Still sewing

I’m still sewing my “Marseille V”. It’s like it will never end. I’m not even half way.
The big lines are almost sewed but then I have all the details to do.
I think I’m sewing slowly because I enjoy taking this work in my hands.
Normally it should be finished before we go to New Orleans and Houston. We have our plane on the October 23. I hope to meet some of you during our stay in Houston for the quilt expo.

Today was the first day we felt that fall is in the country. A lot of wind, some rain and the trees loosing their leafs.
With this kind of weather I always dream of an open fire, a glass of wine, soft music and a good book. Knowing that the weather isn’t fine outside and that you and your family are in a warm and cosy home… Not everybody has that luck !

Next Monday my youngest daughter and me are taking part of a ‘total relooking and restyling’ in Brussels.
It has been a long time that we wanted to do that. Nowadays jeans is the outfit by excellence ! We are very curious about the results but most important : we will have a funny day !


“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
Albert Camus (1913-1960)

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Nathalie

New Sketch

Since I’m not ‘able’ to sew for more than an hour in a row, I started to sketch for a new work.
I tried to combine several pictures I took while I was in the Champagne.
Those pictures also represent the best day we had there. The weather was nice and the place was soo peaceful : we didn’t hear or see a car.
This was also the place where we picnicked : and yes : baguettes, French cheese but no wine, we still had to drive.

It is only the first sketch. A lot of work has still to be done before this will turn in a fabric version. As I said before, I wish to combine mixed-media techniques.

But first, I will finish “Marseille V-Frioul’.
This work is still full of pins : I can’t sew 10 stitches without scratching my hands or arms.

So I decided to layer some food wrap on the surface and roll the ‘portion with food wrap’ I do not sew.
Problem solved : no scratches any more and when I unroll, I see my work.

“Some cause happiness wherever they go ; others, whenever they go.”
Oscar Wilde

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Nathalie

Border - continued

I made some changes in my border.
I love this version : jagged edges like the cliffs I saw.
I also tried to put tulle – in all sorts of colours - over the landscape but the result wasn’t what it should be. It toned the vibrancy too much.

Now I can start to sew this work. This is making me happy.

Have a new work in my head :
I posted two pictures :
Would love to try this in a mixed media technique : fabric, paper, plastic, paint…
Still don’t know. I will have to make some sketches and see how I can alter and combine those pictures.
DH is coming back tonight from a 4-day business trip in Italy.
Since the meetings were near Venice, he also was invited to visit the city with a guide.
Some have all the luck !

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”
Aaron Rose

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Nathalie

To border or not ?

Not always easy to answer that question.
My first idea was not to add a border but then I said :
Why not ?
and
What if ?
Let give it a try.
I have to say that I layered the border in a hurry and the choice of the fabric is not ideal ; I only wanted to visualise a type of border I had in mind.

If I add this kind of border I will have to change the colour of the border and pay attention to obtain a more jagged edge between the central theme and the border.
I will also have to keep in mind that this quilt will be “uncomfortable” to machine quilt.
It’s not THAT big but with the border it will measure +/- 52 x 36 inch .
In a way I want to add this kind of border because it reflects the abrupt cliffs from the isle of Frioul !

“Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I’m doing.”
Phil Jackson

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Nathalie

Nature Quilt Marseille V

Working with the “Art Quilt Workbook” written by Jane Dávila and Elin Waterston learned me to like working in series.
The quilt I’m working on, is- already- number 5 in my series about my trip to Marseille.

As some of you know, I’m following a workshop ‘Design you own nature quilt’ conducted by Ellen Lindner.
I really enjoy this workshop, where you have to adapt a picture in a quilt.
I started from a picture I took on the isle of Frioul and made some transformation while sketching.
I like Ellen’s way of conducting workshops because she lets you do you own thing and only advises if you ask for. She’s –for me- more like a coach.

These are on-going pictures :
Here I added some light greenery :
And here some dark green leafs :
This work is really taking shape. The diagonal line of the flowers gives this work some dynamic . It’s coming to life.
I will start to sew the shapes soon. I still want to make the flower heads dimensional : I will make some thread leaf and flower heads.

"Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction".
Jimi Hendrix(1942 - 1970)


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Nathalie

A step at the time

Since I have a lot of work in our shop, I do not have as much creative time as I wish. But I’m going a step at the time. I enjoy it when you see a work changing.

I took this picture when I thought I had added enough green.
I find it useful to take on-going pictures because I can see ‘from a distance’on my computer screen.
You can’t see the ‘total picture’ well when you have your nose on it.
This is even more truth when it’s a bigger work.

After I took the picture above, I decided to retrieve some green stems. Maybe I will decide to add them again later, but not on this stage !

Here I started adding my flower heads.
I cut them in a ‘naïve’ way.
Don’t think, DO !
Some more flowers are added. So far, I like the result !
The vivid colour of the flower heads is adding rhythm and balance to my work.
It begins to swing.

I think I will add some yellow/orange flowers near the light green on the bottom right.

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)

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Nathalie

You Are Worth the Time

Frioul

After sketching and hesitating about the ‘what if ?’ and ‘how ?’ I finally started with the fabric version of ‘Marseille V-Frioul’.
I first tried with different sky fabrics but I wasn’t happy with the result, the sky transition was too abrupt.
For the water fabric I had less problems after deciding adding a blue organza on the surface, I wanted the water to shine a little.
It is not very noticeable on the picture.

Without organza :
with organza :
I retrieved the different sky fabrics and used a fossil fern fabric.
It is a different fabric than the middle fabric of the first pictures.
I didn’t remember I had that one in my stash.


I’m happy with my background and I will continue to build my quilt on it.
I will add the green fabric this evening.

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

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Nathalie

Back !

I’m back and glad to be back !
I really missed my king-size bed !

This year, our trip to the Champagne, France was a real surprise.
We visited the ‘other’ Champagne-region.

We slept in a ‘(small) bed and (large)breakfast’ -Villa Primerose- in Arcy-sur-Aube ;
that is in the ‘plaine Champenoise', the only Champagne region without vineyards (!) and from there we did some day-trips to the ‘côte des Blancs’ and the ‘côte des Bar’.
There, we saw the vineyards.
What a variety of landscapes, some views were spectacular.





We were surprised that the ‘côte des Bar’ wasn’t as touristic as the ‘côte des blancs’.

On our daytrip to the ‘côte des Bar’ we only met locals.
The ‘maison champagne’ where you can taste and buy champagne are cosier and friendlier.
We enjoyed the tranquillity in the ‘côte des Bar’ and the region is much more ‘pittoresque’.
We picnicked every noon and went in a restaurant in the evening.
The restaurants were also a surprise and not always a good one.
The positive side : we didn’t gain weight !

On our way back, we stopped in Namur to see many of my family.
I gave ‘Abstract III’ to my uncle and aunt for their 50th wedding anniversary. I saw that they were truly happy with the present.

“Mountains inspire awe in many human person who has soul. They remind us of our frailty, our unimportance, of briefness of our span upon this earth. They touch the heavens, and sail serenely at an altitude beyond even imaginings of a mere mortal. “
Elisabeth Aston

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Nathalie

Champagne trip

I'm leaving to the Champagne for the rest of the week.
I will blogging again next week.

I added a few pictures from our trip to the Champagne past year :

" The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage. "

Mark Russell

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Nathalie

Flower Parade

Next week we go to the Champagne for some days with DH and my parents. I’m glad to go again.
This is a beautiful region in France – not to speak of the gastronomy and the champagne.

We are also invited to go to a –I think 50 year - marriage celebration.
I finished “abstrait III” and I will give this as present :

For once my blog will not be only fibre or sketch related, but will be a hommage to all the people who made it possible to realize this fantastic flower parade.

This was the last flower parade representing some of the greatest Flemish Artists going from the 15th century till now a days.
There was only a little rain during the parade full of music, grimed kids and adults representing the personages from the artworks of the Flemish Artist.

There were more than 30 decorated “wagons”.

Many came to look this 50 year old parade and many are already nostalgic !
But back to reality : this was an expensive parade with all those flowers.

“The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.’

Socrates

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Nathalie

Marseille V Frioul-Quilt

I went wild with a Frioul-sketch. I went on the hard rock tour with a gothic touch.
I changed the colour of the cliffs into blue and made a gray, anthracite and black heaven.
Just had fun, without intention of making this in fabric.
It could be a 'State of Mind', some friend of my kids found the result 'too cool' or 'f..'
Now, back to a more conventional way of working.
Again a pastel sketch :
And the watered version :
I think that this is it.
I have eye- movement with diagonals
I have focal points – in the fabric version there will be less- my watered colours went on a walk in my sketch.
I made the design abstract – I wanted that.

I quickly picked some fabrics from my stash :
Some greens

Some blues
And the focal colours
I’m almost ready to start.
Still have a question :
What size will I make this work ?

"I can do to him whatever I like. I'm allowed to torture him as much as I want. He's mine. "
J.K. Rowling

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Nathalie

Quilting

I finished quilting some works and I’m sad and happy at the same time.
When you finish a work you spend some time with, you’re glad you see the finished result and you’re glad you can move on to something else. At the same time you have to let go that work and you realise you never will hold it like you used to hold it in your hand while working on it.
I kept the quilting very simple : the boat is quilted in the ditch and I echoed the colour accent with a metallic thread. The quilting lines are parallel with the accents, it’s the picture that was not so well taken.
The binding will also be a sheer ribbon.


I received some wonderful compliments about this little quilt :

One from Dena Crain- she gave me the opportunity to learn the ‘darning method’- and Ellen Lindner. See both links at the right.

Dena wrote me that ‘a picture on fabric will still be a only picture’ but thanks to what I did with this work, she had a second look at it.

Ellen wrote me that what I did with this quilt made her ‘wanting to search for some pictures and also work them out.

I don’t need to say that I was very flattered.

“An executive is a person who always decides, sometimes he decides correctly, but he always decides.”
John H. Patterson

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Nathalie