Just in time

This has been crazy! Many things have happened and it's a miracle that I got quilt nr.5 done before tomorrow's deadline, or should I say the absolute extended deadline! When I made my first quilt for Voyageart, I got my inspiration from my love of stones and rocks and their absence in my current surroundings. I had no idea then that before the end of the year we would have bought a plot of land in South Africa where rocks and mountains are the main features of the landscape!  




I went back to my first image and played around  with a piece of batik which I did a while back. I divivded the surface with the navy blue and lime green strips and machine embroidered the larger rocks. I then created a shadowy zebra-like image and overlayed with stenciled smaller stones, which I machine embroidered as well. And that's it : my 5th quilt.

   
ETHIOPIA
All my grand plans of having plenty of spare time while travelling in Ethiopia to work on my fifth piece went to pot.  There was so much to do and very little down time - and especially during daylight hours!  I did get this started while there - and almost finished - but not quite!  My first piece that is all hand quilted.  To be honest I'm not that pleased with it, I really did struggle to come up with ideas for the stitching.  I prepared the quilt before leaving - the windows are made from Ethiopian 'Gabi' cloth a lovely soft handspun and woven cotton.  The embellisments are odd bits of beads and, of course, Ethiopian crosses.  The top one is from Lalibella - where the rock-hewn churches are - incredible! The other's I'm not sure!  So - apologies for being so late.  I hope to do better with my last piece.  We have a show next week - and then nothing in the diary until next year.  So all being well - some time to catch up.

Petra

Petra
I sat down and thought about all the fabulous places I have been in 2012 and realised that I hadn't produced a piece of work to remember my trip to Petra in July so here it is.
It is painted on canvas with added textured paint, applique and machine embroidery. I have included some newsprint that I brought back from my trip.
Looking at it, it brings back so many fabulous memories for me, I can just feel all that beautiful sunshine, music, dust and good company

Autumn in Tel-Aviv

Ten years ago, UNICEF announced Tel Aviv as "The White City" because of the world's largest concentration of Bauhaus style houses in this city. Today, in many parts of Tel Aviv rise skyscrapers made of steel and glass, but I love to walk around those streets where you can still see the old houses painted in white. One grim gray day of early autumn was my inspiration for making this voyage quilt.

 

 

 

Shoshi Rimer

"Branching Out"

I've been working on this quilt on and off for some time.  It is one of my favorite quilting processes and I thought it would be a fitting "last piece" for my 2012 Voyage.  It is reversible, using applique on the front (green) and reverse applique on the back (purple).  A friend helped me with the outline of the tree, but everything else is my own.  At first I was skeptical of my color choices, but now that I see the finished piece, I think the colors work well on both sides.  As I was working to finally finish the piece, I felt as though I had closed a circle in my art quilting life and began to look forward to next year.  I just relaxed and enjoyed stitching and quilting; I added some organza to several of the leaves to give them some "shimmer" and help them stand out.  I have been so busy finishing quilts for two quilt shows and performing in a play, that it was nice to relax and meditate on this piece and let it take me to the stepping off point for our next year of Voyage.

Frances