Sheila Rae: I created a mandala design from vintage pineapple and 9 patch quilt blocks I found at a vintage shop. I embellished the piece with old bone café curtain rings in varying sizes and lots of hand stitching. The title of the piece is "Test Pattern." Anyone around and watching TV in the 50's & 60's will understand the title.
Sheila Rae also brought 2 other pieces for show & tell. This first one uses ephemera and images from Cathology and the Virgin Mary. It also celebrates the hand work of women who came before. It may be hard to appreciate from the picture, the incredible amount of handwork including stitching and beading that Sheila has put into this piece. It is something that should be examined in person. Our group spent a good 20-30 minutes taking it all in.
After we made Earth Oxide cloth, Sheila took a piece home. She thought it looked like an animal skin so she "mounted" it using African inspired fabric and embellishments. Once again, the hand work on this piece is impressive!
Cathey: Since we were to be inspired by painted mandalas, I painted a mandala. Or at least a quarter of one. I used fabric paint and several stamps, both hand made by me and commercial. It is not yet quilted but will be soon.
Pat: I did not make a quilted piece this month but I plan to decoupage my painted mandalas on to a new sketchbook journal.
Joan: I loved the fabric we made a few weeks ago using Earth Oxides. The resulting colors are muted and earthy and fit well into my landscape esthetic. In this piece I created a stitched labyrinth. There is a subtle line of light in the fabric. I positioned the labyrinth so that the entrance is highlighted by this light path. I added bits of Angelina fiber to the surrounding area to simulate mica in the rock formations. Using a long stitch length and variegated thread, I quilted along the lines and texture created by the Earth Oxides on the fabric.
Marcia: I was inspired by the colors in one of the painted mandalas. I used several fabrics I got on freecycle. The colors, textures and fabric weights were very diverse and fun to work with. I stitched them into a long shape and embellished with beads, trims etc.
Melanie: A couple of weeks ago I took a class with Cindy Needham on quilting with antique linens. I have been collecting linens for a while and decided to start small and experiment with a doily. It was round so I decided it fit the theme for the month. For the first time ever, I did a lot of microquilting to set off the design - trapunto like. Now that was crazy! Once it was quilted, I added some color with colored pencils. Not what I usually like to do for my art quilts but sort of sweet and a nice change.
