Memories: Treasure Box

My piece for this quarter is about the relationship between our memories and who we are - the way they contribute to who we are as a human being. We can have experiences but it is the memory of those experiences that allows us to learn and change and develop as a person. Memories are layered and stitched together, colouring and shaping our personalities, and our attitudes to the world.  

I thought about the treasure box I keep under my bed, and about the way the objects in a collection like this represent their owner's individual memories. The collection as a whole is more than the sum of its parts too and also reflects the owner as a person. 

In fact a person is like a treasure box - we are all treasure boxes! Together the box and its contents symbolise us as the keepers, and the product, of our memories.   So here is my imagined 'Treasure Box'.

The box and its contents are entirely textile bar some wire in the corsage, and almost entirely stitched, with the top of the box in crazy patchwork - all to symbolise the way we are layered and stitched together from our memories. Together the box and contents represent an imaginary person and what is important in their life and character . 

There is a (very) extended version of this post on my blog, with (lots) more pictures and details.

Reflections in the rain

Today we reveal another project for this wonderful quilt group, this time on the theme of "Raindrops keep falling on my head", what a brilliant theme that has been to work to!

My piece is entitled "Reflections in the Rain" and is made up of 4 pieces of slubbed silk which were quilted, appliqued and beaded before being joined together and stuffed to create a raindrop.


As soon as the theme for this quarter was announced I knew that I wanted to create a 3-D piece for the reveal. You can read about my inspiration for this piece over on my blog at Celtic Thistle Stitches

My initial intention for creating the faces for my raindrop was to make several stumpwork heads and stitch them around the base, but when I came to it the scale was all wrong and as I had never tried stumpwork before I was wary of attempting it on an even smaller scale!

A rummage through my craft books unearthed this unused gem which provided the ideal means of applying the heads that I needed to the bottom of the raindrop. Another rummage through my stash uncovered an assortment of "heads" for the applique too!

The technique involves coating the reverse of your fabric with Mod Podge and then cutting out the desired shapes when dry. The book states that the resulting applique shapes will adhere to the fabric when ironed but I didn't find the adhesion particularly strong. I had always intended to stitch the applique down too, so it wasn't too much of a problem. The author suggests using invisible thread when there would otherwise be lots of thread colour changes, which I did but the bobbin thread does show through in places, however, I can live with that!

I quilted radiating lines from the top of the raindrop and finished them off with hand stitched seed beads, then joined the raindrop shapes together and finally stuffed the raindrop to give it body.

Once again I have had great fun putting together my project for this quarter and I am really looking forward to seeing the amazing pieces that I am sure the rest of my fellow Endeavourers have come up with!