use a reddish purple for the centre panel.    I painted a piece of fabric for this panel and pinned everything to the design wall....    In the meantime I found pieces of Lutradur which I painted and burnt with a soldering iron some time before, also in the same colour range and thought it was a match made in heaven....   It also went up on the design wall but somehow nothing gelled...!    I looked at it every day for months and did not know where to go with this...   It came to me one day in December that the centre panel (a solid piece) looked too flat  - I decided to cover the entire panel with 2 1/2cm x 2 1/2cm squares, all in the reddish purple colour range in cottons, silks, taffeta etc.   These small squares transformed the entire mood of the piece and I felt the first stirrings of excitement....

Glow in progress - first image taken in 2011.
   14 tiles on the sides, centre panel covered with small squares.  
Painted Lutradur pieces  pinned onto it....  
A long way to go...

But I was stuck again and did not know what the next step would be...    In the meantime I decided that the centre panel was not wide enough and added another 3 rows to the width which brought better balance to the piece.     It stayed on the design wall for almost a year before I actually started stitching.  

My initial idea was to use raw edge applique to secure the edges of the motifs on the tiles, but somehow it did not really give the effect which I was hoping for.  I then experimented with couching perle yarns onto the raw edges which looked worse as it was difficult to navigate around the designs...   So, I turned to the trusted technique of machine applique which added definition to the designs.   As the tiles were rather structured, the neatness of the machine applique technique seemed to complement the designs...    Again all the pieces went up onto the design wall waiting for inspiration for the next step - I knew it was time to stitch the centre panel and wanted to make a feature of it, but had no idea how to do it...   On our way home from holiday in January this year, it suddenly came to me to machine embroider each little square of the centre panel.  It created texture and changed the mood of the panel as it popped the squares.   

                         

                                     A sideways view of the machine embroidered centre panel.

My next problem was that there was no unity between the different sections - I had to find a way to bring the 3 panels together as each was standing on its own....    I realized that I had to repeat some elements in different places to bring the design together...  I thought a long strip across the top of the quilt would hold the 3 sections together...   I battled for a week before I was happy with the colours and design!   I used a long paper cut pattern to decorate this strip and used a reddish purple fabric as background for the patterned section to complement the reddish purples of the centre panel.   The patterned section of this strip was also machine appliqued .    Somehow the quilt was now in a T-shape which I did not particularly like.  The centre panel was still a concern as I felt that no other design element really complemented it...   The idea of stitching the Lutradur pieces to the centre panel did not gel either...

Glow taking shape with strip across the top, initially in green which was later changed to purple which looked softer...

Up to this stage, this quilt was more on the design wall than under the sewing machine as I battled to get the balance right.     As I played with different options to decorate the top strip, I realized by adding small rectangles around the patterned section, would complement the squares of the centre panel. I did not like the T-shape and added a piece of fabric to the top middle section, breaking the straight line at the top by placing the piece higher than the edge.   This seemed to work - this section would become the focal point of the quilt and I had all sorts of ideas to "work" this section.   I changed the bottom line of this piece to a rounded shape which I immediately liked and discharged the purple fabric to a much lighter shade.   I needed to bring the lighter purples of the tiles at the bottom of the side panels to the top section of the quilt to create balance by use of colour.   I fused a border in different fabrics around the rounded edge to prepare a base for a special feature...    

Progress at last - the changed shape of the top section of the quilt.

Only at this point I felt that the combination of these different elements could work together - embellishing the piece would transform it...    I was really excited as I felt that I really climbed Kilimanjaro...    I cut paper circles and pinned it to the design wall, contemplating bits and pieces hanging down the sides.... 

Next time more about Glow....