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!
