it's finished. ...and i want to start on another, right away.
this first attempt at landscape quilting was a big experiment in every sense for me. i didn't buy any new fabric for the project, and large parts of it are recycled items such as denim from old jeans, cotton from an old sheet. the other parts are a mix of cotton, linen, wool and silk, all scraps from other projects; hemp and cotton yarn that i had on hand. okay, the quilt batting is new - i did buy that just for this. it's not really that i was specifically trying to make this without buying new items, but i do have a lot of random fabrics lying around and finding a use for them was definitely rewarding. i am always happy to be less of a consumer, and the rough, worn appearance of reused fabrics lend the perfect textural quality to a landscape recreating some of the rough, worn, west coast. the piece itself is only 2 feet by just under 3 feet, but i thought it was good to start small.
quilting all these different fabrics together does have its challenges though, which can be seen in the above pic with assorted puckering (especially in the water), and i have made some mental notes for next time. this piece was mainly machine stitched, but i would like to incorporate a lot more hand stitching next go round. only the small accents are hand stitched here - the barnacles, the feathers, and the sailboat, and my appreciation for those little bits reinforces my plans for more work by hand. as well, thanks to Caro's great tutorial as an addition to Heather Bailey's binding tutorial, I think I did my best hand-sewn quilt binding yet.
the name for this piece comes from beach close to my home, with beautiful views of the strait of georgia and the coast range mountains behind. while my quilt is not geographically correct, a view of what inspired me can be seen here. i am constantly inspired by my surroundings here on the island, but to translate it so literally into a piece is new, and i am excited to explore this more. this weekend i am headed out to the real "west coast" on the other side of the island, and i know i'll be taking lots of photos (what's new?) that may become ideas for new pieces.
8 comments:
This is stunning. And inspiring.
This is absolutely beautiful. I love everything about it, and think you really captured the feeling of the landscape you modeled it after. And I think that any 'puckering' you may notice only enhances the piece--it adds a sense of motion, which looks quite nice.
Great job, I can't wait to see what else you do in the future!
This quilt is absolutely stunning, and I love how so much of it came from recycled fabrics!
thanks so much for all your kind comments!
This is really beautiful. And I'm so impressed that this is your first landscape quilt...quite inspiring to the rest of us!
so beautiful! congrats on completing it, I'm sure the journey was just as rewarding as the final piece :)
as the lucky person who has this beautiful quilt hanging on her living room wall, I can say that it is stunning. Pictures, as good as they are, do not show how stunning it is.
Thank you ever so much K, it is one of my most treasured possessions.
Terri
thanks again for all the great words - very encouraging as i work on a new piece.
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