Quilting the Seasons

A recent challenge for our patchwork group brought me behind my sewing machine. Everyone of us received a large sheet of paper cut as a triangle. We were asked to make a quilt of the same dimensions (60x50cm – 19×23 inches) using as many fabrics as we wished and free our imagination for embellishing it.

So this is how I started. Looking into my treasure-troves of scraps, I found a piece of dark brown corduroy,  some jute that used to contain basmati rice, the pretty remaining material that covered one of my mother’s armchairs and a piece of polyester in various shades of green.

The result looks like this, waves of Seasons as my imagination created them.

But in between a lot of time was given as to how I would “dress” this naked triangle.

On the lower part which I saw as the colder Season, I sewed a thin  twig surrounded by old tiny buttons that belonged once to my grandmother.  Pebbles and snowflakes. Her small sewing table contained real treasures and an array of thread bobbins to quilt all the rainbows of the world. Simply amazing !

I added a few broken branches that were covered with a kind of colourful lichen on our plum tree. The wave of raffia is the frost of late Fall and Winter.

Moving on to Spring time…

Fields and cultures are growing on the polyester narrow strip and another light twig is showing its first leaves on a bright green silk from Hong Kong (not the easiest one to embroider !). The yellow and green fabric above is a piece of beautiful curtain found in a thrift shop decorated with golden hot  rain drops  in Summer.  Looking up in a red Australian sky  (material found in an ancient and fabulous shop of Melbourne) a kite is dancing  at sunset. The next wave is made of Indian embroidered silk, I just added some beads to enlighten it.

Here you see more of this blue and purple waves. The indian embroidered silk and above it a small precious piece of organza ornated with tiny plastic flowers. Its transparence varies in shades according to the light shining on it. It can move from a light green colour to a sea blue or deep purple  underneath. Truly magic to hold and observe. Its texture is as free as waves are, gliding through your fingers.

More details of this beautiful organza fabric; it was the remaining lining of a little bag my sister gave me long time  ago.

Of course I just had to add some African fabric, a blue/turquoise shade with a wave of green beads, like seashells. The orange material at the top is another one found in Melbourne, like the hot Australian deserts but also like the warm mood that surrounds Christmas time and its decorations…  here an orphan triangular earring found on a trail in the forest. Imagine that !

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