The unbelievable beauty of thread

I belong to a couple Facebook  Crazy Quilt Groups (crazy quilt divas and crazy quilt international) and a new member, Marianne Hoeksema, posted her blocks recently and I just love them because of the all over stitching.  This style is seldom  done by American crazy quilters so I knew she had to be European or Australian.. and sure enough she was from the Netherlands.

I am always so caught up with my laces, trims, and other whimsy, I forget just what a wonderful medium that just thread is. 

When I did my rainbow vest to wear to Houston I only used thread and knew that at some time I wanted to explore this more and maybe the  CQJP2017 will be the perfect opportunity.

In CQJP2012 a stitcher from Austria used just thread and I kept photos of all her blocks... Her name was Claudia Weinwurm and she used to blog but hasn't for a couple years.  She did all types of embroidery but it was these "under the sea" blocks that are my favorites. 

You can still see more of her work on her blog but don't wait too long because inactive  blogs tend to disappear...

It was this all-over texture created with just thread that fascinates me and bring me to my favorite thread artist..  an Australian wildlife fiber artist Annemieke Mein...


She does lots of butterflies and other insects but it is her birds and frogs that I especially love.  Her works are huge and she uses a sewing machine but it is the thread that creates the magic.

There is a lot about her on the internet and she does have a gorgeous book if you are interested in seeing more.

Birds are done!

The bluebirds are done and ready to cut out  to add after the hanky-panky quilt is pieced.  These are stitched on a cotton handkerchief backed with fusible tricot interfacing so I can cut them out without fraying.
Their beaks have not been stitched.  I will do that after they are cut out and appliqued to the floral piece.

Marilyn asked if I colored the background on the floral piece and yes indeed I did.   I added a few drops of my all purpose alcohol ink to a tablespoon of water and gave the background a little color.... I was testing on this hanky before I dyed the one with the ribbonwork...

A bird, a dress,and a rainbow

I'm making progress on my bluebirds and taking photos of the steps as I go along in case anyone is interested in the process.  I will post them as a tutorial  on block talk when   completed..

Got this vintage (VERY vintage) silk wedding dress at the thrift store last week.  It had a obvious stain on the front so I got it for $8.99.. and will gradually dismantle it. The fabric is lovely and there is a LOT of it even tho the body of the gown is fitteds (1970s style) the train is very long..

There will be about 7-8 yards of this fine quality cotton lace from this dress... Just perfect for my CQJP 2013 cottage project. I doubt I could even buy cotton lace of this quality now.  Not the least bit flimsy.....very structural and finely detailed.

I had my threads on rings on the BACK of a door to my little storage room where they were not casually seen.. Yesterday I put another hanger rack on the living room side and hung a rainbow of rings so I could enjoy them all the time.  There were getting to be too many rings on the back side of the door anyway...

Making Joyful Noises

One of my absolute favorite parts of CQ work is blending threads to create satin stitch flowers and birds, etc. From the very moment I first started adding my threads to rings I KNEW this was going to be perfect system for sorting threads for thread blending/painting....  Keeping threads sorted and in order was always awkward for me.  Yesterday I pulled the colors I want to use for my bluebirds.

The moment I started I was making joyful noises..  Yesterday I began teaching the new chatelaine class at the quilt shop and was commenting on the incredible quilts on the wall.  They were extremely complex and assembled with perfection... I commented I just could NEVER be that perfect.  My student Ginger said she was a "joyful noise  quilter".  I had heard of joyful noise in a religious context but not referring to quilting so I asked her to explain...

She said she had a choir master who told them if they couldn't sing just to make joyful noises and that was her attitude toward quilting..  I love that concept because it goes directly to the heart of CQ which never demands  perfection and embraces endless opportunities to fail and recover and go on.....making joyful noises all the way...  I hadn't thought of my resolution for 2014...but it will be forging ahead no matter what....making joyful noises all the way.