Letting ideas collide

I attended a workshop recently with Vicki Pignatelli in Galway. She showed us a nice technique to create openings and curves in quilts. If I think of this idea in combination with the theme 'deconstruct/reconstruct' I'm wondering if I can adapt it to create a wall hanging about my stone-walls and concentrate on the negative spaces between the stones. The idea is just bouncing around in my brain for now as I finish off some small pieces for a local craft gallery. In the meantime here's a photo of the sample I made at the workshop using Vikki's star pattern.

Composting repair

The cotton that I composted was a bit far gone but, undaunted, I have set about repairing and strengthening it by layering some spare pieces of fabric behind the holes and stitching with free-motion round the edges. It's working fine and I'm sure will create an adequate base for printing onto. More progress reports soon. Amanda

More composted fabric pictures

Amanda's Update:

I was a bit taken aback to see the extent of the composting but now that it's been washed and studied I can see the potential in it. Once it's dried I shall think about stabilising it with a net backing and printing onto it ready to make the skirt of my deconstruct/reconstruct dress. I'm pleased with the strong patterning in the areas that haven't vanished!

Jan's direction currently

Well it seems like it's taken me awhile to get settled what to do with my hexagons and any other ways that I was going to interpret, in my work, the Deconstruct/Reconstruct theme for 2010 but I'm finally getting something together. I have continued with the hexagons I started in Ballyduggan, with a variation of two fabrics within each hexagon. From this I've decided on two pieces, one a triangle, one a rectangle. The triangle top is complete and looks like this prior to quilting and put against a black wall. As it's a triangle, I am still also turning it on a daily basis to determine which way I like it best. The other piece is still definitely in the early works stage as I'm not sure how many more I will be adding but am thinking it will be a block effect.

The second project I've undertaken is remaking a quilt with the Grandmothers Garden pattern that I had originally started in 1973 but never finished. I am redoing 35 of the original blocks putting a row of calico between. The other fun part of this project is that it's using fabric that I had in 1973 from articles of clothing my 4 sisters and I used growing up to make our own clothes.

Finally, I have decided to do a series which came out of needing a journal size (A4) and trialing with some batik fabrics I got last year. I made one but didn't like the results so added a different block type which I thought I liked better but once I quilted them found I had gone back to the original design as my favorite. I am planning on making at least one more for the series but could see it growing beyond that to 5 or 6 even.

New member: Ester Kiely

I'm delighted to join the Textile Art Forum. The theme 'Deconstruct/Reconstruct' strikes a chord. I recently made a series of silk hangings based on the stone walls that surround me in County Galway (see http://www.esterkiely.blogspot.com/). These simple walls have stood for generations, but they also have a fragility to them. So I'm going back to the drawing board! In the meantime here's one of the photos I took of the stone walls outside my house at sunrise.

Welcome

20 August --- The Forum met in Navan for an all day session to share ideas and plan for 2010. We extend a warm welcome to new members Ester Kiely from Galway and Diane Crook of Bailieborough. Lots of great ideas including some decisions about the winter's residential week in Ballyduggan. Looking forward to it all.

Unearthing the Bog

Part of the Textile Forum's 2010 projects on deconstruct/reconstruct, this wall quilt is made from my dyed fabrics mixed in with batiks. Tones for the purple heather are mixed throughout. It is now quilted and I am at a decision point for creating the elements for the bog cotton. I tried using actual bog cotton but it was too silk and did not hold its texture. I was able to find old shirt fabric which has slashes of black across it that are reminiscent of the textures on the cotton. Now I will do some hand stitching in black to enhance the fibre elements.