I find a great deal of pleasure in capturing nature through the lens of my camera but along with my attempts at being an amateur photographer I also dabble with an assortment of threads, yarns and fabrics. My quilting creations are very much free form, I cut out what I want from fabric and stitch it on, using the applique method. Where I think I want more thread color I do some thread painting. I have only been quilting for about two years and honestly, my inspirations always come from observing nature. One of my favorites has always been the Robin. I love the songs they sing and their need to find every worm in my backyard!
They seem to love our pines, yews, and sycamores for building their nests of mud and grass.
I especially like all the different hues of oranges on their breasts, the speckled cinnamon brown breasts of their young and the linear designs that appear under their bills as they mature.
Of course, who didn't grow up recognizing and loving those beautiful blue eggs and shells. I suppose all these reasons eventually led me to decide to create a quilted wall hanging with Robins as my focus.
I do create, in the moment, so to speak, but I specifically chose the Sycamore tree because the bark peels and drops, leaving a patchwork of earthy colors that compliment the tree with its rich tones of
siennas, browns and greens.
For the floral, I added something similar to the little wild roses that grow in the fields and woods near our house. These I cut out and attached, filling them in with colored thread via my machine.
and of course one always has a ton of scraps... so why not create your own friendly orange goose!!..if for nothing else, it amuses the dog!
and if you are a real crazy saver, like me, you can keep all those pieces of thread, yarn, and loosely woven material for our nesting friends in the spring. They seem to like these scraps as they grab and pull on a piece of lint or string..flying it back to the nest, preparing to create their own yarn on life.
I believe he was a little shy as he stayed close to the trees that were in front of me, all the time hopping from one branch to another.
