This summer, around 5:30am, the towhees let me know they are awake, even if I am not. They have a high-pitched CHEEP like a smoke detector. But I like them anyway. The most endearing thing about these little brown birds is the way they forage; it’s like a dance: hop forward, scratch back. Got bugs? Got seeds? Either will do.
The scratchings, of course, make me think of mark making and printmaking. I was overly ambitious in my preparations with both the deColourant and the stenciling in metallics, so the initial materials sorted themselves into two separate towhee quilts: Scratchings and Towhee Calling.
Scratchings
21.75"w x 13.5"h (55 cm x 34 cm)
Hand-dyed cotton and linen; stenciled with metallic fabric paint; deColourant: raw-edge appliqué; free-motion quilting; machine joined
Details:
oak and acorn stencils I had drawn and made for a previous project
I drew several new views of the towhee for this one.
and the back:
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Towhee Calling
16.75"w x 15"h (42.5 cm x 38 cm)
Hand-dyed cotton and linen; stenciled metallic fabric paint; raw-edge appliqué; free-motion quilting; hand stitching; machine joined
Details:
and the back:
*
Both quilts made from this source
I would have liked to have kept some of the larger pieces, but so it goes.
The quilts want what they want.
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