Eel Grass

This piece is sold

Width: 34 cm
Height: 26 cm

A wooden fish lurks in the eel grass surrounded by the treasures of the deep. Hand dyed background, painted and embellished eel grass, Angelina fibres, beads, yarn, shells, found objects, commercial fabrics. Free motion quilting with cotton threads.

Sorry about the photographic distortion.  I've learned a lot more about photography now and can avoid the barrelling shape.  Too late to go back and fix this one though!

Bracken Fern

This piece is sold

Width: 37 cm
Height:31 cm

The year I made this I was entranced by the colour turquoise! The rich colours and texture of dead bracken fern provided the contrast I was looking for, and cheered up a bleak winter's day. Mixed media, using wool roving, lace, ribbon, beads, sheers, embroidery threads, floss, tapestry fabric, and cotton batting. The techniques used to construct this piece include:  felting, machine embroidery and a hand painted background.  It is mounted on tapestry fabric.

Tendrils

Width: 68 cm
Height: 74 cm

The cut and recut background made me think of a trellis, and the trellis needed a vine. The vine is machine embroidered using rayon threads, lace, 3-D flowers, and beads. This piece is made from commercial fabrics and is free motion quilted.

Here is a close-up of the dimensional flowers:

Rosehips III

This piece is sold

Width: 64 cm
Height: 75 cm

This is the third time I have recreated these rosehips of the Rosa glauca plant. Their hips persist into the winter, glowing with red and burgundy. The centre panel is hand painted with dye. There is cotton batting, commercial borders, binding and backing. It is free motion quilted with oil stick highlights.

Main Lake

This piece is sold

Width: 106 cm
Height: 92 cm

A glassy calm day in autumn, with the fog just lifting above the tree tops. This piece has a hand painted centre panel that has been embroidered with rayon threads. The leaf border is done using a paper piecing technique. It has cotton batting, commercial and hand dyed fabrics and is free motion quilted.

Here is a close up of the centre painting:

In a Sea of Hydrangeas

This piece is sold

Width: 124 cm
Height: 99 cm

These blue hydrangeas grow in my garden and flower through the late summer and autumn. The perfect background for them was a hand-dyed piece of cotton inspired by the colours of the tropical sea. I have used hand-dyed and commercial cottons, sheers, rayon and cotton threads, and cotton batting. I have used a turned edge machine applique technique to complete the picture.

Here is a closeup of the quilting details:

Here is a close up of one of the flowers:

Jungle Mask

Width: 120 cm
Height: 158 cm

This large wall hanging depicts a pottery mask made for me by my mother. The mask, with its bark like texture, watches over the garden from its vantage among the maple leaves. The central panel is a densely woven Egyptian cotton that I painted using Pebeo Setacolour pigment dyes.  This is extremely difficult to do without the dyes bleeding all over!  However, I've developed a technique that doesn't involve adding thickening mediums which can stiffen the fabric.  The border is first dyed with procion dyes, then stamped using my favourite method; styrofoam meat tray and silk screen paints.  They leave a lovely soft hand to the fabric. I free motion machine quilted the piece with polyester embroidery threads.  Highlights are done with oil sticks. Cotton batting interior and the backing is hand-dyed with commercial fabric inserts.

This photo shows the main panel after the painting is completed:

　
　

The next photo shows the centre panel with the dyed border added.







The next photo shows the quilting texture on the central panel.

Here is the completed quilt.

And here is a close-up of some detail.