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Monday 18 March 2024

The next person is...

 Hello, how's everyone's work coming along? I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's quilts ! 

Let me reveal the next person to think of our next theme! 

The next person is... Hilary.


Momo 


Saturday 13 January 2024

CURRENT DESPAIR

Sorry, this is so late.  I stupidly didn't think it through and was forced to start again but this did give me time to think and trial ideas.  Some things were a blessing in disguise - like 'wasting' all my fabric printing sheets.  This meant I had to print on card - which meant I could 'tear' them which is more effective.

This is a two-sided piece.  The front shows the incredible destruction of homes and the tearing apart of families.  The innocents.  The deaths and the upheavals.  I am disappointed in that the quilting I did to express bombs exploding on the top photos doesn't show up.  Another time I might consider stamping paint.  There are sniper bullets across the piece. 


The back has splatters of 'blood' left in the sand (actual sand glued to fabric and difficult to see).


I would like to say that I do not condone the events of Oct 7th but I am left with a sense of despair in that the mass killing of innocent civilians is not the answer.

The piece measures 20" x 22".  It is machine quilted.  Commercial fabrics.  Satin-stitch covered edges.

On the whole I am pleased with the result and thank you for your patience waiting for me.

Hilary 

Monday 8 January 2024

 Le Cotentin et le Raz Blanchard or the Alderney Race




 When current was chosen as the challenge this time, I thought about using an idea for a block print that has been in my mind for quite a few years, but which I hadn't tried out. I cut six blocks, marking where I wanted my lines to start and end in the same place on each block on the top, bottom and sides.  I drew and cut different lines on each block, then printed them in a haphazard order, so that the pattern didn't repeat itself. I was pleased with the result, but wasn't sure how to use my printed fabric. Then we had a week’s holiday in the Cotentin (the part of Normandy that sticks out opposite the Channel Islands) in October. When we were at Goury, we could see Alderney on the horizon, and my husband told me about Le Raz Blanchard (in English the Alderney Race), which is one of the fastest currents in Europe. When the current and the wind are in opposite directions, sailing between the Channel Islands and the French coast is dangerous. I decided to base my quilt on this and the Cotentin. I wanted to keep it simple, just basing it on the sea current, the beach and sky: I used Markal paintstiks to represent Alderney on the horizon, though I am not sure whether my version is really Alderney-shaped! Whilst we were at Carteret, I found some lovely shells with holes in them, which I decided to include on my quilted beach. 




Tuesday 2 January 2024

THE FRIENDLY FLOATEES by Beth

 


In 1992, a cargo ship carrying approximately 28,800 bath toys (mostly rubber ducks) lost a container over the side during a storm, spilling these yellow rubber ducks all out into the North Pacific Ocean. These so-called Friendly Floatees have been drifting ashore for the last 30 years, sometimes in surprising parts of the world - not just Alaska but Hawaii, Australia, Chile and Indonesia.

Today we know that there are as many as 11 major gyres - ocean currents across the world's oceans and all of them are potential vestibules for the world's trash. And if Friendly Floatees are an example for anything, it's that plastic trash endures for a very long time and that it is a global issue.

Roughly 2000 of these rubber ducks still circulate (wild and free) in the rotating ocean currents in the North Pacific Ocean. 

Monday 1 January 2024

Me too, I'm afraid

 Silly me, because I had the idea, in all the chaos of getting craft group organised for church Christmas decorations, plus, plus, plus, I assumed it would work and didn't bother to think it through or do a couple of trials.  I have fallen flat on my face.  But I have picked myself up and my imagination is working overtime.  It has almost been a blessing in disguise.  Having lots of fun now, but it means you will have to bare with me while I work it out.  Forgive me.


Happy New Year everyone.  Hope it turns out to be a creative and productive year.


Hilary

Sunday 31 December 2023

 CURRENT


I'm afraid my quilt  won't be ready until next week. It would have been on time if Father Christmas hadn't brought us Covid for Christmas. In the meantime, a happy New Year to everyone.

flower bloom current

 


I'm not really inspired by the theme this time, even though it's a bit more open-ended!

However, since I've been obsessed with macrame lately, I decided to make something with macrame as the theme!

This time, I used fabric to make a rope to weave a flower basket, and I left a space in the basket unsecured so that I could insert flowers made of fabric!

This is a work that allows the viewer to interact with it, and depending on where the flowers are placed, the work will have a different look!


   Momo 

AIR CURRENTS


 As torn and tatty these prayer flags so often appear I always find them colourful and quite joyful especially against the stark backgrounds.

My flags were stitched onto a cord and then stitched onto the background. They were too perfect so I needed to get them 'weather worn'. I frayed them and used dissolved water soluble fabric to manipulate and distress them.  Unfortunately my yellow fabric ran slightly. I have tried to fix it as best I can.  I can live with the result.

Piecing, applique, paint, quilting covers the techniques used. 

Electric current


 I chose an electric current  . Lightening bolts create an electric current as they hit the earth . I used 2 different fabrics for my "bolts" which gave it some interest ,and fully quilted the background. I edged  the bolts and did the binding in black in order to make them stand out against the white background.

WIND AND OCEAN CURRENTS

I had fun with the sea and wind quilting and the subject was a little challenging but I got there in the end.
I decided on a sailing boat as that did help with the subject.  Patricia.



Friday 29 December 2023

Next theme

 Sorry for the late topic, my mailbox didn't give me a timely reminder!

I'm going to make this one a little easier for all, so I'm going to use "Roses" as the theme, and you can try your hand at making flowers in different ways!

    Momo 

Friday 15 December 2023

NEXT PERSON

As we enter the silly season with many other things going on in our lives I thought I would draw the next name out the bag to give the person time to think of our next theme.

And the next person is........... 

                                               MOMO