New Year, New Work

I have finished the quilt that I made for my son for Christmas. He was three years old when I made his last quilt, and I thought that perhaps he was ready for a grown up quilt that didn't have Thomas the Train on it. This is also number two in a series of quilts that I am designing to utilize large pieces of hand dyed fabric.

Storm, 50" x 75"

I titled this piece "Storm" for several reasons. I made this quilt in between several bouts of severe weather here on the  coast of northern California. I love storms, and the windier and wetter that they are the more I enjoy them. I always have a great view from my studio of the trees whipping every which way in the wind.

Secondly, I have been  reading The Wishing Year by Noelle Oxenhandler, and she referred to a man from Pakistan who told her that in his country they believe that dark clouds portend happiness, and rainwater brings showers of blessings. Oxenhandler also wrote,"Clouds represent the soft, receptive yin of not knowing, without which there can be no bright yang of awakening."

This piece was made with hand dyed cotton sateen. I overdyed some of the pieces three times to achieve the colors and striations that I wanted. This was a difficult piece to quilt. One of the things that I attempted to achieve was to create a flow, or connection, from one piece of fabric to the next.

As with my last piece, the borders ended up being one of my favorite parts. Often the most problematic design challenges become my favorite aspect of a piece.

I am quite enthused about beginning a new year, but I can't really say that I have any New Year's resolutions in mind. My only goal is to be the best that I can possibly be, both physically and mentally, and I would also like to create some really amazing art along the way. I hope that everyone is looking forward to an exciting new year.