New work in progress....

I have been sitting on a collection of fabrics since Festival last year. I was very clear about the palette but less sure about the the design. I am now working full stretch on this, which has a title " Gorgeous Gullion". (A Gullion is a jewel) I am creating some strip pieced abstract 'jewels'  which will then be inset into a piece of batik from Ghana.
I'm really exited about this piece now, especially as I have been looking at the stash for months!

Each section will be made separately and then joined to create the whole and I want to include quite a lot of surface decoration once the whole thing is pieced.

Cot Quilt Commission

The cot  quilt is finished and has been handed over, always nerve racking, but it was very well received.
My client had chosen a simple design and a diverse collection of printed fabrics. Using cream and a plain blue helped to create a more homogeneous effect.
This is the basic block

New Walk Museum and Gallery, Leicester

Friday - Thanks to a friend I was introduced to the work of Maggie Scott's large scale textile installations on show at the New Walk Gallery. Her work "explores the tensions and contradictions of Black British identy" Screen printed silk is then Nuno felted to create fabulously muted images but with photographic detail.
3 pieces explore the end of her monther's life through an image made into jigsaw shapes where progressively more of her mother disappears from image 1 to 3. Very powerful, especially as my father is slowly loosing his grip on memory.

 The most disturbing piece was a concertina'd hanging with a white supremacist rally cut through a mixed race wedding scene 10ft tall and 12ft wide it really gave you pause for thought.
By chance, at the same time, they were showing "Suits and Saris" to celebrate and debate the fusion of British and South Asian fashion traditions, pertinent because of the population of Leicester. In "Respectability " different generations were invited to share their feelings about styles of dress. An interesting show that is part of the Dress the World - 3 shows in the East Midlans exploring how global exchanges have shaped fashion in this area. I want to try and get to see "Living in Silk" on at Nottingham Castle Museum until 16th September.
Also worth noting that New Walk Gallery houses the Attenborough collection of Picasso ceramics.

Abstract trials 2

Still working on ways of achieving the very abstract shapes I want to use on my next piece. I've been concentrating on how I attach shapes to a background which will be constructed of large pieces joined in an irregular way. Traditional piecing will not do.
I have looked at a version of reverse appliqué, with machine stitched edges, on a very loosely woven fabric. It works very much better than appliquéing it to the surface.

The stitching is poor, I was in a hurry, but with a better choice of thread and taking time with it, this will do the job I want.
I have some lovely silks which have just the right depth of colour and sheen, but fray really badly, so I've tried the same technique with these as well.

Again the choice of thread could be better, but made when away from the workroom and limited choice of materials. Unhappy about the circle, will look again at home I can do those, probably by trapping a circle under organza.
I found some lovely Stef Frances dyed felt, its far too nice to experiment with but I have have substituted some plain felt for my samples.

This will work well as simple appliqué.
I have also taken the plunge and bought some Oakshotts fabric for the background. Now I need to draw it all out to size and get on with it!

Light relief!

Sometimes you just need to allow yourself to stitch - nothing too complicated, no involved designing, no clever tricks, just stitching!
So......
I've knocked up a set of 3 cushions, using UFO quilt tops or part tops that were going nowhere and simple quilting and I thoroughly  enjoyed the day.

Thus relaxed, I'm off to try and put together a piece for FoQ!! No challenge then!