Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England - February 1978

This is the second in my "Earth" series of places in the world that have made a lasting impression on me.  I visited Stonehenge on my first trip to England in February 1978.  At that time, visitors to the site could walk among the stones.  I could feel the power and intensity of Stonehenge and I also felt a connection with the ancient people who constructed the site--no doubt I had some relatives in that group since much of my ancestry comes from England and northern Europe.  We visited Stonehenge early in the morning, the after a light snowfall the night before.  The surrounding plains were white with snow and the massive rocks really stood out against the white background.

For this quilt, I used one of my photographs of Stonehenge.  I sent the photograph off to Spoonflower and had it printed on fabric.  I cut out the stone shapes and appliqued them onto a piece of color gradient fabric.  I added the velvet and foil fabric in the shadows of the stones to help illustrate the inherent power of Stonehenge.  As you walk by this piece, the light changes on the foil strips in the velvet fabric and makes for interesting light effects.  I agonized over this piece for weeks before I finally put it together and I must say I'm very happy with the results.

Frances

Rivers

Our main source of life on this planet is water. I was attracted by the bright blue color of the rivers etching the land. It is more vivid when you fly over and look down to see it curves between mountains and forests.

Through fabrics I depicted it by using bright light blue fabrics cut through the brown/green batik fabric.

 

Shoshi

Just add butter and pepper- April 2014

Just add butter and pepper- April 2014

Surrounding our village there are several fields in which asparagus (asperges) is grown. It is ready to be cut during the months of March and April, using an asparagus knife. We prefer ours to be green, slender and tender, cooked lightly and eaten with butter and pepper.

The asparagus and triangles are fused to the background fabric, the blade of the knife is painted and the lettering machine embroidered. I love machine quilting, so there is lots of that.

I have choses Trees of Africa for my theme for this year,

The first one is the Baobab.

The Baobab is also known as “the tree of Life” or “The Cream of Tartar Tree “or the Brood Boom.

Recent carbon dating done on some of the old large tree has shown that they have dated back about 3000 years.

 The folk stories about the Baobab tree are interesting. One story is that the Baobab tree was not very happy when all the other trees around him were beautiful trees ,so  he complained to God. This made god very angry , and he uprooted the Baobab and re planted him upside down!!

The fruit of the Baobab (cream of tartar) is rich in Vitiam C , antioxidants and probiotics

The Baobab is a good source of water for the indigenous people. They drill a hole in the bark and then plug it with mud, which they can remove later to  obtain more water .

The leaves (which are rich in Vitiam C and potassium tartrate) are boiled in water and left to soak. Once drained., this  water used in small doses,  can be used to help cure malaria, asthma, coughs and other chest ailments. Some people believe that it also helps prevent diabetes, arthritis, allergies, heart conditions and ageing. How much of this is true.. is unknown !!!

The young roots can be cooked and  eaten.

Elephants , Kudu, Nyala and Impala enjoy eating the leaves of the Baobab tree.

Fibre from the inner bark is used to make rope, baskets and nets.

Bees, bee hives, are often found in the hollowed out areas of the Baobab.

 

Barkcloth

At last here is my first piece.  Within the theme of Earth I've chosen to create pieces reflecting the cloth that 'comes from the Earth' in Africa.  This piece is Barkcloth.  I have made a representation of a Mbuti barkcloth created by the Mbuti 'pygmies' of the Ituri forest. A place and people that I have lucky enough to see and meet.  The barkcloth is made by hammering and stretching the inner bark of a tree, it can be a from a number of different tree types, and then it is painted with a wonderful variety of symbols - all, of course, with meaning and significance.  These kind of cloths were often worn as ceremonial loincloths.  The barkcloth I used was sourced in Uganda.  I layered it onto a background quilt and stitched the designs by hand and machine.