i mentioned in the last real post of how my brains decided to make my very first quilt based on my love letters to an imaginary boy who lives on the moon. i wanted to cram in a little collection of clutches, scarves and maybe some brooches to go with the Spaceboy theme but after my first critique with my very knowledgeable teachers, all that over the moon crafty nuttiness (see what i did there?) was more or less thrown out the window for me to fully concentrate on making this pretty neat quilt.
last week was my break week and it was filled with finishing up with the embroidering portion i had for the moon and finally finally sewing it all together, something that felt like would never have happened.
I've been thinking a lot of how people will be seeing my work at the grad show in toronto and wanted to show my strengths, one being my mega heart on for needlework, texture and a dash of sappy sentiment.
i think this quilt touches on all of those including my love of natural materials, using all cotton materials and natural dying. i had to (sadly) use a pinch of pigment to darken the final two shades of gray as well as the silk screening of the letters but over all i'm happy to have kept the materials sweet and natural.
i've mentioned before i've never quilted anything before this so i wanted to give myself the easy little shortcuts to make this moon madness of mine work and work well for the deadline. after enlarging a photoshopped design of the moon, i traced that enlargement onto tissue paper and literally sewed that pattern onto the layered fabrics. it was kind of tricky at first to sew it all down but when i got the hang of it i was rolling through it no problem. also it helped that my little ed gein machine is such a trooper, the little guy can tackle just about anything i put it through...have i ever mentioned that i love this little machine?
now i'm onto the snipping out bit. with reverse applique, you snip out the top layers after sewing to show the layers beneath as the final color. i've been saving the larger snipped pieces to use them for a new project, perhaps mega textured bracelets? we'll have to see what my brains and old bum ticker are saying come april.
i'm glad to have used the gauze despite saying i wasn't going to before. i wanted to show a little bit of that rough texture that could be interpreted as moon rock and i think in the fiber world, the frayed gauze edges on the 3rd shade of gray did that perfectly.
my pretty fantastic teacher this semester, Monica Bodirsky and i had a little sit down about just how much of the gauze i should in fact cut out and she mentioned something i've forgotten to do: get a fresh pair of eyes on my work and most important of all (especially working large scale) is to pin it up and step back from it.
oh have i ever mentioned that i've found my herd? after asking a couple of my ladyfaces what they thought, they had a touch fest and i completely didn't mind.
dear sarah dee, i love the faces you make with your ladyface.
in the next couple of weeks i should have it completely done and ready for everyone's eyes to eat it up so i'll be posting then about it but of course you can keep up with this project and all other Valentine goodness with following my twitter feeds.
and as per tradition, i leave you with a relating and lovely tune by Wes Swing
internally yours,
sister valentine
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