True Colours

I couched a little more colour on this indigo woven silk today and have begun quilting it. And I came across a few ripples of blue on my walk

and then from out of the vat:

And I did a bit of overdyeing with indigo - these colours are ones I'm really drawn to.

More than blue.

Before and After

When I was a teenager, I used to love seeing the dramatic change of someone's face in a magazine's 'before and after'. Just a small change here, in the spiral, where I couched a strip of bright fabric to make it more visible.

Street Art

When I looked down enroute to the beach I saw a giant feather formed from pine needles and water that reminded me of the large feather I sewed on my piece. Earlier today I saw the Threads in the City show at the Martin Batchelor Gallery put on by Fibres and Beyond. Lots of variety and interesting pairings of the fibre artists with artists working in other mediums - a pleasure to see.

This week's class is focusing on raised stitching - from different types of applique

to couching.

More types to come...

Home Stretch

I've couched on some red cord, added a few more circles and some stitch and now I am stitching the final quarter. And I'm adding to my journal - thinking about what I hope to get from the Nancy Crow workshop and also what quilts to take with me and what to say about my work in the presentation we are expected to give.

Expansion or Contraction?

I've couched the metallic yarn onto my quilt now, using a free motion zig zag stitch and invisable thread in a spiral. With the velvets and layers, the quilt is heavy and quite unwieldy to work with and coupled with maneuvering the yarn as I stitched, it's not surprising that the spirals are uneven. I feel a bit in over my head with visions of what I'd like to accomplish that are not quite within my technical reach. I found myself wishing for a 'Stitching Fairy Godmother' who would magically appear and show me how to do the quilting/couching so that it came out to my satisfaction. Some of the velvet pieces haven't remained fused and I will attempt to iron them down again, but if that doesn't work I may end up sewing around edges with invisable thread. I notice feeling discouraged and having catastrophic thoughts such as 'I'll NEVER be able to do this - I might as well give up making art quilts'. I also know that I've been here before and have gotten through to the other side, and even though I can't feel it yet, I imagine I will this time, too. Forging new territory takes courage and is challenging - and the payoff is growth. This realization is right in keeping with the name that I've chosen for this quilt: 'Expansion or Contraction?'. The choice is mine.