Intertwined

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.”
― Maya Angelou

This celtic interlacing to me represents how we are all intertwined, how we aid and assist each other in the great wheel of our lives.  Even those who gently weave in and out only occasionally are a deep part of who we are and who we will become.

This piece is 48 x48 inches.  It is hand appliqued and hand quilted.  The four large pieces in the central part are hand dyed as well as the small squares surrounding the outside.  Piece completed January 2020.

Detail of quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spring to summer

We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming. We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are. They are gifts from the universe that we cannot refuse. But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives. Gary Zukav
Spring has arrived.  Hints of summer are evident in the heat the last few days.  The garden is being planted.  The weeds are coming up!  The colors are changing!  The latest quilt reminds me of the greens of spring and the turquoises of the melting streams.

The central panel is a hand dyed fabric in the shibori style.  The central appliqué design is from a  Celtic circular bronze shield boss dredged from the river Thames near Wardsworth, London, England and estimated to be from approximately 300-200 BC.

The quilt is approximately 54 x70 “.  It is hand appliqued and hand quilted.  Completed 2017.

The Children of Lir

Many years ago in ancient Ireland lived a King and ruler of sea called Lir. He had a beautiful wife, called Eva, who gave him four children – eldest son Aodh, a daughter called Fionnula and twin boys, Fiachra and Conn. When children were young, their mother Eva died. Lir and children were very sad, and King wanted a new mother for his young sons and daughter, so he married Eva’s sister Aoife who, it was said, possessed magical powers.

Aoife loved children and Lir at first, but soon she became very jealous of time that King spent with Aodh, Fionnula, Fiachra and Conn. She wanted to have all of his attention for herself. One day, she took children to swim in a lake while sun was hot in sky. When they got there and children took to water, Aoife used her powers to cast a spell over children, which would turn them all into beautiful swans.  http://irelandofthewelcomes.com/the-children-of-lir/

This quilt represent the story of the “Children of Lir”.  The fabric in the center of the quilt is hand dyed.  The orange and yellow fabric in the border represents the burning jealousy of the step mother.

The knotwork represent the children that were turned into swans.

The illusion of the step mother is painted on the fabric with Paint Stik.

The quilt is machine and hand quilted and is approximately 56in x56 in.

 

Infinity and Beyond

Imagination makes us aware of limitless possibilities. How many of us haven’t pondered the concept of infinity or imagined the possibility of time travel? In one of her poems, Emily Bronte likens imagination to a constant companion, but I prefer to think of it as a built-in entertainment system. Alexandra Adornetto

Circles are such a universal symbol of timelessness, eternity, cycles of life, completion, unity, regeneration and on and on.  The Celts used spiral and circles in so many of their decorations and I am intrigued by the never ending variety of them.

I found the background fabric for the spirals on a sale table in a shop in Virginia.  I couldn’t bear to cut it up, so decided to put the spirals on the top of each so the wonderful marbling on the fabric could still show.  The quilt is then outlined with random length blocks to show off the designs.  Aiden Meehan has done a series of books that are extremely helpful in drafting celtic designs and he also does a wonderful job of historical and developmental aspects of the designs.

Here are close ups of two of the spirals.

The quilts is 50×64 inches.  Designs are hand appliqued and the quilt is hand quilted in black thread.  Here’s a peek at the back.

 

 

 

More Celtic Dreams

Am fear nach cuir a shnaidhm, caillidh e chiad ghrèim.
The man who puts not a knot on his thread loses the first stitch.

I love the intricacies of celtic design.  Aidan Meehan has published a series of books on Celtic design that are an excellent help when it comes to drafting the designs.  He is also very informative about the origins of the designs.  In this quilt I used a lot of his drafting techniques and design elements.

Knot work is, of course a large part of celtic designs.  Zoomorphic design is also a key element.

The design in the four corners of the quilt is after a Commaccio Flagon Mount, Italy, about 325 BC.  In the outline, you can see the mask, with the drop shaped eyes and bulbous nose.   In the corners are dragon shapes and in the triangles, griffin shapes.

This is a close of of the knot work.

This is a closeup of the central spiral.

The quilt is approximately 58×58 inches.  It is hand appliqued, and hand quilted.  It is finished with a corded edging.

Finished 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dancing with the Faeries

Watch for faeries that “kidnap good looking men and women, stealing them away to the Otherworld realm where pain and suffering are unknown, and music and feasting the perennial occupations.  On moonlit night in open spaces mortal captives may be seen dancing with faeries….”  Juliette Wood

I’m fascinated by ancient art, especially the designs used by the Celts.  This is adapted from a 4th century BC stone carving.  The central design is hand appliqued onto a single piece of multicolor commercial batik.  All the fabric is commercially made batiks.  The designs in the corners are adapted from 1st century BC spiral designs

This one is “Lakenheath”

This is “Brentford”

This is an unprovenanced spiral

And the last one is “Cornalaragh”

The quilting is done by outline quilting the designs and echo quilting around the patterns.

The quilt is about 58X58 inches.  I used an 80/20 Winline batting and used Superior King Tut variegated threads for quilting.