It is reveal day for this quarter's Endeavourers Challenge, this time the theme for the Challenge was "The Sea".
Over the years I have amassed a store of cast-off denim jeans that my sons either grew out of or decided were no longer their style, so I was delighted to have the perfect excuse to dig them out and start cutting into them.
This is the view from my sewing room window, so I didn't have to look very far for inspiration for this piece.I wanted to depict the sea on a windy, stormy day though, which is a fairer reflection of the usual conditions here on the West Coast of Scotland!
I pinned the strips of denim and cotton to a cotton backing before stitching them down.
Then placed the stitched piece on wadding and backing and machine quilted waves adding strips of lace and pieces of voile fabric between the strips of denim in places to represent the crest of the waves.
On the day that I started putting this piece together I noticed some movement out in the water, and when I went out to investigate I saw this little chap frolicking amidst the waves.
So, naturally I had to include him in my piece too!
I embroidered a stumpwork slip of a seal head, adding a bead for the eye and then attached the head to the denim background before stitching some beads for bubbles behind him.
The hills on the island were defined with satin stitch and I added some French knots for sheep too.
Tucked away skimming the waves, almost out of sight, there is a windsurfer too, and can you believe that today, when even the ferry was not running, someone was daft/brave enough to be out windsurfing in that very spot!
Of course, it wouldn't be right to make a seascape quilt without taking a photograph of it in front of that very seascape, so in between waves crashing over the seafront here is my brave assistant (OH) desperately holding on to my quilt!
As ever with the Endeavourers Challenges the piece that I finally submit is very different to the piece that I originally envisaged making! I really enjoy these challenges even when, as with this one, I leave it all to the last minute :)
Find out my fellow Endeavourers projects for this quarter's challenge here.
this piece is just really beautiful -- wonderful work hugs, Julierose
ReplyDeleteOh, this is so awesome! I love the layers of waves and all the details, especially the lace representing the spray!
ReplyDeleteWell done. That seal is adorable.
ReplyDeleteWhat a view from your sewing room... and a great representation in your seascape quilt, especially the little seal - hard to see him on Instagram when on my phone. Ha, ha... I need the computer to see the detail.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Looking at it I can feel the wind! What a great technique repurposing fabrics.
ReplyDeleteAmazing view from your living room window!
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job of translating your view into a quilted tapestry! I love all your little details, the sheep, the surfer, a stumpwork seal, and the breaking waves!!!!
Well done you, it’s absolutely a fun piece! It was great to see the process too!
Hugs,
Barbara xx
Ooops, sewing room!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a view you have from your sewing room! This is a wonderful challenge piece. I like the use of denim, and all the little touches, especially the seal. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Denim is the perfect material to capture the color and texture of the waves. And it is wonderful to know that you live right on the coast, too. Those waves are best viewed from shore :)
ReplyDeleteYou do have a wonderful view from your sewing room window and you've captured it so well in those denim layers. I enjoyed seeing all the details about how you made it :)
ReplyDeleteI agree, beautiful view from your place, and beautiful little quilt!
ReplyDeleteThis is my favourite of all the pieces you've made for these challenges, Fiona! I love the bits of lace added to create the whitecaps and the little seal is adorable. It's just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteFabulous, that seal is beyond cute!
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