I have thoroughly enjoyed making these and I am putting the quilts on this website so that some of my distant friends can see what I have been doing. I have added notes on the main techniques used for those who are interested in the technical side.
Here goes:
My
theme for the year was Eastfield which is the house in Somerset
where we have lived for the last six years. It was originally two
farm cottages and has some interesting old features and a large
garden with a wild life pond so there was plenty to inspire me.
Click on an image to enlarge.
January - Snowdrops
Snowdrops seem to appear from nowhere when the garden is still full of debris and dead leaves and the hedges are bare. Fabric paints and appliqué.
There is a very old door in my sewing room which has an elaborate carved pattern. It was once the entrance to a curing chamber in the chimney breast but is now a cupboard for my painting equipment. I have copied part of the carving, scaled it down and adapted it to make a suitable pattern for a whole-cloth design.
March - Door Carving - appliqué
A second attempt at the door carving but this time I used an applique-from-the-back technique.
April
- Moorhens
Moorhens nest on the pond every year and come up to the patio in search of bird food.
I painted the background and then added the moorhens which were made separately.
May
- Tadpoles
A very simple design of the tadpoles at the edge of the pond, using layered organza.
June
- Fritillary
The buddleia shrubs attract lots of butterflies with wonderful markings. I made this separately and stitched it to a dyed background.
July
- Dragonflies
Inspired by Graham's photos of Emperor dragonflies on the edge of the pond.
August
- Hollyhocks
Every year our hollyhocks self-seed in the gravel drive and paving stones and every year there seems to be a different colour combination. I experimented with transfer paints to get these pastel colours.
September
- Well Cover
Our wooden well cover fell to bits so we decided to have a metal one. I did a rough design of swallows and reeds and we found a talented blacksmith to make it for us. This design was constructed using reverse appliqué.
October
- Autumn
Another experiment with transfer paints, using leaves and honesty pods from the garden as a resist.
November - Sunset
The view from the end of the garden. We get some really good sunsets though maybe not quite as bright as this. A simple piece of strip piecing.
December
- Snow
The sky is painted with silk paints, the tree is machine embroidered and the snow is made from alpaca wool fibres applied with an embellisher machine.
And finally all twelve quilts together....