03 Tuesday Aug 2010
Posted in Sew journal
I finished my Labyrinth quilt a little while ago but I entered it into an exhbition and I didn’t want to publish the final pics until I knew for sure that I hadn’t been accepted. Well the bad news is, I wasn’t accepted but the good news is, now I can show you the finished quilt. So here it is:
[tweetmeme source=”sewjournal” only_single=false http://sewjournal.com%5D
22 Tuesday Jun 2010
Posted in Sew journal
Tags
If you’re looking for the Art Gallery Fabrics Give Away it’s here. You’ve got till Friday before it’s drawn.
At last! I have started binding the Labyrinth. It took me a while to decide which fabric to use but I finally settled on this Carla Miller Zig Zag fabric and I’m happy with the way it’s going. I thought you might like to have a quick look even though it’s not finished yet. So here it is – and it’s taken with a proper camera not the phone! Yayyy!
Binding the Labyrinth
12 Saturday Jun 2010
Posted in Sew journal
If you’re looking for the Kaffe Fassett fabric give away it’s here.
How to quilt the labyrinth?
I’ve completed quilting the centre of my Labyrinth quilt but I couldn’t decide how to quilt the actual path of the labyrinth. Should I use a double or single row of stitches? Should they be small or large and decorative? Which thread should I use – one of the Sulky Blendables I bought or a Perle 8 I had? It took ages before an answer came to me and then it seemed obvious. I guess that’s always the way.
As I thought about the symbolism of the labyrinth and what it’s purpose was, I realised that it was to save our souls. Then it came to me! I would quilt the labyrinthine path with the morse code SOS – Save Our Souls ( … — …). I decided to use a colonial knot for the dots and then I realised I had forgotten how to execute one. I found a great video here that shows you very clearly how to make the knots. I decided to use the dark green variegated Sulky thread and so far I’m very happy with the result. What do you think? (Click on the images to see more detail.)
Morse code quilting (1)
Morse code quilting (2)
11 Friday Jun 2010
Posted in Sew journal
Tags
fabric, fabrics, give-away, Kaffe Fassett, Kaffe Fassett fabrics, labyrinth, quilt, sewing, sewjournal blog
Today is two months to the day since I started this blog and I wanted to thank you all for your support. So far there have been almost 9,500 visitors which is just stunning. Thank you. Anyway to say “thanks” in a more concrete way I’m giving away a fat quarter of the Kaffe Fassett fabric that I used in the Labyrinth Quilt. Below is a photo of the fabric. I’m not sure how much of the design – or even which parts of the design – you’ll get in a fat quarter but rest assured it is lovely.
Turkish Delight by Kaffe Fassett
To be in the draw to win the fat quarter just leave me a comment with your answer to the following question: What topics would you like to see more of on this blog? To have a second chance in the draw, subscribe to the receive the blog posts by email and leave me another comment to say that you have. It’s easy to do, just fill in your email address over there on the right where it says Get posts by email! and make sure you add no-reply@wordpress.com to your address book so the posts don’t end up in your SPAM filter.
[Edit: If you subscribe please ensure that you confirm your subscription otherwise you won’t show up on the list of subscribers.]
International readers are welcome to enter. I’ll pick a winner on Monday, June 14, Sydney time. Good luck everyone!
10 Thursday Jun 2010
Posted in Sew journal
Tags
fabric, hand quilting, Kaffe Fassett, Kaffe Fassett fabrics, labyrinth, quilt, quilting, sewing, sewjournal blog
I was so overwhelmed by the response to this quilt that I got fired up and sandwiched it and began quilting last night. Thank you so much to everyone who posted lovely comments or who sent me encouraging emails. Here is a little peek at the quilting so far.
Quilting the centre
Some people have asked me about this fabric. It is a Kaffe Fassett fabric called Turkish Delight and comes in many different colours.
09 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted in Sew journal
Tags
applique, design, Divine Centre, labyrinth, quilt, reverse applique, sewing, sewjournal blog, symbols
It seems to have taken ages but at least the first top for my series of wall quilts titled Pathways to the Divine Centre is finished. All that remains is to square it up, sandwich it, quilt it and bind it. Doesn’t sound like much when you say it fast!
The Rose Labyrinth
The Labyrinth is the first in what I hope will be a series of 4 or 5 quilts depicting the various pathways to the Divine Centre. There are five aspects to the symbolism of this quilt which is based around the design of the Rose Labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral in France.
The path through the labyrinth is represented by the gaily coloured Kaffe Fasset fabric. Which is also the same as the fabric outside the labyrinth. The reason for this illustrates the first two symbols.
Firstly it represents the many attractive distractions of the everyday world in which we live.
Secondly the Path to the Centre is to be found in the midst of the world. Most of us can’t lock ourselves away in monasteries or on mountain tops, we have to find the Divine in the everyday.
The third symbol is the fact that while we are on the Path we can see only snatches of the design. Nothing really makes sense to us. We just have to have faith and hope that by putting one foot in front of the other we will arrive at the Centre.
The fourth symbol is the whole flower at the Centre. The fact that wholeness is restored once you reach the Centre.
The fifth symbol represents the third or vertical dimension which is the only one by which we can see the whole design and through which we can even see beyond the Labyrinth to see the pattern of the whole fabric. This represents the omniscience that belongs solely to the Divine.
I hope you like it.
06 Sunday Jun 2010
Posted in Sew journal
A glimpse of the labyrinth
Well I’ve spent most of the day listening to audio books while I hand appliquéd the labyrinth. What I find interesting is that you can see the pattern beneath the labyrinth through it quite readily. Your brain sort of fills in the missing bits. A bit like looking through a fence.
Anyway I thought I’d give you a small glimpse of what it looks like. Hopefully it will be finished soon.
26 Wednesday May 2010
Posted in Sew journal
Well I tried to start the first quilt in the Paths to the Divine Centre series that I am planning. It is proving much more difficult than I anticipated. Below is the design and as you can see it will require a total rethink. I was going to use reverse applique with the fabric for the black line on top as this is the only way I can get enough seam allowance but transferring the design has proved very, very difficult.
Labyrinth design
I tried using my glass desk and a light underneath but it wasn’t really visible enough to see through. I think my paper is too thick. I was going to transfer to to freezer paper but the paper isn’t wide enough to do it in one go. I might have to tape two pieces together transfer to the freezer paper and then try the desk again. I’ll let you know how it goes.
If you’re looking for the Jinny Beyer Give Away? It’s here… You’ve got till Friday Australian time to enter.
