As so the New Year 2021 begins and the COVID numbers have gone completely crazy here (7 deaths and 4,962 cases several night ago and rising) wave three is here to stay for awhile.
Despite all this craziness I managed to get my final four CQ journal quilts finished, bit of a mad dash to do so, but got there!
I decided to go with more travel memories for the last four. I picked Iceland, Mexico, Canada and Venice (not a country I know but my favourite city and I've been several times!)
I poured over my photos and selected images from each adventure, then played with them in Photoshop before printing onto fabric.
I decided that I would collage the images together and add words with my Brother embroidery machine that expressed my experience of being in that place.
I also decided to use my collection of netting from fruit and veg as my recycled items and apply it into the initial letter of that place: capital I for Iceland, etc..
September's quilt is Iceland with photos selected from one of the amazing waterfalls we visited and images of the rocks at the Black Beach, just totally amazing place that looked surreal. I was blown away by the whole country, you really feel that you are on a living planet there with all the seismic activity constantly going on. The large waterfalls had the most vitalising effect on me, I was a bouncing ball of energy after standing beside them for any length of time, imagine if I lived beside one!!
October's quilt was Canada, a place that I've been to twice, the first time for 3 days to speak at the Canadian Quilt Show, thanks to Kim Caskey and Debbi Cagney of Celtic Quilt Tours and the second time to teach a two day class in Edmonton and take a Celtic Quilt Tour trip across the Rockies, to Quilt Canada in Vancouver, stopping at quilt shops along the way, thanks to Kim Caskey for being the kindest hostess on both trips.
What can I say about Canada, I love the people, the vastness of the country, the different vistas. The deep turquoise of the glacial lakes and rivers was just stunning, OMG the colour of the water, mesmerising.
In Jasper, I learned about the First Nations and got to see some of their traditional art which is represented by the wooden carving of the fish. The other collage elements include a digital layering of images of the Rockies and prairies along with the buildings in Vancouver.
Novembers Journal Quilt is Mexico. Surprisingly I used images of Skulls and anyone who knows me may think there's a misspelling on the quilt, that I meant to put "Skull" not "Skill" but they'd be wrong! The scale of ancient monuments was mind blowing, you were practically tripping over ancient artefacts as you walked down the street. These images were taken in Mexico City as I was invited to teach and show an exhibition of my own and my students work by Lourdes and Eduardo the organisers of the Mexican Quilt shows, a wonderful couple and family. The city was unlike anything I've ever experienced, vast, probably bigger than Ireland! I was captivated by the diversity and variety of craft styles developed in the different regions, so inspiring. Got to see Freda Kahlo's house and work, so emotional and inspiring. The national archaeology museum took me a whole day to get through, but it was worth it. Link to
Quilters de Mexico
And finally December, which is Venice, not a country I know but my favourite city on the planet. I adore the decaying decadence, the colours or the stone, the mosaics, the architecture, the water. I love how one turn off a busy noisy avenue, can bring you to silence and solitude. The art, the museums, just wondering around, breathing in that history, I could live there.
Plan for my 2021 Journal Quilts with the Contemporary Quilt group of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles is finalised in my head and on paper, now just have to sign up and get started!
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