Sunday, December 30, 2007

From Fire Comes Life


With Tucson having our coldest nights of the winter (in the upper 20s .... brrrrrr!) I might have taken ice as the subject, but my thoughts went to fires ... the devastating fire we had on Mount Lemmon several years ago and the San Diego fires this fall. Fire consumes and then gives life.

One of my resolutions for 2007 was to get better at machine quilting (and I have the same resolution for 2008!). I've been working on some of the thread painting techniques taught by Ann Faul. The leaves were leftovers from a project for a class I'll be teaching in the new year. The background fabric suggested fire's intense heat.
Size is 9" x 19 3/4". Fabrics are batik. Thread painting and quilting were done with varigated King Tut threads by Superior Threads.
Comments most welcome!
-- Joanna Strohn in Tucson, Arizona

8 comments:

  1. For those who may be interested, I've created a Webshots album showing some of the techniques used in creating this quilt.
    http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/561943852vgpUtV

    -- Joanna Strohn

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  2. Joanna could you tell me more about binding....was it fused? Or Sewed down? Does it ravel at all?

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  3. The binding is the technique I learned from Robbi Joy Eklow. I put SteamASeam2 on the back of my binding fabric and then cut it with a wave ruler. In this instance, the strip is about 1 1/4". I then fold the binding strips in half, remove the second paper, and finger press the strips around the quilt to secure. I then sew the binding with a wavy stitch. I use this often and it never ravels. You can see the technique better in the photos here ... http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/561943852vgpUtV

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  4. the fabric does suggest heat doesn't it? It is a good way of bringin together abstract ideas. the cooler colours of the leaves contrast with the heat in the background.

    I think your edge treatment works very well on this quilt, too. I had to look very close to see where the edge of the binding was.

    Sandy in the UK

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  5. Hi Joanna - I like your take on this challenge. You are so right - out of the devastation of fire comes new growth. And your work shows us both the fire and the growth. Nice work.

    Roberta

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  6. Hi Joanna,
    This is a striking piece with all the thread work and wonderful variegated fabrics. It definitely feels hot to me...you could almost warm you hands by it. I especially like the stylized darker leaves near the top...and wonder how it would look if there was another darker leaf or two elsewhere.

    Great job on the challenge...glad you are back for a second year.
    Cynthia

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  7. Hi Joanna, and thank you for sharing with us your techniques.
    This is a very attractive piece. Perhaps it is the 'glow' that the light lavender color lends. Feels warm, is pretty and ...
    well done.
    Carole

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  8. Hi Joanna,
    This is really lovely. I like how it expresses fire, but in a softer way with the more muted oranges and purples, and with less contrast. Very nice.

    Brenda

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