Horizons, and 'gone forever' faces!

The 'Horizons' challenge quilt for this years Contemporary Quilt exhibition really has given me a HUGE challenge!!!

These first four faces were going to be a part of my piece, painted onto the news print paper surface of some paper lamination.

However, I eventually decided that they weren't quite right, or rather, definitely not right for what I was doing so painted over them!!! So, they are now no more.

In the end, the lower part of my 50cm x 1.50cm quilt was all so wrong I ended up cutting it off. Lots of time and work had gone into it, but it had to be done. A learning curve, and I had enjoyed the processes, although I wish I hadn't painted over the above four faces. At least I still have the photos/

This final photo is a taster of just a small area of the quilt which is now almost finished. I'm still not sure what I feel about it, so will put it away for a couple of weeks to give my brain a visual rest. I've put quite a few hours of intense time and work into it, so  feel that I've built up some sort of immunity to it's impact. The words 'laboured' and 'heavy' come into my mind at the moment whenever I see it, which isn't good. The starting point was from a photo that I took a couple of years ago of Southwark Cathedral.

I will eventually show the whole finished article, but not until I've decided whether to enter it for the cqgb challenge. Watch this space later in the year.

I'm running late on my May journal quilt, so that is going to be my next project, plus a couple of pieces that I'm planning as gifts for my two sisters.

Happy stitching to anyone who has read this far, and thank you for 'looking in'.

Postcards

 

In chapter 5 of the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, she suggests that we send five postcards to friends or family. I decided it would be nice to send some that I'd made. 

 

 

 In my ufo box I found something that I'd spent quite a bit of time on, but couldn't decide what to do with! Nothing unusual there then!!

 

Anyway, I decided it was perfect for cutting up into 6"x4" pieces, mounting onto some pelmet vilene, and making into abstract cards.

 

They are really a mixture of hand and machine stitch, paper lamination, my own dyed and printed fabric, and paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above is a different method, I have used a simple leaf print onto a black cotton background.

 

Over the weekend, I went for a walkonn our very brief, one day of spring, and took some photos. I've included the one above, because something about it reminds me of the first selection of postcards. I could almost say it was the inspiration for them, but it would be a big fib, as I constructed the cloth about 18 months ago!

 

 

Finally, my JQ for April. It will be the last on the theme of seedheads, and I've called this one De-frosted Seedheads. I sprayed, painted, and printed paint through stencils onto the calico background, and then painted on the seedheads with black gutta. I machine quilted around all of the seedheads, and then added the spiders web. I also ironed on some black bonding web to give a crackle effect.

 

I hope my postcards will be enjoyed by the friends I have sent them to, it felt good to do this, making a change from the quick text messages we seem to rely on these days!

 

Happy sewing, dyeing, or whatever other creative things you maybe doing this week.