ScrapHappy May 2023 — Double Dipping
I just wrote about this quilt two posts ago, but it really needed more work then, and it is made from scraps, so here it is again.
London 1572, now quilted.
This was made for an online art quilt group, and the theme was “maps”. I had so much fun creating the shapes from scraps, and using lots of trims from Aunt Millie’s collection, but I needed to quilt the areas in between. In the “urban” areas, I did free-motion quilting of pebble shapes to represent cobbles. I started with a beautiful variegated metallic, but of course it kept breaking. (I used a 100/16 top stitching needle, lowered the tension, changed the needle, but nothing helped.) And in the photo, it just looks gray instead of multicolor.
So I switched to a 50-weight Egyptian cotton from WonderFil, and it was a joy to work with. I did some areas in a variegated brown, then changed to a variegated yellow for the rest of the cobbles. In the “rural” areas, I decided to quilt long lines to represent wagon tracks and ruts, and I used the same thread in a variegated green.
Pebble quilting in yellow, brown, and metallic, to represent cobbles.
Long ripples for wagon tracks.
I view these art quilts as practice pieces, to work out any issues. I have all the fun of creating them without the stress of actually entering a show!
ScrapHappy Day is the 15th of each month, when we celebrate the use of scraps. It is hosted by Kate and Gun, the first two names listed below, and they would love for you to join us! Just let them know and they will add you to the list.
I love how faithful this is to ancient maps of London. The river, the bustling city community with its mixture of trades and commerce, and just beyond, the fields that fed the city.
Thanks! I read so much historical fiction set in London; it was fun to get a better idea of where all the famous settings are in relation to each other.
Hard to believe that Westminster and the area around the Houses of Parliament was woods and fields once upon a time!
I like the fun without the stress! I had relatives living in London in the 1850s, during the epidemics, and lost almost a whole family to cholera one summer. Seeing this map brought home to me a little about what life was like in their time. Thanks for a creative, and attractive, sort of memory. =)
Wow, that is fabulous that you know that about your family!
I picked which part of London I would portray just by picking out shapes I liked from that old map. The other day I looked at a more recent map and found that the streets are still in the same configuration in “my” neighborhood, which made me happy!
The variegated brown for the cobbles really stands out. I like it. and thee ripples or the wagon wheels. Of course I had to look up Aunt Millie! Fine looking woman but where did she live? Lots of mountainous scenes and ? trams?
When she was young she lived in Seattle, and for most of her adult life, she lived in Juneau, Alaska, where those fashion pictures were taken. I also have these pictures of her in a mystery location, possibly back in Seattle, or possibly Portland, Oregon: https://textileranger.com/2021/08/16/candid-street-photos-from-1939-and-1940/
I am so lucky to have tons of her sewing notions, photos, and old jewelry!
Thank you. Makes sense. 🙂
So amazing and creative!
Thanks, Tierney! I am looking forward to seeing what comes out of your Scrap Happy Retreat!
love the idea of mapping, not being a quilter I might try in in a different way. The pictures of Aunt Millie are a treasure.
Thank you, Jean! I am already imagining what you might stitch up from your wonderful handwoven and hand-dyed scraps! 🙂
Your quilt map keeps getting better and better. I love the cobblestones. That must take hours but oh the results! My friend Mary took the to the San Jose Quilt Museum a few months ago and I keep thinking I should blog about some of the quilt art. Your post has reminded me to do that.
Yay, I look forward to a virtual visit to that museum!
Thank you!
Thank you for the inspiration you are giving me. I have a lot of small scraps that I don´t k now what to do with and now I know!!!
Oh, thank you, Gun! I really admire the quilts you do with the teeny tiny little squares, so I am happy to think that someone of your level can find an idea here! 🙂
Haha! I love the idea of lines for ruts in the roads!
Ooh a quilty map, what a clever idea! I love all the different colours and textures.
Your quilting is beautiful. I just looked back to compare and I think this is a wonderful addition. I love the textural demarcation of your rural and urban areas with the wheel ruts and cobbles and your scrappy sections really pop now 🙂