This one took me a while to get going on. When the subject is so large and open as Maps so many ideas pop into your head and this is the bit with quilting that I struggle with; which idea to make? I have a notebook full of designs and variations of designs and sometimes I think I play too much and end up with too many options.
My initial thought was an olde worlde map feel but I had done something similar before with a compass rose and a windmap of Shannon Airport. Then I thought of the gorgeous work by Alicia Merrett and the winning quilt in Birmingham a few years ago by Mary Palmer and how different maps can be. My first attempt was a line map of our neighbourhood and while I think there is something in this it wasn't doing anything for me and weeks slipped by.
2023 is a big birthday year for myself and Gordon. His 50th was in March so being seriously into Whiskey we had to make the trip to Scotland. We went to Edinburgh at the end of March and last week to Islay, an island off the west coast with 9 working distilleries and 2 more in the works. The island has a population of about 3000 people!
So on our return I thought thats it I'm making a collage map if Islay. Once I had settled on what to make I got stuck in, turned on Netflix and had this made in half a day. I shocked myself! This was so much fun and so fast to do.
I traced the map onto parchament paper, ironed scraps to bondaweb and had fun making a mish mash of greens. The island reminded us of Galway on the southern side where the 3 distillery walk is 3 miles long and the home of Laphroig, Lagavulin (Ron Swanson's favourite) and Ardbeg.
And then on the Northern side of the island Mayo and Sligo with its beatiful rolling hills and peaty bogland.
I cut out the shape of the island I had traced from the back so the mish mash made some sense!
And I ended up with this cleaned up collage map thing. The brown greens for the bog and the brigher greens for the pastures with the sheep and their playful lambs and rocky walls. Two small bits of blue for the larger of the natural lakes and later on I added in pops of yellow for some of the larger beaches.
I had a scrap of brushed cotton in a flannel print left over form an Irish chain winter quilt I'm making and that seemed to be the perfect background.
Straight line quilted in gold/cream thread echoing the backgrount print and popped into a frame to finish.
It's a lovely reminder to have of a great holiday (lots of walks, lots of sunshine, lots of whiskey tasting and lots of fun meeting new people and feeling rested).
Our view from the guesthouse in Port Ellen was so nice to return to at the end of the day.
And while whiskey isn't my drink of choice I have a better appreciation for it now and the work that goes into it. I have to admit I might be a little bit obsessed with the barrels as I have more photos of those than anything else!
My father's family were from Islay so I visited lots when I was a child and more recently a trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary just happened to co-incide with the Whisky Festival, it was a great trip :) Your collaged piece is a lovely reminder of your trip, I really like the straight line quilting, it sets the whole piece off.
ReplyDeleteWe loved it there Fiona. The people were lovely and they were talking about the Feis and how mental it is with so many people coming over. We'd happily go back again tomorrow!
DeleteThis is wonderful! I haven’t been to Scotland, but I have been to Galway, and so it was nice to have that picture in my head, trying to envision the place. Great idea. I had a similar experience of just “knowing” I was on the right track as the ideas emerged. Beautiful work. Barbara
ReplyDeleteRuth here - google is acting up again and not letting me comment with my google account. Thanks Barbara, it was lovely to see the similarities in the landscape and the Scottish Gaelic language was on signs everywhere and it is almost the same as the Irish as written but pronounced so differently.
DeleteI haven't traveled to Scotland, but I love all the names of the towns, and the land is truly beautiful. What a great little map quilt to commemorate your trip - that flannel backing was perfect for the fun fusion of green prints! Framing it was a grand idea, too!
ReplyDeleteI was lucky with the fabric leftover piece as the dark blue is a lovely contrast to the greens. I was nearly going to collage the sea too but was quite relieved when the background piece I had was just big enough.
DeleteOur maps had the similar technique of fusing scraps, but I love how you chose fabrics that had meaning (whereas mine were just random), and put in the lakes and beaches. I also love your background fabric and how you quilted the lat/long lines. And I am glad you shared the photos of the area because now I feel like I had a mini-vacation this morning! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, it is so much fun reading everyones take on Maps and feeling like you are being transported somewhere else!
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