The inspiration for my January Journal quilt is the young maple tree outside my back door. A
single leaf bravely held on through the snow and ice storms of November and December. Its tenancity is rewarded by a larger-than-life appearance on my quilt. Here is a close up of the leaf/sky/trunk.I made a quick, very rough, full-size sketch of my idea, then cut and sewed the piece completely without a pattern--drawing with my rotary cutter. Nearly all the seams are curves. The quilting was also done in an improve style with no marking. For a better look at the seams and quilting, here's the back.
(click to enlarge all photos)
I plan to continue to explore the possibilities of creating figurative work in this improvisational style next month.
20 comments:
I enjoyed your writeup of 'why' the big leaf. It is very appropriate. I love artwork based on observations of nature. Your threadwork really glows on the leaf and the stitching on the back makes an interesting line drawing.
All in all, a lovely journal page.
The leaf is lovely, and I like the way you've emphasized its stubborn importance by increasing the size.
Your journal page is very nice. I agree with Jenclair about how you emphazied it by making the leaf large.
Your January piece is just gorgeous, Sophie! You really do a wonderful job on those leaves -- did you do this one by the same technique you mentioned in the ones you showed earlier that were a fabric representation of the leaf photo you took?
a favorite already!
Beautiful glowing page and the quilting gives great texture to each portion. The back is just as lovely, in it's simplicity, as the front. I'm fascinated by how you do that improvisational curved piecing. Do you layer all the fabrics and cut through all at the same time? The fabrics are lovely, are they some of your hand dyes?
Wonderful, Sophie! I have a tree with a single leaf on it, also. I was out snapping pics of it yesterday, it just demands the attention! So your piece was exciting for me to see! I love the feeling of your intuitive piecing and stitching...Great job!
Thanks to everyone for all the nice compliments. The leaf and tree aren't satin-stitched--everything is pieced--one of the challenges I set for myself was to create something with lots of curved seams. Fran is right, the sky and leaf fabrics were stacked and cut (like stack and slash, but with curved cuts). The stem was cut separaely and inserted. I made the leaf/sky portion first and then worked my way out, adding branches, ground, sky, until it was large enough trim to size. FYI, the quilting on the leaf glows because it's one of Superior's neons.
o o love the colours and the bold image, and a very interesting write on your methods. Thank you
Sophie, I really like the mood you've created through your composition and color choices. Lovely! I often feel like that leaf, just hanging out there alone, blowing in the wind...
Great work!
Beth/Paige
I know the leaf's the star but I really like the tree and the way the light bounces off of it.
Nice image, and I love the way the thread shows up. Its so bold, it looks like it could be bobbin work. BTW, nice snowy photos below. Jen
You all have NO IDEA how fearful I was to post this very simple quilt. Thank you so much for all the supportive feedback.
Kim, Caryl Breyer-Fallert gets all the credit for the light on that tree--I used some of the fabric she designed for Free Spirit. After seeing how well it worked for that tree, I wished I'd bought more.
Sophie! Beautiful concept; beautiful execution. I THOUGHT it looked pieced, rather than appliqued (I'm humbled). Woo-hoo, you're the bomb.
Sophie! Never be afraind! Your work is always wonderful! I love the simplicity of this piece, it is what makes it so great. The fact that it is entirely pieced and that you met a personal goal with that makes it all that much more special.
Cool technique..I love how it turned out. Very striking.
The quilting on the tree trunk was an experiment--I like how it turned out ... makes me want to make more tree quilts :-)
Not much new to comment LOL. I also love the composition and the foscus of the leave. Thanks for explaining what kind of thread/fabric etc. you used. Lovely image.
Sophie, this is a really great piece. Your composition and colors are great! Love it!
Thank you, Rian. Such a nice compliment from you feels like high praise. I'm glad my first effort was successful.
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