Olympic patchwork

I was fascinated by the Olympic patchwork created by Mikhail Kusnirovich, the 47-year-old-owner of Bosco di Ciliegi, Russia’s premier sportswear company. I thought it would be fun to make a piece inspired by the jackets.  So here's a picture of the jackets, and my attempt to emulate them. Next time I would choose brighter blues.

Saki for two

I finished my Saki for 2 piece. I made it in a Pamela Allen workshop.   I added green embroidery in the left hand corner in an attempt to suggest the beaded curtains sometimes found in Asian restaurants.  I also embroidered a bento box and soup bowl and spoon on the table.  I used a recycled dark brown silk shirt for the binding.

February 1

I am still working on the St. Louis piece.  All the stitching is done, now I have to finish quilting it, binding, etc.
I am taking a class with Pamela Allen, About Contrast.  In our first lesson we were to make a monochromatic piece. I chose my favorite color, blue.  The mountain in the center is a piece I had leftover from a Roman stripe quilt I did in indigo shades.  I had a few triangles leftover, so I used one for the center mountain.  The piece is made of cottons left over from other projects. It is raw edge, hand stitched applique.

Off the Wall Fridays

January 28

My St. Louis piece is getting close to being finished.  It still needs some quilting, binding, a label, and a sleeve on the back. This is a present for my daughter and her family.
I thought I would identify the images on the quilt.
In the top left hand corner are Victorian row houses from Lafayette Square.
The arch is in the center, with some skyscrapers inside.
I have put a bridge over the Mississippi River, which cascades across the top and down the side.
The last image on the top is Grant's Cabin. The cabin is located at Grant's Farm, where the family often went to see the animals maintained there, and sip some Anheuser Busch beer.
On the left in the middle layer is St., Francis Xavier Church, better known locally as College Church.  Wendy and Chris were married there.
The Bevo Mill is next to the church.  It was built in 1916 by the Anheuser-Busch company to encourage families to enjoy beer with their meal at the restaurant.
On the right side in the middle is Ted Drewes, a St. Louis landmark dating from 1941, that sells frozen custard. Chris, Wendy, Rosie and Caroline are on their way to get a sundae or a concrete.
On the bottom left is a scene from Missouri Botanical Garden, featuring a gate leading into the rose garden.  The flames on the top were put in place during an exhibit of Chihuly Glass at the garden.
The final image is one of the entrances to the St. Louis Zoo.

Off the Wall Fricays

January 27

Worked some more on the St. Louis piece.  I changed Wendy--she was too plump, and decided

against using a hat for Chris.  The hat made him look bald, and he certainly isn't.  So I gave him some spiky hair.
I also added the zoo pieces.  They aren't sewed down yet.  When they are sewed, it will be time to quilt the piece.
I am also going to add a navy strip connecting the Bevo Mill to the bottom of the piece.

The second St. Louis piece continues

I've been sewing stuff down on the second piece, the one I am making for my daughter.  There is a brown piece pinned over the roof on Grants's Cabin, because I thought the first attempt make the house look too square. I will have to rip the roof off and insert it.
I also worked on the family'

s clothes.  My initial fabric for Wendy's dress did not contrast very much with the background, and I also thought that she doesn't wear very many dresses, so I am aiming for jeans.

Market Day at Stonehenge

I am a big fan of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, in which stone circles play a big part. I have started making some of the cover art into small quilts, with a background of dipoini silk. You can see some of these further back in my blog.
But my favorite thing, maybe my most favorite thing I have ever done is Market Day at Stonehenge.  I even made it a triptych. I used hand dyed fabric that I purchased online, since I am not a dyer.  I got the material from Wendy Richardson.  I put the large stones on the background and set 3 figures at a stone table with their wares.  On the right part of the triptych I featured an oxcart bringing things to market, and on the left side  2 women with a torch.
For the most part the piece is raw edge applique, a technique I learned from Pamela Allen.  Some pieces are needle turned applique.  I used embroidery floss to attached the pieces and to hand quilt it. Some of the quilting (spirals and concentric squares) I found in a Pictish stone online. The first picture shows the completed

quilt measuring 43 wide by 17 tall. The second picture shows the right part of the triptych, and the third shows the left side.  Finally the bottom picture shows the center.

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