Back in March, I auditioned pathways and trees, using sheer fabrics recently purchased at a Longmont Goodwill. There are chunks of a blue and white former skirt as well.
I thought I was settled on a bright green moon (silk from a former blouse) until I got some input. I decided to follow both Deb and Joann’s ideas: muted the green; added some bright blue. It’s better I think.
I also added a trunk to the tree on the right.
The strip of felt-backed huts is quite old. Because of bulging, it required lots of additional quilting and because of all the layers, I frequently used the machine.
To me, this is a desolate landscape from which there is no escape, no warm shelter. The hut in the front is possibly hospitable, but it is isolated, unconnected.
This is one of the quilts I was working on as I sat in the rental space in Colorado, where every time Danny drove off, I’d wonder if I’d ever see him again. I couldn’t look at the cloth for months. Somehow, now I can. The dirty and chaotic feel of it captures some of the awfulness of those days in Longmont.
Deb thought I should rethink the green moon so I covered it with some organza. What do you think? An improvement is my feeling.
Here’s a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. I get one every day now by email.
In my dream, I ask Katie Phang, “Are you a member of The Reasonable Doubt Club?” She just smiles.
It rained all night.
There’s a clicking noise in my left ear, which reminds me of an insect sound and yes, I watched The Twilight Zone as a kid. (Google: the earwig episode).
I finished binding this pale yellow piece yesterday. This one really captures me somehow. I like the broad surround. I like the repeating moons. I like the ochre crosses. It is quilted to within an inch of its life.
Please find: one spiritcloth indigo moon, one silk moon that formerly lined a skirt, one moon dyed by I don’t know who, indigo cloth from my adventures, swatches from six former garments (not counting the silk moon up top).
It’s not raining anymore but it’s still grey. Finn, a friend, and I made a neighborhood circuit and now I’m ready to stay put and sew.
In another era, I would’ve called this quilt “done” a few iterations ago but this time I’m really enjoying adding little scraps. Balancing the red. Continuing the dark windows. I’m past caring if these add-ons represent improvements or not.
The indigo batch died. No flower or foam. No sheen. Maybe it could’ve been revived but I’m done for now — packed everything up and put it all away.
There’s relief in that, especially since we need to get the house ready for company — one week from today.
I used a piece of the purple-dyed cloth for a moody surround of an old quilted house. The plaid print strips I dyed in indigo maybe ten years ago? The red moon comes from some delicious cotton Nancy sent me a while back.
Mixing machine and hand stitching can be a challenge, mainly due to cloth bubbling. That middle section has six layers though— really tough to hand sew — so I’m gonna keep trying with the Bernina.
Old house, old moon with new roof, cat, and tree. I wanted to express something about chaos, but this comes across as domesticated, cute even.
Maybe this pinboard assemblage has more to say about forces beyond our control?
Two Birds and a Dog QuiltMountain with Two Moons
Not great pictures, but these final two pics reveal finished pieces.
The purple dog (top) is vintage linen dyed by Deb and the tiny moon in the Mountain Quilt is one of Jude’s.
Mountain Quilt includes: strips of the dress I wore to Ken’s sister’s wedding (pale purple with green and red floral), a swatch of one of my mother’s beach cover-ups (black with white dots), plus scraps from four other garments.
The Two Bird Quilt includes: piece of hem from recently purchased dress, chunk of a cotton men’s shirt from Indonesia (roof), strips of two sheer garments purchased in Longmont the week Danny died (to create the tree).
I think it’s apt that I set out to appliqué a cat but it so obviously became a dog.
P.S. Because we finished re-watching all The Great British Baking Show seasons (aka TV Valium), we are now watching The Great British Sewing Bee (Project Runway has jumped the shark into Real Housewife’s territory. Such a shame. Enjoyed that show for many years). The Sewing Bee doesn’t have charming hilarious hosts or quite the engaging structure of the baking show, but it’s good enough.
All of this to say, it cracks me up to hear them say “appliqué.” They pronounce it “AH-PLEEK.”
