Sunday, December 8, 2013

Fiddleheads and a fiddle without its head

I've been busy working away on needle books and Tiny World pincushions which means I've had little time for quilting. So I thought I would share some pictures of another of my quilts.
 

The picture above is a trillium and I took the picture this past spring. It is the provincial flower in Ontario, Canada. This pretty flower blooms in the early Spring. It grows on the forest floor and it is most often a bright snowy white and less often a deep burgundy. This little gem is in my Mom's garden and the pink blush is a result of a natural cross pollination between the white and burgundy trilliums.


The trillium was my inspiration for the first challenge quilt that I ever made. The challenge included several fabrics some of which were a tan and mauve print of ferns, a white ground with mauve and deep rose trees and branches and a mottled leaf print that was deep mauve, taupe, black and jade green (ick - not at all my cup of tea). I was allowed to add my own fabrics.

Ferns grown near trilliums so the fern print made a perfect base for trilliums. Here you can see the ferns in the background and the first three of my fabric additions, the pink, the dark green leaves and bits of the white trillium. I used watercolour paints and textile medium to paint the veins on the petals. I used the broderie perse method of applique to stitch down the ferns.


When ferns come up in the spring they look like the head of a violin.... a stem with a curled head and we call them fiddleheads. They are delicious steamed and dressed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper!

Here is a close-up of a white trillium with the veins painted on the fabric.


While making this quilt I began to wonder "what pollinates the trillium" because it blooms so early in the Spring and there aren't many bugs out at that point. I called a botanist at one of the local universities and was told that it all happens on one warm Spring day. Once the temperature reaches 68F the bees take flight and in the process pollinate the trilliums!


I used paint and fabric markers to colour the bee's body and I fussy cut the tree branches from one of the challenge fabrics to make the wings. If you would like to make your own bees check out my tutorial here.


I love tiger swallowtail butterflies and they too show up in the spring so I made one of yellow fabric and used acrylic paints to add the colour details to the wings!


For good measure I threw in some dragonflies and sulfur butterflies! Again I used the tree fabric to make the wings on the dragonfly! The head and body were all cut from a single fabric. Even the two dots that look like eyes were part of the print...I didn't add them. I should add some large iridescent beads on the side of the head for the eyes! I'll add that to my to do list!


Here is a sulfur butterfly embellished with inks from Sakura Pigma pens and some embroidery details.


I added two tiny hand-pieced borders. I had never tried anything like that before. That's the beauty of a challenge....you have to get creative and it is a great way to try out new methods or techniques. The spikey border was made with the challenge fabric of mottled leaves in shades of taupe, black, deep mauve and jade.
 
 
The final border was a deep brown Jinny Beyer border print that echoed all the colours in the challenge fabrics. And here is the finished quilt which measures 30" square.
 
And what do I call the quilt?  Where Fiddleheads Grow.
 
 


Work continues on another fiddle which doesn't yet have its head....yet! My brother continues to apply layers of French polish to his violin.
 

The inlay work he has done is called purfling. Isn't it beautiful?

 
I continue to work on Love Entwined and time permitting I'll get back to it today. Once I've got something to share, rest assured I will!

Until I post again, happy sewing!

11 comments:

  1. Karen this is delightful, I love reading how you are inspired by the world about you to create your quilts. I had to look up Trillium 's as we don't grow them in Aus (at least i have never seen or heard of them ) and we don't have sulphur butterflies either.

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    1. Hi Sheila and thanks! I am so pleased that you liked my little quilt!

      I don't know that trilliums grow outside of this part of North America. They are an indigenous wild flower. They are about six inches tall and in the early Spring the forest floor is just carpeted with them. They really are lovely. It is illegal here to pick them. Wild flower societies will rescue them from areas that are being dug up and then they are sold at plant sales.

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  2. I like the way you've incorporated native plants and insects into your work, very beautiful. We can grow trilliums in England but I don't think they're native here.

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    1. I must say that I do have a love of plants and insects although I'm not the gardener in the family....I just enjoy the fruits of the labour of those who are the gardeners!

      Trilliums likely love the English climate since they are an early Spring plant and love the cool weather. They really are a lovely little flower!

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  3. Love how your work is so thought out and Trilliums are such a gorgeous wild flower.that violin is a work of art. So much talent on one family. Wow.
    Bunny who is about to unpack my sewing room.
    Hugs

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    1. Thanks Bunny. I love the trilliums too! They are such a lovely burst of bright white on the forest floor in the Spring.

      How exciting to be moving into your new home and new sewing room! I hope to see pictures on your blog in the near future!

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  4. Wow! I didn't know your brother was making a violin. Does he play? My daughter would love to test run the violin when it is completed.

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    1. Brother loves music, musical instruments and woodworking. He does play the guitar and he has been playing the dulcimer he made. I expect he will teach himself to play the violin too! I will tell him of your offer to test the violin when it is completed!

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  5. Oh my! The artistic and creative talent abounds in your family. Your quilt is filled with such beautiful details. Thank you, Karen for sharing the process with us.

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    1. Its funny how a few little details can make a quilt sparkle. And the little details are actually pretty easy to make and because they are small they don't take much time at all!

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  6. that's so beautiful! I watched it grow and then you said it was just 30", I was amazed. That makes all the bees and other creatures quite tiny!

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