Paula Rafferty first A2 Quilt of 2015

Thrilled to be a member of the group and delighted to be able to show the first of four A4 quilts for the "Abstracted Nature" theme.
Feel like I'm cheating a little as I already had this started for another project but decided to use it for this group.

This is an image of the earth from the air, played with in photoshop and printed on a large format printer.
I love the secondary images that are created when the original is flipped and repeated.
I see all sorts of crazy stuff in it so didn't want to quilt to densely to allow the viewer to explore some of the patterns and shapes.

Hope someone else can see the crazy faces or I'm in real trouble!!

Heres a close up;

For the next one I'm using cloud formations.

Peacock Spider

 

 

 

 

I was attracted by a photograph of a newly discovered Australian spider. A very colourful, posturizing creature that is, amazingly, only 4mm long! I feel however, that my interpretation is too literal for this years theme. Perhaps I will change it later.

 

Raw edge, reverse applique using cotton fabrics. Quilted using rayon threads. Embellished with Angelina.



Foxgloves abstracted - The Foxglove glade at Hidcote Gardens

Both the A2 pieces this year have been based on a photograph taken in the Foxglove glade in  dappled shade at Hidcote in Warwickshire. I abstracted down to the shades of colour for this second piece based on foxgloves - still working with hand dyed silk - some overdyed to get the shades of mauve and purples for the range of foxgloves. How this will develop for others in this years series - I am not sure - I have also been screen printing  with discharge paste some Foxglove imagery so who knows......

Detail

Cotton

For my second quilt this year I focussed on a seed pod, and more specifically a cotton seed pod. With Photoshop I was able to make an inspirational photo more abstract and that was my starting point for this quilt. Fabrics used are my own hand dyed ones and some discharged fabrics. Funny enough, for the white cotton in the pod I had to use raw silk as real cotton was too smooth for the effect I wanted to create.

Taiwan

Here are the pictures of my Taiwan quilt:

I is a combination of hand dyed/painted and commercial fabrics with added plastic and rusty objects. Title is 'Be careful with your trash'. 

First Piece

I have finished my first piece but like others I am not sure it will be the one that I will finally use.

I have used the same technique that I have used in my Pomegranate quilts,  working on the placing and light and dark fabrics.
Whatever I decide I am keen to continue working in grids and follow the repetition idea.

Here is my turnip quilt. When the quilt was on show recently at the NEC most people seem to think they were beetroots. It doesn't really matter.

I have used commercial Batik fabrics and transfer adhesive.

Gillian

Abstracted Nature Foxgloves - warm up piece

For my series this year I am using photographs from English gardens as a source for the design. The piece below is a trial  with materials and colours for the actual first piece which is almost complete.

I am working in silk this year - not really sure why as it is a very challenging material to stitch ( and to photograph well! )but I love the handle and the way it takes dye. 

The silk was coloured by painting a single colour dye directly on the surface, letting it dry, fixing it and then repeating the process with a second colour etc. I used Jaquard silk dyes. 

 I sketched the outlines of the foxgloves freehand with the sewing machine,  Given the slip nature of silk, it has been quite heavily quilted. As I do not usually use whole cloth pieces of silk in my work - this has been a good learning experience for the actual first series piece, based on a macro photo of a foxglove which I hope to finish soon.

Detailed piece  showing various coloured rayon threads

Abstracted leaf

When I started working on this quilt, my intension was to use it for our theme for this year. But I am not certain and the main reason for that is that I am wondering whether it will fit it with the other quilts I intend to make. I know that question cannot be answered before I have completed the other ones  :-). So for the moment this is my first quilt for this year. Maybe I will change my mind and switch it for another one later in the year. The fabrics I used for this abstracted leaf are my own hand dyed ones.

Mirage

Here is my first quilt for the 2015 "Nature Abstracted" theme.  I have title it "Mirage" because I am so saddened and touched by the plight of the butterflies in our world.  They are disappearing and their loss will be tragic.  Butterflies are the gentlest of nature's creatures and it seems that the gentlest are the most vulnerable.  I used commercial and hand-dyed fabrics for this quilt.  It is raw-edge appliqued and machine quilted. 

My focus for 2015 appears to be on "wings", but I may "flutter off" in a slightly different direction if something striking catches my eye, although I will continue to emphasize the gentler aspects of Nature.

Frances

Forces of Nature

I have chosen Forces of Nature as the title of the series I'll be doing for 2015 Voyage Abstracted Nature. They are meant to depict 4 of the powerful forces of nature.

The first two have been completed.

"Over the Edge"

Lava Flow

"Fire in the Desert"

Lightening