Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Fire - a mini quilt

Fire

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.

Fire

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.

Fire

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.

Fire

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.

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.

Fire - good morning light

That picture is before I sandwiched and quilted her. Again, it is as close to the real colours as I could manage.

Fire - blazing in the morning sun

There you can see the glow of the Oakshots as the morning sun hit her. These fabrics are perfect to represent fire.

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.

Fire

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:

Emily said...

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!

Svetlana said...

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!!!

Charlotte said...

that is so beautiful - I love how the Oakshotts glow - they really are perfect for this!

pennydog said...

That's fabulous, It looks like a firey ruby to me

Rachel said...

Oh, the quilting just makes it! I love how the radiating lines make it look like a jewel.

Kelly said...

Absolutely stunning Leanne - the quilting is perfect for it!

Created by Kathi said...

The quilting on this is fantastic! Thanks for sharing your work :) How do you like quilting on linen??? Kathi

Annabella said...

I can feel it - it's beautiful - I love the radiating quilting and the fire Oakshotts are so beautiful :)

Nilya said...

Oh yes, a real firework, love the quilting...

Canadian Abroad said...

Once again you have managed totally wow me, Leanne. I love this!

Katy Cameron said...

Oooh, very cool, love the piecing and the quilting!

Betty said...

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!

Susan said...

Another wonderful interpretation of the theme. I think the swirly quilting is like the snake that oftens comes from a campfire.

M-R Charbonneau said...

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!

Catherine said...

Wow, This is fabulous, love the colours and the quilting

Lucy | Charm About You said...

I love the quilting and the fabrics look gorgeous! I saw a burning spaceship?! Must be lack of sleep!

OPQuilt said...

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

Cindy said...

It makes me all warm and fuzzy! Amazing.

Sarah said...

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!

Judith, Belfast said...

A stunning piece of art L! Jxo

Leslie can't stop quilting said...

Leanne....I love your controlled burn!!! It has a jewel feel too!! Awesome!

MariQuilts said...

Looks fabulous....those Oakshotts really glow. Love the quilting.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

those Oakshott colors are striking

Fran said...

Wow! This is stunning, and the quilting is so fantastic! Love, love love this!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Too clever and beautiful by half!

Sheila said...

You nailed it!

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Oh my goodness Leanne! It is seriously stunning. I love the piecing, and the quilting is just perfect. You are so clever!

tusen said...

It's lovely, Leanne, and the quilting is great. And that's a perfect shot of the Oakshotts glowing in morning light.

Elise Lea said...

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!

Heidi Staples said...

Your quilting is amazing, Leanne!

Mary Menzer said...

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.

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

It's amazing - I could look at it all afternoon!

Sophie Belle Designs said...

I love it. It's just beautiful.

Shevvy said...

I love this. Your style is so simple bit uniquely yours x

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop said...

It's so beautiful!!! Love it!
Carol

Cheryl Arkison said...

Wonderful!

heart of charnwood said...

This is absolutely stunning, i love it, the texture is fabulous, great work, well done Leanne :o)

Jessica said...

This is so beautiful! I love what you did with the quilting!

MizMccrerrand said...

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.