Fire is the third mini quilt I have made as part of the Four in Art group. Fire is also the theme this round, which I picked. Fire is a 12" square mini quilt made with navy Essex Linen and multiple strips of Oakshott shot cotton. That picture above is actually the best representation of how dark the navy is in real life - it is almost as hard to photograph well as the Oakshotts.
I quilted her with navy Aurafil 50wt thread and also with a variegated red/orange/purple Superior Threads King Tut 50 wt. The King Tut is thicker than the Aurafil, despite them being the same labeled weight, must be a different country thing.
The picture above is before I washed and dried her. There is a subtle addition of texture from the wash which I like.
Over time I have wanted to make efforts to quilt the elements, which is why I picked fire as the theme this round. I made Fire by cutting a bunch of strips and thinking about how fire felt and how its colours looked. That was the whole plan - not very complicated.
This picture made me very happy. The angle and the lighting made the Oakshots glow and the quilting seems to lift the fire off the quilt, sort of three dimensionally. It feels like fire to me. A friendly, life supporting fire, not a terrible out of control dangerous fire.
When I picked the navy linen, I was thinking about a campfire in the night or a star in space. I wanted the quilting to represent the light and the warmth of the fire. The swirls are mostly for fun but maybe you see the impact of the warmth, swirling the air, warming beyond the fire.
That picture is before I sandwiched and quilted her. Again, it is as close to the real colours as I could manage.
There you can see the glow of the Oakshots as the morning sun hit her. These fabrics are perfect to represent fire.
Fire is a powerful thing, and I suppose it is rather silly to try to represent this amazing element of nature in a tiny quilt.
But, can you feel it?
My friends in the Four in Art group are posting their mini quilts inspired by the theme fire today too, Elizabeth at Occasional Piece, Rachel at Life of Riley and Betty on flickr - I hope you check them out.
Best,
Leanne
39 comments:
That's really cool! The navy fabric really looks so different in different lighting. At first I thought you had made 2 of these, one with black and one with blue. Great work!
oh, wow!!!! YOu amaze me all the time, Leanne. This little quilt is so stunning, love how you put so much thought into each and every element of making it, it's gorgeous!!!
that is so beautiful - I love how the Oakshotts glow - they really are perfect for this!
That's fabulous, It looks like a firey ruby to me
Oh, the quilting just makes it! I love how the radiating lines make it look like a jewel.
Absolutely stunning Leanne - the quilting is perfect for it!
The quilting on this is fantastic! Thanks for sharing your work :) How do you like quilting on linen??? Kathi
I can feel it - it's beautiful - I love the radiating quilting and the fire Oakshotts are so beautiful :)
Oh yes, a real firework, love the quilting...
Once again you have managed totally wow me, Leanne. I love this!
Oooh, very cool, love the piecing and the quilting!
Leanne, I just love your interpretation of "fire"! It has depth, totally modern, great color play. The quilting, all of it, really brings this together. Again, you've just stunned me!
Another wonderful interpretation of the theme. I think the swirly quilting is like the snake that oftens comes from a campfire.
Fantastic, Leanne! I love it. I find shot cottons hard to photograph. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that there are two colours in each fabric. Anyways, beautifully done!
Wow, This is fabulous, love the colours and the quilting
I love the quilting and the fabrics look gorgeous! I saw a burning spaceship?! Must be lack of sleep!
I opened up the blog page, and a sigh escaped my mouth--oh my!
When you showed us your work in progress, I thought we'd "seen" it and that there wouldn't be any "surprise" for us at the end. Boy, was I wrong.
This is brilliant, Leanne, on all the levels you describe: the swirly blue ground denoting sky or stars or even those puffs of smoke that swirl away from a campfire; the waves of heat coming off the fire in that delicious quilting, the smoldering embers of a well-tended, friendly fire that warms those in the circle round it. I have really enjoyed reading your ideas and thoughts about it too--and how the execution informed the plan and how both influenced each other.
love it!
Elizabeth E.
opquilt.com
It makes me all warm and fuzzy! Amazing.
I don't read art very well so forgive my awkward comparisons but I thought immediately how well you had captured power and movement here. So much so that it reminds me of a fiery comet hurtling through space. Told you, I can't interpret well. In any case, it's great!
A stunning piece of art L! Jxo
Leanne....I love your controlled burn!!! It has a jewel feel too!! Awesome!
Looks fabulous....those Oakshotts really glow. Love the quilting.
those Oakshott colors are striking
Wow! This is stunning, and the quilting is so fantastic! Love, love love this!
Too clever and beautiful by half!
You nailed it!
Oh my goodness Leanne! It is seriously stunning. I love the piecing, and the quilting is just perfect. You are so clever!
It's lovely, Leanne, and the quilting is great. And that's a perfect shot of the Oakshotts glowing in morning light.
This quilt also reminds me of a ruby (I suppose they could be considered a firey gemstone due to their color). The shape of the fire and the angle as well as the lines coming off of them just make me think of how gemstones reflect sunlight in such a stunning way.
Beautiful quilt!
Your quilting is amazing, Leanne!
A very beautiful piece, and I know it must look so much better in person. Those Oakshott cottons just shimmer and shine, so this piece is amazing to look at. It is difficult to capture their beauty in a photo. I know they must look exactly like fire especially with the way you have quilted this piece. Great job, Leanne - this is a very special mini quilt that you put a lot of thought into, it does say what you meant it to say.
It's amazing - I could look at it all afternoon!
I love it. It's just beautiful.
I love this. Your style is so simple bit uniquely yours x
It's so beautiful!!! Love it!
Carol
Wonderful!
This is absolutely stunning, i love it, the texture is fabulous, great work, well done Leanne :o)
This is so beautiful! I love what you did with the quilting!
That is so neat. :) I couldn't imagine quilting like this right now, but I hope to one day. Thank you for showing this beautiful work of art.
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