The City Park

The theme selected for this quarterly art quilt challenge was "A Walk in the Park."

I had a few ideas from which to choose. I thought of the saying, "It was a walk in the park." Meaning accomplishing something easily. I wasn't sure I wanted to try to easily do this, so I moved on to the next idea. That was a bird's eye view of a park, a map, showing things that one might find in a park. But what type of park? The final choice was to invite the viewers into the park to imagine for themselves what they might find there. I invite you in to the City Park.

This wall hanging measures 18.5" wide by 20.5" high. It is raw edge appliqued, and includes threadwork on the fountain, the benches, and the entrance arch.

I especially liked stitching the water spraying from the fountain.

I used a cording foot (that I've had for years and never used) and Razzle Dazzle thread by Ricky Tims. It adds the watery sparkle to the fountain. I began on the left side with the stitching and, as you can see, got better by the time I got to the right side.

Thank you for visiting and please look at all the members' quilts for this quarterly challenge.

Texture to Treasure

February Reveal for The Endeavourers.  

"We are a group of [12 international] quilters who take part in a quarterly challenge to make a smallish art quilt of any (reasonable) size according to a theme chosen at the beginning of the quarter.

We work in any style suggested by the theme, but once in a while, we will also throw a particular technique into the mix as an incentive to be adventurous."

You can read more about the group HERE. You can also see all the quilts from the members of the group HERE.

The theme for this quarter reveal is TEXTURE. 

This is what I found to use when the theme was first announced. 

As I progressed with this art quilt, I found other fabrics and materials to use. I changed the composition, too. 

My final piece, Treasuring Grandma's Memory, is completed (although I want to add a necklace hanging out of the jewelry box and add some type of leaves to the flowers). This is a photo of my mother-in-law. My husband is delighted with this tribute to her. 

Here are a few close-ups to let you see the types of texture I brought in to this art quilt. 

I tried to give the vase a smooth texture with the satin-like fabric. The idea of etching was done with stitches after I placed batting behind the satin. I trimmed the piece and appliqued it to the background fabric.

I made the jewelry box from a technique I watched Heather Thomas demonstrate on a preview video for National Quilter's Circle HERE. (No affliliation) Below are photos of how I did this.

Damp cloth poked through grate of cooling rack from kitchen to air dry, 

iron and attach stabilizer, 

ready to cut.

I found some synthetic suede-type fabric that had a backing on it. It looked great for a photo frame. 

I printed the photo on an EQ Cotton Lawn Inkjet printer sheet and I stabilized it with iron-on stabilizer. I cut an opening in the suede where the photo would show through from behind it. 

After appliqueing it to the background, I noticed that the stabilizer showed through on the edge just a bit. 

I used a brown Fabric marker to color the white. All fixed:

And finally, I used the batik background fabric to create a stucco appearance on the wall. The thought the colors created a patina and roughness of an old wall.