Faces

Here is one of the faces I have sketched with a black aquarelle , then lightly wet to give the water colour look to it. We are now 1/2 way through the 'challenge' and I am laying them out as I go on a very pale green vintage damask serviette. Not sure how I will attach them , needle turn applique , raw edge with a running or overcast , kantha the whole surface or join all squares together then attach. I will wait until they are all done

30 day project

My small art / textile group Broardstrokes is working on a small repetitive challenge. For every day in April we have to make a small component ,to be repeated each day over the month. At the end we will all have 30 small 'bits' that may add up to something else....or we can continue. These were meant to be to actually create each day, to get your mind focused on something, to be aware of small details. It doesn't have to be fabric, it doesn't have to involve stitch,can be whatever you want to focus on in a repetitive manner- maybe to fine tune a technique  . I will post mine when I finish my first for the month.

Malala

Working on my Malala quilt. A young girl with strength . While listening to inexplicable acts.

Spring Flower Magic

I began working on this as a response to a 'floral carpet' as a a challenge for my six member Broadstrokes textile art group. It remained unfinished. So when I read that Atasda (QLD) was having a challenge due in the September meeting with a similar topic I continued to work on it. The challenge is entitled Spring Flower Magic and a quote from Ralph Waldorf Emerson 'The earth laughs in flowers' used as an inspiration. But I had not read the fine print where the date of this challenge is 2013. So I am 2 years too late!!! But here it is I will still take it along to the meeting to show.

The background is made up of an old  Chinelle bedspread as the carpet. Then silk flowers machine embroided on . These came from the effects of my Aunt Jill when we had to clear out her house for sale. She always had flowers both real and artificial decorating her home. Other flowers are cut from fabric and old lei pre made embroidery patches and some stamped images. The black and white adds the touch of magic and the eyes to give it life .

10 years

I have made this piece for a display for ATASDA Queensland branch to help celebrate 10 years. The pieces have to be attached or worked onto a canvas with a 10 cm edge. I have made a background collage of blues, some indigo dyed, a piece of silk, two commercial fabrics and a printed piece on the left. The buttons are vintage and luckily I had enough of them to mark out number 10 in Braille. I have since changed the buttons as the cell for 0 was stitched on incorrectly but I didn't have time to photograph.

Soft pink Hard message

 Here is my quilt Jus Animalia. It is a message for animal rights that are sometimes so commonplace we don't even have time to notice. I have always been haunted by the poem Bells of Heaven written by Ralph Hodgson since being required to learn it in the fifth grade. The background is eco dyed with onion skins then it is stamped with a wheel motive ( for all the animals who spent lifetimes walking in circles turning wheels for humans). I have stitched animals representing various forms of abuse. The religious symbols speak to the poems message of good people turning their backs on those in trouble ( in this case the animals). There are other symbols and messages in the stitching .I really loved slowly thinking and stitching this piece.

Avocado dye

Put a pot on to boil with some avocado skin and a lot of avocado stones. I cut them into about thirds, softer to cut than I thought they would be. I put a copper rod into the pot . The large piece is a very soft old cotton remnant. I did not pre- soak in soy or anything to add protein to help the colour bind. The next size is silk and the small piece is wool batting, which probably has some percentage of polyester. I also have now in the same pot added some eucalyptus leaves and have clamped together some silk pieces between Perspex with eucalyptus leaves between the silk. I will let this dry well before opening.