Dragonflies on the wing

 
This is one of my wall hangings that is entered in the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts show in Sorrento. The show runs July 12-20th and I have entered three pieces this year (first time for entering a judged show). This piece is constructed from commercial and purchased hand-dyed fabrics using a curved piecing technique. Bobbin stitching, free motion embroidery, layering of sheer fabrics and beading embellish it. If you click on the image you can see more detail, including the little bites that an insect has taken out of a couple of the reeds. The free motion machine stitched dragonflies on the grasses give an impression of the fragility of these creatures in the world, in contrast with the playful beauty of the large dragonfly with its flashy eyes. SOLD

Dragonfly Dreams

This art quilt is featured in a Treasury on Etsy until February 6/10 http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=111189.

This piece started off as an experiment in techniques and ended up being a wonderful, fanciful exploration of colour and texture. I hand-painted the background fabric in soft blues with a touch of violet and I hand-dyed the border fabric, cheesecloth, and pearl cotton used for some of the bobbin stitching. Commercial sheers create soft swirls that encase iridescent and silver particles and are further embellished with free-motion stitching and hand beading. The yarns used to create the grasses were cast-offs obtained from a spinner in Vancouver. The trails of beads are also stitched by hand.

The wings of the large dragonfly are created with cheesecloth and the smaller dragonflies clinging to the grasses are free-motion embroidered. . . Click on the image to see more detail.  SOLD

Butterfly Whimsy

The inspiration for this wall quilt came from a visit to my Mom's 90 year old friend, Jean, who had just moved into a new seniors' residence that had still not had any decorating done on the walls. The colours in her room and the common areas, predominately greenish-gold and yellow, prompted my use of the soft yellow batik of the background and the butterfly which is a symbol of new life.

The wings are constructed of layers of different colours of organza and tulle. The layers have a margin of light gold cord bobbin-stitched around them about 1/2" from the edge. Glitter and iridescent flakes have been encased between the layers and then the wings have been stitched with metallic thread in a free-motion design. They are then hand-beaded. The butterfly body is made from an upholstery fabric that is rich in texture. The butterfly is sitting on a branch that is embellished with free-motion embroidery and bits of thread. The border is constructed of olive green crushed taffeta which sets it off beautifully.

Just a few weeks before I was going to make a trip to Maple Ridge to take the wall hanging to "Auntie" Jean, that I got the news that she had quietly slipped away from life -- but I know that she would have loved the detail and the symbolism in this piece, and remembered the many times that we worked together on sewing projects when I was growing up. . . Click on the image to see more detail.

Greeting cards

These blank greeting cards measure 5"x7" and come with a matching envelope in a sealed clear poly bag. The fibre art image is adhered in the "frame" of the card. The landscape is created with fabric that has been hand-painted or hand-dyed by the artist as well as some commercial fabric. Free motion stitching and thread-painting enhance the raw edge machine applique. All cards are Kathy's original design and, although there are similarities in the cards, no two are exactly alike.

Sorrento Centre banner

In September 2006 Val Johnstone and I designed and constructed this banner for Sorrento Centre. It made its debut as a processional banner at the Anglican Provincial Synod in Kelowna at the end of September that year and has since graced the wall of the front office at Sorrento Centre. The central image is St. Francis Chapel and the background image is the view from the beach at Sorrento Centre. Curved piecing, applique, free motion stitching.

Blind Bay Landscape

Living on Shuswap Lake since 2004, I never tire of the view from our deck. The above wall hanging depicts the scene that I look at every day -- the trees between our house and the lake, the gorgeous lake itself, and the mountains on the north shore. This quilt was made using fabrics that I hand-painted as well as a couple of commercial fabrics that have been manipulated by washes of colour and the use of watercolour pencils. It was constructed using curved piecing for the background features and raw-edge applique for the trees; it was machine quilted. Created in 2007. . . Click on the image to see more detail.

Dabbling in Fibre Art

This blog is a location to display some of the art quilts I have made over the past couple of years. The image on the left is the wall hanging I created during a course offered at Sorrento Centre in the spring of 2006. Hilary Rice taught a week-long course in inspiration, design and construction techniques for art quilts. It was a wonderful experience that re-ignited my interest in art quilts. This wall hanging is constructed using a curved piecing technique and incorporates encasement of glitter under organza that is further embellished by free motion stitching with metallic threads and then hand-beading. The metallic leaves are cut from a lightweight metal that is then embossed; the leaves are then attached by machine stitching (using an old needle!). Other techniques include encaustic on some fabrics, bobbin stitching, couching and bead trails. The dragonfly in the top right corner was purchased and then painted by Kathy. . . Click on the image to see more detail. (Not for sale)