Blue Sky Eyes: a Tabletop Quilt

In celebration of the clean air we have revealed by staying out of our cars, the next quiltlet honors the sky. I pieced some blue scraps together with the intention of using some suminagashi on fabric I had made when I was preparing paper for Birds of the Bible: Raven. For Raven the light blue swirls signified water, but on fabric they were more ephemeral looking, like air. The title came before the textile. The hand quilting is with cotton sashiko thread and the "rising steam" pattern on its side. The eyes are embroidered with silk thread. (I wanted something a little shinier, but silver metallic thread was not cooperating.)

Sometimes the piecing is bold and interesting alone, and I use the quilting for texture and shadow. Other times I leave the piecing more freeform and open, adding pattern with the quilting and embroidery afterwards. Sometimes I'm inspired to add text, sometimes not. I don't always know which way I will go when I begin, but I'm starting to trust the process.


Details, details.





Comments

Me said…
Love this and the quilting really adds to it.

In case you haven’t seen it already Hyperallergic has a great new article on a current exhibit of Boro.

Thanks for sharing,
Susan
Alisa said…
Susan,
Wonderful article and pictures! I'm listing the link for others and so I will remember to look again: https://hyperallergic.com/559163/japanese-textiles-patched-used-and-treasured-for-generations/

I'm fascinated by boro, and a great fan of Christina Kim, who was also mentioned there as a contemporary artist in the exhibit.
Thanks for comment and the tip!
-Alisa