Colours and themes

I just finished two small quilts that were distracting me from some more extensive projects that I have on the go. Pleasant distractions, I must say!

In Transit II
32″ x 14″

The first is a commission that resulted from my donation to the United Way fundraiser (silent auction) at my workplace last December. My colleague Jennifer told me that she missed out at the last minute when someone else out-bid her for my “In Transit” quilt.

She asked whether I would make one for her. I hesitated a bit, because this was during the lead-up to Christmas, and I wasn’t ready to take on anything with a deadline attached to it. But she said I could have all the time I wanted, so I agreed. I zeroed in on the theme for “In Transit”, city transportation, because I work for Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency for Ontario.

Most of the fabrics depict the different transportation modes and city scenes. I let those fabrics dictate the colour choices, pulling complimentary colours from my stash.

Closeup of In Transit II

I went out looking specifically for one additional fabric, because Jennifer is an avid cyclist. I walked into one of my local quilt stores and found this fabric – Cruzin by Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup for Henry Glass. It didn’t really matter that it was the ONLY bicycle-themed fabric they had, because the colours fit perfectly into my scheme!

My quilt label

Jennifer was thrilled with In Transit II, and she was even impressed with my choice of backing fabric, which we both think evokes a cityscape at night.

My second finish is a “cobblestones” quilt, which I attribute to my discovery of Wanda Hanson’s Exuberant Color website. It’s made entirely from batik scraps (except for the backing). There are even two fabrics that are clothing scraps (one from a pair of pants I shortened, and some leftovers from a blouse I made a about two decades ago). I have titled it “Undertones”.

Undertones
26.5″ x 21.5″

For this one, I was able to piece together scraps of batting too, further evidence that I am a frugal quilter.

I puzzled for a while over how I wanted to quilt it, and ended up tapping into my “organic process” – that is, just listening to my intuition and using circles and unwinding spirals to compliment the nature-themed batiks.

With these pieces finished and labeled, I have returned to my Amish Pinwheel summer coverlet project. I have six blocks done (it takes me about an hour for each one, including cutting the fabrics).

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Wordless Wednesday

laneway surprise

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Women inspiring women

I have a couple (OK, maybe four) projects on the go, so I thought I would share one of my latest obsessions. Wanda Hanson inspires me on many levels, and I identify with her bold colour sense. Ever since I came across her blog,  which has only been a matter of a month or two, I have been following her daily updates. She’s one talented artist, and prolific, to say the least. I don’t know whether she has any “down” time at all.

my “cobblestones” in progress on the design wall

Here’s my take on Wanda’s “cobblestones” design, batik style, up on the design wall. I’m not quite finished with the arrangement, but it’s getting there. The process is simple, downright addictive, and for the most part, I am using scraps.

Last weekend, I took my folks for a drive north of the city to a small art gallery in Unionville – the Varley Art Gallery – to see an exhibit titled “Canada on Canvas”.

We discovered a modest exhibit in a rather tiny gallery, but there were a few pieces by relatively famous artists that I hadn’t seen before. In particular, pieces by two Canadian women – Emily Carr and Doris McCarthy – made an impression.

Home, by Doris McCarthy

Ms McCarthy lived to 100 (1910 – 2010) and she lived and worked for many or most of those years atop the Scarborough bluffs, where I lived for a few years.

I can visualize her “Home” painting interpreted in fabric … inspiration for another day!

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