School of Fish

 … can you see the shark?

When I bought this pattern, it pictured some kind of a whimsical school of fish on a blue background, good idea, but 
- I immediatly saw all the fish in silks, shiny stuff and the surround in hand-dyed fabrics. I especially like the tropical water effect with the corals and sea creatures.

The small test-run sampler was done in no time, but the actual quilt dissapeared in my box of UFO’s. Finally, 4 years later, I finished the actual quilt. I like the result, although today, I’d have done something else like a border or a pieced extention of the theme. But the quilting was almost done by a third, there was no way to make big changes.

Deadlines, deadlines, they sneak up so fast, tomorrow is another one: at CQA, – for a Small Quilts show in April at Up Front in Issaquah. Well, I’ll see if this quilt is going to make the move, it still has to run thru the jury process.

I love the layers and circles, which look just as I imagine molecules of fragrances. It reminds me of how the sense of smell can bring back experiences from long ago in an instant

After travels to Lisbon/Portugal, I got fascinated by the early navigators. Many of these ships never returned. The Flor de la Mar was on it’s way home, full with treasures and slave girls, taken from Malacca (today’s Malaysia). It run into a storm near the coast of eastern Sumatra and sank. The crew got saved, but not the slaves.

I used trapunto and hand made stencils and oil sticks for letters and objects.

62” x 62”

In mid 2007, Maggie Ball asked for quilters who want to make a quilt for her new book “Bargello Quilts with a Twist” (Krause Publications, 6/08).

The beauty of making quilts from Maggie Ball’s books is, she cuts down complicated parts into a fairly simple to make quilt, even for a beginner. Once I understood the system of cutting, strip piecing and cross cutting, the project went straight forward. In very little time, I had a finished top. The hardest part was to chose the fabric and colors for 3 different block settings and the borders. The final result is certainly a quilt with a very strong impact by color choices and pattern.

It was fun to try something new, thank you Maggie.