I must confess that my heart sank when I read that Improv was this quarter's theme for the Group, I have struggled with Improv blocks in the past so knew that it wasn't going to be a straightforward process to create a piece for the theme.
This piece, which I have called Tucked Away, is my response to the theme.
I chose to take a technique, Chenille quilting, and use random stitching to reflect the Improv theme. I have detailed the differences between the blocks in my post
here as I wanted to mention other aspects of the hanging in this post for the Endeavourers.
Whenever I need to come up with a project to fit a theme I always turn to photographs for my inspiration and this challenge was no exception. The photograph above was taken on our visit to the
Benmore Botanic Garden a few months ago when I was on the lookout for interesting textures for an upcoming competition in the Camera club. The fungi are fabulous but the fairy door beneath was the icing on the cake :)
I toyed with all sorts of ideas - trapunto and matchstick quilting to name but two to emulate the tree bark for my blocks, but wasn't really convinced until I reread
Layered Cloth: the art of fabric manipulation by Ann Small and realised that Chenille was the technique that I needed.
Using different widths of random stitching and different directions for the stitching I was able to produce a credible tree background.
I wanted to use Suffolk Puffs (yo-yo's) for the Fungi but realised that the traditional round shape wouldn't work for the frilly half-moon shapes that I needed, so I cast around in my sewing room for inspiration.
The oval lid from a long ago eaten box of truffles proved the ideal template!
Stitched with a running stitch around and padded with toy stuffing when the running stitch was gathered up they made ideal fungi for my tree house tree.
As you can see :)
Two pieces of pink wool fabric stitched together with a small piece of thick wadding in between and a button for the door knob made the perfect Fairy Door.
To complete the embellishment I added lengths of machine wrapped cord for tree tendrils and a few beads nestled in amongst the frayed edges.
As you can probably tell I had great fun with this project and I am loving the amazing directions that this group is pushing me into :)
Looking forward to seeing how everyone else has met this challenge.
I'm loving the amazing directions this group is pushing you into, too! This is the cleverest re-creation of that fairy tree house. Perfect in every way. Your bark making is especially inspired :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Janine, it is always a surprise to me when what I can produce is in any way similar to what I have imagined :)
DeleteYou got amazing results with the chenille technique. There is so much creativity in this piece and it is a totally unexpected Improv piece. You say you were pushed, but I think it came naturally. It is so unique.
ReplyDeletexx, Carol
Thanks Carol, I really enjoyed working on this piece although I did have some concern throughout that the finished piece wasn't really appropriate for the theme. You were not the only one to find it unexpected :)
DeleteWow! Your piece is amazing Fiona!!! The texture is incredible it perfectly recreates the texture of tree bark. And the little pink door so cute. Really catches the eye. Really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Martha the Endeavourers themes are really challenging but also really fun!
DeleteI always love to see what you've come up with - you're so adventurous! This is wonderful. I love all that texture and am off to read more.
ReplyDeleteThanks Catherine I never thought of myself as adventurous but being part of this group is opening up a whole new world of textile art that I am having a lot of fun embracing :)
DeleteI love the shots of purple and pink on the neutral bark colors -- I would never think to combine those colors. And I especially love the cords capturing the shape of the bark patterns on the lichen piece. A lovely, rich piece to study!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gwen the machine wrapped cord is my new favourite thing to add to projects :)
DeleteI love your piece. I can't get over the texture and bark like effect you've managed to acheive. Great reading your thoughts on the construction as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruth, I was thrilled to bits with the pieces when they came out of the washing machine, they were exactly what I had hoped for! The first time that I read Ann Small's book I wasn't overly keen and couldn't envisage using any of the techniques outlined but it was exactly what I was looking for when I started to work on this piece. I shall not be so quick to dismiss ideas in future :)
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