The changes in temperature and the long days we so loved during the fall in Ontario have nearly come and gone, and we are awaiting the cold and windy days we knew were coming. As we think about the depth and beauty of the days that remind us of our walks and the beautiful skies, the bold colors we sought out and that reminded us of the beauty of paintings we have so loved – what could be better than trying to pull off a cloth art piece that celebrates what we saw along the way.
I love the artwork of Monet and many long years ago, the soft yet bold colours in his skies and the detailed paintings that held my breath as I noted his strokes…. well, I will never be a painter in my last days. But I can celebrate the memory of the depth of colour in the skies, local rivers, and the forests and fields with me as the days pass, covering the land with only the white of snow approaching.
I went into my stash this fall… and October/November moved slowly while working on this small quilt that touched on only bold, and brilliant bits as I searched the boxes and drawers that held my scraps and favorites of my hand-dyed colours. It’s not a great quilt, though includes my favourite colours, and filled time while I spent many days waiting for tests in Drs. offices and MRI tunnels that took most of my fall days from me. I found enough time to get in some free-motion stitching with my bum shoulders unable to do much hand stitch. Just layering cloth, one bit on top of another, and adding various random stitch paths across the quilt sections made the days pass quickly…
Restoration is often based on a dream. Make something work for you, create ART that represents the result of the tools you have to work with (or yes, like for me, a Monet painting that inspires).
I have been working on our next quilt, 4-4 for sharing in January – one that takes many more hours and lots of hand-stitching as a step-by-step to overcoming dratted arthritis. We will all face this one day, so I am tucking away my scraps and hand-dyeing for now and just getting after what comes next… lessons learned. Some ‘stitch path’ details are below.
Bethany Garner
26″w x 40″h
Materials: Cotton, my hand-dyed Procion MX, varied threads
Technique: Pieced background, layered raw edge scraps, free-motion machine quilting.
Thankyou Bethany for the calm and beauty of Autumn through a Monet eye. It is such a contrast to the wind and heat of late Spring and the harshness of early Summer we are currently experiencing below the equator. You reminded me that it is always another season somewhere else.
Your hand quilting is very beautiful. I look forward to the next quilt. In this way I wish you the best of luck.
What great color combinations to mimic the bounty of the past months. The stitching, which you call random, looks a lot like topographic lines and mimics landscapes (says the old cartographer in me).
I have to disagree with your point of snow on the lands. It is definitely not just white, void of color. Yes, they are few, often subtle, but the light is often breathtakingly beautiful.
Beautiful Bethany! Monet is also one of my favourite Artists!
Your quilt has made me search through my stored art books to peruse through and enjoy his Art again. THANKYOU!