Unregulated Stitch Revolution

So, I started thinking about the word “peace” and I saw a peace symbol (of course) and a dove. Ho-hum. . . Then I thought about “white” - the color of peace. Then I just stopped thinking about it - for now.At the same time, I recently received three quilts back from two shows with evaluations. The only criticisms were “uneven stitches”, “irregular stitches”, etc. They loved the fabric, the design, even the finished edges. Frustrating, because regular, even stitches have become the standard now that their are so many stitch regulators on so many machines, including regular home machines. But to me that takes the art out of what I’m doing. I’ve heard that the stitch regulators are even frustrating to those people who care about even stitches. So, it came to me - make a piece that has purposefully uneven stitches. The image came right away. . . To be fair Sylvia and others have not taken these judges seriously for a while. They do what they like and what they want and just laugh at the criticisms. And rightly so. It’s just taken me longer to realize in my heart that it’s just a bunch of baloney. I feel free. I’m at peace. Oh! That’s our word this month! Revolution can bring about true inner peace. So that is why my “peace” piece is called “Unregulated Stitch Revolution.”

By Anne Munoz

Well, did decide not to continue with the "faces" I had thought of putting a 'ho-hum' dove on a hat but was not able to make the 3-D idea work.. then when I started thinking about peace I thought of water. This piece of fabric is very strange... got it from a fabric exchange..it is sort of transparent and very stiff... I thought it would soften after I washed it... well it didn't.... what I did was use two layers to give the feeling of distance and then did some thread play to create the land (horizon) and added bushes to the water...

Angela

Sandstone - finally

Here is my sandstone piece finally. I was originally going to try to dye fabric with sandstone, kinda like those red dirt shirts, and do a 'shades of sandstone' quilt, but as you can see that didn't workout too well. How do they do that? I wound up with a couple pastel pieces of fabric. I used one of those pieces on the back. Then I thought I would do a sandstone border for a photo I took of some flowers growing in sandstone. The finished piece I have here was to be the border only, but I liked the way it came out, so here it is, no flowers. It is a piece of ultra-suede that I used variegated thread on. It originally had square corners that looked terrible after I tried to miter them with a zig-zag border stitch - works well when you are doing it in the middle of a quilt, not so well on an edge, at least for me. So I cut them off and rounded them, now I can sleep at night. Below are some detail photos. Now if I can only get to 'peace' and 'frog'.

Symbolic Peace

This project started as a turquoise piece of fabric that turned into a symbol of religion that was totally unexpected. It took on a life of its own as I started assembling it. Each part has a specific meaning to me. The color represents peace, the universal symbol of Christianity is the fish represented in thread. The double crossed lines in raw silk threads symbolizing the cross. I made the background (top and bottom) to be the Sea of Galilee while the dotted strip is the calming of the sea by Jesus. I chose to use the three long beads as the 3 members of the Godhead. The silver beads is Jesus as the light of the world. I then decided to place the beads around the border as the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus was in the wilderness. I decided to place the heavily beaded bottom as the Seed of Abraham as Numerous as sands on the the shore. The cream back ground silk is the Shroud of Jesus placed around him after his crucifixion. Netting found on the quilt is to symbolize Jesus telling the apostles to be "fishers of men," with the 12 beads hanging in a row as the 12 disciples of Christ. Finally, I made this quilt in 6 days and on the 7th day I rested (with mild celebration). The quilt is machine quilted and all embellishments have been completed by hand. As I said, I did not intend for this to take on the life it did, but it means a lot to me as a symbol of my faith.

For my "Peace" quilt, I chose "COEXIST", as is seen on bumperstickers and on Bono's headband in the excellent "U2/3D" movie. I decided to do it in in a rainbow of colors on plain(ish) grey background. Symbols are fused on.

The Price of Peace

Thought Process: When I think of Peace the word seems to morph into "peaceful" and when I think peaceful I think trees, forests, nature and cemeteries. It may sound morbid but let me explain. Cemeteries are quiet places where one can think without much interference. Also my mother and I have always enjoyed going into cemeteries and looking at the names, dates and inscriptions on the tomb stones. We wonder about the people each tombstone represents. Who were they? How did they live? How did they die?

Recently my family and I went to Washington DC. While there we visited Arlington National Cemetery. The Cemetery is 200 acres of grass, trees and white tombstones and although the surroundings are very peaceful, the immediate effect upon entering the cemetery can be anything but a feeling of peace. Despite my facination with cemeteries and wanting to know about each person who lies buried there, I couldn't help but remember that each person is buried there because of our nation's search for Peace. And no matter how you might feel about the subject of war I think you can't help but feel the irony in this. As a result I felt this image would best represent this month's word.

How I made the quilt: I cropped a photo I took at Arlington and then used photoshop to superimpose the word "Peace" into the grass. I printed the photo in reverse and then took the print to a copy shop to be enlarged and color copied by a copier that uses toner. I then used Citrasolv to transfer the image onto a cotton fabric. I enhanced the image using colored pencils and Paintstiks. As I quilted the image with my friend Juliette's really cool Bernina, I did a bit of threadpainting on the trees & grass and then quilted around a number of the tombstones and the word "peace." Next I used a homemade foam stamp, which I learned to make when I read the book Inspired to Quilt, to put leaf images across a piece of silk organza. I placed the organza on top of the piece and quilted more. Lastly I cut the organza off of the main tree, the word "Peace" and the foremost tombstone. The edges are left unfinished.

OK Finally, I was having computer issues. I don't think I'm going to continue with the faces... can't think of anything to do for the next WORD... it seemed to me that doing faces with hats would be a good idea...but maybe not..

angela

Sandstone

Updated photo of Anne's Sandstone piece.

Sandstone-Delicate Arch

Sandstone....what images this word evolks. Southern Utah with all its beauty. Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, Zions, Bryce, and all the red rock elegance. This quilt is a pattern by Carol Johnson from Nibley, Utah. The top was given to me by Martha Dickey. I decided to finish it by adding the borders, and quilting it. What memories I have from the many trips I took to Arches National Park with my husband and two children. Now in cloth I can perserve one of them.

Kaye Evans

My version of Sandstone comes from a photo I took of Uluru, or Ayer's Rock, on our last trip to Australia. I used curved piecing with freezer paper, ala Caryl Bryer Fallert, and stitched like crazy (ala...me!). Except for the little insert of stripey fabric on the right side of the rock, all other color variation on the rock was done with thread. The only things missing from the photo/quilt are the flies that continually buzzed around our heads, which were protected with nets.

Sandstone

I must say that this 12x12 project has been a real challenge for me. Working "fast" (yes, 2 months is fast for me) and "small" puts me out of my comfort zone. Which is good! I will definitely learn from this experience. I've already learned that I shouldn't care too much about deadlines where art is concerned. Right? Is that a good excuse? And to simplify!!!! I love what Lisa Chin did with the chennile technique. And Leslie's wool roving was beautifully done.

Anne

Leave No (Sand)stone Unturned

Was the back, now is the front.
Was front, now the back.

Like others, I Googled "sandstone" and also looked up some of the formations in a book, found a couple pictures I liked, chose the fabrics and threads, then just messed around with it. I was disappointed with it until I turned it over and looked at the back more carefully. The back actually looked better, I thought, so it became the front. And that also inspired me to call it "Leave No (Sand)stone Unturned."
Nancy