Sunshine: The Heathlands Project Quilt 2015

Work in progress

Once again it is that time of year where myself and my textiles group up at The Heathlands Project embark on the insanity that is making a quilt for the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham. This will be our fifth quilt; every year I swear we're not going to do another one but the guys always talk me round. Secretly I really enjoy these projects and it's a great opportunity for the guys to showcase their work further afield. It's also great seeing how much people's skills and ideas have developed and being able to hand over more and more of the making to the members and to other staff each year. Soon I will be surplus to requirement (sob sob.)

Using the patterns found in fabric

Arranging pieces

Working from our designs

Usually I get the members to choose the theme but for various reasons I was a bit late getting this project going this year and because of when the forms have to be submitted by I had to make an executive decision and choose a theme. Actually, I wanted to do 'Cosmos' but I was over ruled by my staff who wanted 'Sunshine.' So, our 2015 quilt is based on the theme of sunshine. I harbour a sneaky suspicion that this is simply a means to make me use orange. (For anyone who doesn't know me, I really dislike the colour orange, people use this against me.)

Translating drawings using fabric appliqué

Stitching designs

Appliqué and stitching

Each year I try and do something a little bit different with the guys, even though the group changes there are usually a few in the group who've worked on quilts with me before and it's a good opportunity to introduce them to new techniques. This year we're aiming for a random, crazy patchwork type of affair with some kantha style stitching. As I write this I realise this may be something of a challenge...

Building up the design

Design and patch

Adding extra bits

I have asked each member to work on an individual patch using whatever technique they like. Most of the members have chosen to use a combination of appliqué and embroidery but we also have some needle felting, beading and tie dye. These patches will then be arranged and stitched onto a base cloth and the whole lot quilted with lines of stitching. I want to leave the edges of the individual patches raw to add more texture and because we've done paper pieced patchwork several times already. I selected a load of fabrics to use so that there is a common theme running throughout the patches to help it all work together as a finished piece.

Working together

Working in layers

This year I have handed over a lot of the work to other support staff, this is good for me as it frees my time for other things and also reminds me that I work with a team of very capable people with excellent ideas who often don't need my help! I hope that it's good for them too as they realise they can successfully take more of a lead role, building their confidence and hopefully job satisfaction.

Tacking pieces down

Manipulating fabric

As always I have so far been impressed with the ideas the guys have come up with. Already we have several beautiful patches, all different and showing the personality of the maker. Soon I will be able to start putting it all together. Or maybe I will delegate that task too...

Design and patch

Finished patch (worked independently)

Finished patch

For interest, you can follow the links below to see our previous quilting endeavours...
2014 The Summer
2013 Stitching Friendship
2012 Magik
2011 The Forest

My patch in progress

Detail

Festival of Quilts

Last weekend was the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham. I'd never made a quilt before but I needed something to work towards so I made a piece and entered it into the art quilt category. For regular readers you will know that this pieces is called Not Lost but Still Searching and looks something like this:

My Art Quilt

The piece and title are about how I felt at the time I was making it. Things in my life were all coming together and starting to make sense and I no longer felt lost but still felt, and feel, that there's a lot ahead of me (in a good way, it's exciting!) In mythology, crows were believed to be the carriers of the soul and to be unaware of time; able to see past, present and future simultaneously and so they seemed a fitting motif to adopt as they are able to see the bigger picture.

Seeing the quilt alongside all the others was a slightly weird experience, the venue is huge and there is loads going on. I really liked some of the stuff but I did find a lot of it a bit samey and traditional (which isn't in itself a bad thing but it doesn't float my boat.) There was some technically brilliant work and some great ideas and I really enjoyed looking round. I'm pleased I entered and went down to see it but I don't think it's something I'd do again. If I did, I would roll my quilt before sending it as unfortunately the creases didn't fall out which definitely didn't add to the display of the piece!

On display, with creases!

I also did a piece with my Textile Group at The Heathlands Project and that was also on display. The guys were all really excited about it being on show and want to do another one next year (by which time I will hopefully have recovered from the stress!) It was great to see our work up and we've had lovely comments about the colours and how much fun it is.

The Forest

On display

I had also entered another exhibition called Textile News: Freedom and had work selected for that show early this year. The opening venue was the Festival of Quilts so I got to see that as well before it goes off to Moscow and various other places. The person who organised it, Gudrun Heinz, was there and it was great to meet her. She was very enthusiastic and told me about some of the other entries and came to see the Heathlands quilt as well. For this show the pieces had to be 30x30cm maximum and the theme was freedom. I made my piece in January and it's a special piece to me because it kick started me working again. I looked at the idea of breaking free and portrayed a bird flying up and away. The piece is called 'Rise' and looks like this:

Rise. Dyed and pieced silks with hand stitching

Rise, detail

So, that's my work from the Festival and here are a few of the things I saw that inspired me! Some of them I liked the imagery, some the humour and some the ideas.

Flying High, Claudia Watkins

The Fun of the Fair, Blackheath High School

Everything Stops for Tea, Anjie Davison

The Fun of the Fair, Kings Sutton Primary School

Billie Joe Armstrong, Charlotte Bailey

Detail of above

Spoon Fed Love, Maria Thomas

Olite, Janine Visser

I got Stitched Up, Hayley Brooks

A Sketch in Time, Susan Chapman

Profusion, Mary Morris

Finished!

Magikal Forest Quilt. Made by the textiles group at The Heathlands Project

So, The Magikal Forest Quilt is complete and has been posted off ready to be exhibited in Birmingham. We did a presentation of the quilt in the morning meeting on Thursday and all the guys were really impressed with it and asking what we were going to do next year! It's been great watching the piece develop and everyone was impressed with how it's turned out and we're all excited about it going on display. I'm still seeing stitches when I close my eyes but it's been worth all the hard work.

Ladybird

Snail

Tigerpillar

Magical Forest-Progress

Magical Forest

Once again, long time no post but here's a quick one to start off with. The Magical Forest Quilt being created by my textiles group up at The Heathlands Project is progressing well. We have begun attaching the various animals, fruits and flowers to it. I'm beginning to get mildly panicked now as the deadline looms ever closer, I can see a couple of late nights finishing it off coming on! Still, it's looking great and all the guys have worked really hard on it.

Detail-One of many magical creatures!

Complete (I think)

Not Lost But Still Searching

A few months ago I wrote about a piece I was working on for The Festival of Quilts this August. The idea was that I would post about it as I went along so people could see how it progressed. This didn't really happen as although I remembered to take pictures I didn't get round to writing posts about them.

Anyway, I finished it last night so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures. The quilt has four layers and has been dyed, painted, machine stitched and hand stitched. The crows were painted then machine embroidered then applied to the quilt by hand. All the actual quilting was done by hand. Today I have very sore fingers.

The top layer is silk organza; the middle crow is sewn on top of this layer and the other two are underneath it. The organza layer is attached to the other layers with insertion stitches.

Detail of the bottom crow and insertion stich seam

Detail of the top crow

Detail of main crow before attachment to quilt

Quilting progress

So, I got my fabric dyed up ready for my quilt. I was really pleased with the colour of the organza but the mid layer was too pale and subtle to be seen underneath it. So I added a bit of detail with watered down fabric paint.

Mid layer of fabric

I also painted some crows onto organza and have begun stitching into them with my sewing machine. I've been using some extremely slippery viscose threads which have a lovely sheen and look great but are a pain to work with as they keep snapping! However, I'm really pleased with how they're working out and I think they will look very good when they're completed and attached to the background. Lots more stitching to go...

Detail of partially stitched organza crow

As the organza is very fine, when I painted it, a lot of paint went through the fabric and I ended up with a cool image on the paper underneath. I think this will be good to work into as the colours show up better on the paper than they did on the fabric, it will be a good base for a drawing!

'Accidental' drawing

Colour fun

Part of the point of me starting this blog was to encourage myself to get making more and to share my work with people. I also intended to use it as a kind of online journal, recording the process as well as the finished outcomes. So far I've not really done that, in fact it would be fair to say that I've not done that at all. So, I'm going to give it a go and see what happens.

I'm currently making an art quilt (by currently making I mean I've been thinking about it and semi-planning it for about 3 months and have finally started on it today) to enter into the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August. As I said in my previous post I entered a piece in January for a touring exhibition which is showing at said Festival and it would be really cool to have two pieces on show. It would be especially good as the piece that has been accepted, Rise, is small scale and the piece I'm now working on is large but they are both closely related in terms of both concept and technique.

Organza (top) layer

Base layer-there will be another layer between this and the organza top layer

Today I have been making the most of the sunshine and dyeing the fabric for my piece. I'm using cotton muslin and silk organza, both dyed using procion dyes. I've been bucket dyeing and painting on the dyes, with varying levels of success! I've over dyed the main layer twice but I'm happy with the colour now. I like to work with coloured greys, I like the soft, muted tones it produces. I mostly work with blue and green greys as I think it gives a calm and reflective feeling, giving people chance to think about the work. The fabric for this piece is a lovely soft blue, I'm looking forward to stitching it!