Sunday 1 July 2012

Nature's inspiration

It's been a weird week weatherwise. We've had everything thrown at us. One minute we're enjoying bright sunshine and the next it's hailing. Oh the joys of an English summer! The storm on Thursday was scary for a couple of hours but we escaped the damage much of the country suffered. The bin was washed away but otherwise there was nothing worse than a flooded drive and part of the lawn submerged. It was gone as quickly as it appeared - that's why they're called flash floods I guess!


There were some casualties - some of the foxglove blooms were so heavy they couldn't survive the wind and rain. He Who Gardens rescued these from the mud.


Battered but still beautiful - he thought I might like to paint them before they fade.


Strangely, the wild poppies which look so fragile are still standing. We can never harden our hearts enough to weed them out of the flower beds! Don't they look brilliant mingling with the leaves of the Indian Bean Tree?


Despite the lack of summer weather our lilies are beginning to show their colours too.


I worked hard in between clearing up after the flood to finish quilting 'Remembering' and I had fun added detail with fabric paint.


As soon as that quilt was finished I moved onto the next. This lovely bit of hand dye was perfect for the backing but it did hurt me a bit to resign it to the back of a quilt where it will rarely be seen. I convinced myself that if I could dye like this once I could do it again!


It's going on the back of this Breton Boat quilt. I'm being guided by the patchwork for the quilting. Unusually for me it'll be grid quilted with additional applique and button embellishments. I'll let you see it as soon as there's anything worth talking about.

Thanks for dropping by - I always enjoy your company! Bye for now - Linda

3 comments:

  1. I love that He Who Gardens thought of you when he saw gorgeous battered blooms. It is so cool when our families understand where others might just see something ruined :-)

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  2. Linda - I was just wondering about adding paint (or paintstiks) to a quilt that has been quilted. I have wanted to do that to one I've been working on but didn't think I could because it would need to be heat set and I have used polyester thread. What are your thoughts?
    Kathy

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  3. Hi Lynette. Other women get bouquets - I get rescue victims!

    Hi Kathy. We often add fabric paint or Markal Paintstik to a quilted surface. Just have to iron fix it as normal but obviously from the top side only. If you've used synthetic thread be careful not to melt it when ironing. Set the iron to the maximum temperature your fabric and thread will tolerate. Work a small sample and wash it to see how permanent it is. Should be fine!

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