Challenge 4 from Penny

This was the first idea I had when I saw the word 'light'.  I rejected it as being too literal and went on to several more ideas.  Nothing jelled. Finally, while I was in Maine, I went back to this idea and I like it very much.  I used two colorways of the Kaffe Fasset fabric 'paperweights' and matched the lighter to the darker to make the light shine.  That was the most fun.  The light filament was embroidered with metallic thread and highlights were added with fabric pastels.  I quilted rays of light with yellow thread.

The fabric pastels were not very satisfactory as they were not as crisp as I had hoped.  I would use fabric paints instead.

This piece was really fun to do once I got over trying to do something that wasn't in my nature.  Perhaps I'll always be 'literal' in my art and I might as well embrace who I am.

I would also like to apologize for being so late.  Bursitis, muscle relaxants (which kept me zoned out), Lyme disease, all interfered with my getting this done.  Once I got over those hurdles, I went to Maine and got moving.  thank you all for being patient.

Penny

Quilted!

Here's my "light" piece with quilting done!

Word #4

I didn't realize how difficult a task choosing a word would be.  I have been thinking about it--and rejecting possible words--for a while.  I finally chose one and then was giving Penny some time to get her quilt done. But she has assured me it will be a few a more days before she is ready to post a picture.

So, my creative friends, here is our next word: reflection.


Hope it is a source of inspiration to us all!

Path to Light

I did finish this one, but am doing a companion piece to incorporate the following poem that I wrote to convey what I was trying to express. Life has challenges for all of us; this past 5 weeks were so hard for me I didn't feel like doing anything artistic. Finally I "found" some strength in spiritual thoughts. I began thinking of a simple crucifix form, but it morphed as I worked the mosaic path pieces. I used leftover fabric I had from Katie P M's method of 7 oz. canvas treated with GAC 100 and painted with acrylic paint. I added highlights of iridescent paintstick to some pieces, others are just my paint-blended colors. She teaches this method for creating fabric in her stitiched paintings workshop that I took last Fall. You can also find it on the net. I stitched my mosaic "stones" to black duck fabric instead of sewing them to each other. I just backed it with black felt since it was rather thick already. I quilted all but the whitish the stones with a charcoal thread. Used a silver thread on the white. Had a good time making this and it brought me out of my funk. Thanks for that, group.
We seek all our lives
A path to the Light.
With Faith we trust
It is not beyond but within us,
And we, within Light's sight.
---Sher

"Light" - the third challenge

Before I started writing this post, I looked through the already posted "light"-themed quilts. And I had to grin when I saw Madalene's quilt ;-)) One glimpse at my quilt, and I guess you know why I grinned ?

Some of you may know that I mostly work with bright, vivid colours. But after I thought about my theme for a while, I started to ask "what if?" What if I started with white and only used some light, muted colors? I guess I just wanted to know whether I could work with such a restricted palette!
My starting point were white linen and white batting - and my embellisher. Next came white cotton jersey, a crinkly quality. And a light blue very thin curtain fabric made from polyester. The cotton was felted on the piece; the blue polyester was put on the back and felted through. Then I painted the bottom part with a light green acrylic. I added quilting to give an idea of hills in the foreground. The last step by machine were the rays of light, done with a metallic thread and straight stitching.
For a bit more interest, I glued the white flowers on. I'm sorry about the not-so-good-picture, but I had to hurry ;-)) a thunderstorm was coming up!

From Madalene

I had more difficulty with this challenge than I thought I would have. I had what I thought was a great idea that just didn't work out when I started putting it together in fabric. So I began again.  I finally decided to keep it abstract, focusing on color, the contrast of a very dark and a very light, and keying off the idea that the light is all the brighter for the very dark shadows that may surround it.

I had a lot of fun playing with shapes in several dark colors of my hand-dyes and also a commercial black, and was concerned they wouldn't show up well in the photo, but my main problem in photographing it was to make it as dark as the piece really is.  So what may look dark blue is actually a darker red purple.  I also ended up doing some hand stitching in some of the black that you may be able to see if you click on the photo to enlarge it and then look closely.

deborah's light

Hi All,

I'm writing this Thursday evening as I'm preparing for a.m. departure tomorrow for my husband's family reunion. My quilt isn't quite done. I've begun some machine quilting... Will finish it and post another photo on Monday.

Anyway, I was inspired by the patterns of light on tree trunks and the forest floor. This quilt has diverged from the image I originally had in mind. Started with Jean Wells-inspired piecing with colors that spoke to me. Had planned more complicated representation of trees and shadows, but I was so pleased with the background, I hated to cut it up/cover it. Also, I didn't have time for more detailed piecing. So, I made some tree trunks and left it at that. The quilting will be fun!

Can't wait to see the others!

Deborah