Through the eye of a needle and a camel...

 I have been on a 'trip around the world' procrastinating trying to decide on a subject.  Started with Great Zimbabwe - Great Zimbabwe | National Geographic Society , then closer to home with Stonehenge (obviously popular as two of you have chosen it), followed by pyramids and/or the Temple at Karnak with hieroglyphics before finally settling on Petra.  Dianne, I see you agree with me that it is spectacular and what a way to encounter it!

In my usual chaotic way, I have left it to the last minute.  I am heavily involved with two craft groups and the run up to Christmas means extra work.  I started my piece yesterday morning, had to break to go out for lunch and all the best laid plans etc, mean that I haven't finished it completely.

From the beginning I knew that I was going to print the facade of the Treasury Building.  I was really surprised and encouraged to find I had a large stash of fabrics that suited rock faces but when I started to use them, I realised that I needed so much more time.  Also, that they would work better in a much larger scale of piece.  So, I abandoned that idea and went with the simplest and most dramatic presentation.  But when I took a photo I realised I had made a horrible mistake with the left-hand edge of the passage floor.  Aaaagh!  It needed urgent surgery, hence being a day late to put it right.

Although it isn’t how I imagined the piece, I am quietly pleased with the result.  I used Prymm Fabric Printing Sheets and raw edge applique bonded down.  It will be machine quilted with a satin stitch edging.  The piece is small and measures 14.5” x 10”.

Through the eye of a needle and the camel

Architecture has been a fascinating and challenging theme, but I have enjoyed it.  After the Festive Season we will start again and have a serious discussion on the next series.

Hilary

Menhir

  The second quilt that I made after joining the group in 2014  was inspired by the neolithic site of Gavrinis in the Morbihan, Brittany: 

https://12bythedozen.blogspot.com/2014/11/gavrinis.html

I decided to use the same source for this quilt, as I am still fascinated by the 5-6,000 year old carvings. I used a lino block, that I had developed from one of the motifs, to print the fabric.  I thought that it would be difficult to match up the black and white prints as they are handprinted, but it was a lot easier than I thought. I drew the menhir shape on tracing paper, overlaying it where I wanted it to fall on the background fabric, then  I traced the printed pattern and matched it on the black fabric before cutting the menhir out. I appliqued the menhir to the background, cut away the background beneath it, added batting and then quilted the menhir and couched the two motifs in silver. I added more batting and then quilted the background, so that the menhir would stand out from the quilt. It's not a very 'pretty' quilt ' (but then who says quilts have to be pretty!), though I like it, mainly because the texture makes me think of the carved stone: I keep running my fingers over it!

 

The site that I gave a link to in 2014 no longer exists, but you can find out more about Gavrinis here: https://cairndegavrinis.com/

 

CHARRED MOAI OF RAPA NUI/EASTER ISLAND

I am sure the moai of Easter Island need no introduction but what may not be so well known is that, in early October this year, many moai were irrevocably damaged by fires believed to be the work of an arsonist.

I have always found moai and the conjecture around their history to be fascinating. Now, looking at the damage caused by the fires, I feel quite emotional. They look burnt, sad and alone. 

For the sky I used a piece of ice-dyed linen that I bought (has anybody tried ice dying?) and the rest of the fabric from the many fabrics I inherited from mum. I did a bit of machine applique and tried FMQ. I got off to a roaring start with the FMQ - well, the machine kind of went by itself almost, and by the time I caught up and realised I was doing more of a water pattern than grass, it was too late! Anyway, I only started yesterday so it was a bit rushed but I am happy with the outcome all the same. Just had to resist the effort to give more definition to the face which fire had destroyed. Photo colouring not good but will replace if daylight produces something more accurate.

And, well, that was my swan song. I think I said all my thank yous etc when I notified my intention to finish at the end of this series but I will do a brief recap. Rosemary, I can't thank you enough for inviting me to this group. I have truly become more confident and creative as a result. Thank you to all members for encouraging feedback over the last 3 years and, finally, I wish you all the very best with your creative endeavours whether you are staying in the group or channeling them elsewhere. 

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Stonehenge

I found this challenge perplexing, but keep coming back to the idea of the very first monolithic example of architecture that I could think of - Stonehenge. As this is my very last piece for this group I also wanted to carry on my personal objective of using images that I had taken myself, or that were very meaningful to me. Stonehenge satisfied both objectives. My mother (94 next month) went for a day out on her birthday, the year that my father died, to Stonehenge, and the photograpgh I have used was one taken on that day.

I pieced the background, deliberately making the colours more vivid than the photo (after my piece last time ended up far too drab) then fused the rocks on the top. There is a small mark in the centre which was a person in the background in the original photo. I included it to give an impression of the scale of these ancient stones. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people have managed to use for this challenge. And, finally, thank you all for being a very inspirational group over the years since we first started, and for putting up with my very late postings for the last two challenges. I shall continue to follow the group with interest, and look foward to seeing where your next set of challenges will take you.

MONOLITHIC ROCK CARVING

 I researched Monolithic Architecture and in the end decided to create something of my own.  I found some hand dyed fabric which was suitable for my background, and then drew an elephant, as I wanted to depict it as a "carving" coming out of the background rock..  I cut some batting out of the shape of the elephant  and then attached the various pieces of the elephant's head onto the batting which I then glued onto the background fabric.  I did this to give the impression that it was standing out of the rockface and didn't look too flat.  The next step was to stitch it down.  It was then appliqued and quilted to give it more depth.

Petra

 Petra is an amazing place to visit to see all the rooms dug out of the hillside as burial tombs.  This was done by the Nabataeans during the period 30BC to 7AD.  To get to it one walks along a path that descends into a canyon with the walls getting ever closer together.  Then all of a sudden ahead is a shaft of light and you begin to see the monument called the Treasury glowing in front of you.  It's quite dramatic.   

I quilted the design on a white piece of fabric and then dug out my fabric paints which haven't been used in years and needed a little coaxing!  I really wanted to get the depth of this monument with shades of paint, but it was not easy and I decided at a certain point to leave well enough alone.  I have a shaky hand and I didn't want to mess the whole thing up with the fine work that needed to be done.  I hope that I have achieved the glow of the Treasury as one emerges from the canyon. 

ANT HILL

I have gone back to nature and used a monolithic architectural structure found freely in our open spaces the ant hill. In the Kruger National Park where we are off to tomorrow you can find quite large structures which in time become homes for other creatures such as hyenas, warthog, mongoose.  These mostly becomes large mounds as they age and are hammered by the weather and animals. Further south in the country in the more arid areas you will find the taller red earth examples which is where I have gone with my inspiration.

Whole cloth, quilted, free motion embroidered and then I went in with gesso, paints, and wool beads. As I was getting near to the completion of the piece I realized the beads were probably the wrong texture but it was too late. A case of less is better. I can live with it and it is growing on me. 

Monolithic Architecture This piece is based on designs which I found on pillars in monolithic buildings

 

Stonehenge

 Finally, it's time for the final piece in the series, and I chose stonehenge. 

This time I used the same color pens that I used before to roughly paint the background (sky and grass) and then blurred it. 

Because the fabric is a silk kimono, I was very happy with the effect of the blurring (especially the color change of the sky and the clouds), and the theme Stonehenge is embroidered. The only thing that I think can be improved is the sky quilt part, do you have any good suggestions?

Momo 

Millau Bridge

Finally I have managed to finish my bridge piece. Sorry it's taken so long. After our trip to Romania I started thinking about which bridge to choose, but knowing we had a trip to Norway and Sweden coming up very shortly I waited as I knew we were returning across 'THE Bridge', the Öresund Brudge which connects Sweden and Denmark and is over 8 kilmetres long. It was a great experience to drive across, but like many bridges, the best views were always going to be taken from any other view point than the bridge itself, and we didn't have time to detour to look at the bridge from any other angle. So, on our return, I went for my second choice, the Millau Bridge in southern France. This is a multispan cable-stayed bridge and is (unless a taller one has been built since September 2020) the tallest bridge in the world having a structural height of 336.4 metres. Even better from my point of view is that the mororway that crosses it has a services close to the bridge that doubles as a viewing point. We crossed it in September 2016 on our way to Barcelona on yet another car trip. Its hard to see the scale of it but if you look closely at the photo you can just see the tops of cars on the bridge itself.

I decided to keep the work very simplistic, and to attempt to give the idea of it's scale by using neutral colours that imply you are looking from a distance. I'm not sure I suceeded - it has just ended up looking rather dull. I also had forgotten the challenge of using rayon threads - despite several extra stitches at the end of each section they still tend to unravel.

And perhaps more stitching in the background would have helped! One last challenge for me, monolithic, then I shall goodbye to this group. I will be sad to go, but I know I'm unable to commit to completing work on schedule at the moment.

And the last subject is...

 Architectural Monoliths!   A 'giant' of a subject.  Wikipedia's definition is:

Monolithic architecture describes buildings which are carved, cast or excavated from a single piece of material, historically from rock. The most basic form of monolithic architecture is a rock-cut building, such as the monolithic churches of Ethiopia built by the Zagwe dynasty, or the Pancha Rathas in India.

I think any building that has a single construction material can be described as monolithic when the end result gives the impression of being constructed out of a single piece of the material - concrete, steel, etc.

For images:  https://tinyurl.com/2e9nawe8 

Don't panic!   It's a really interesting challenge.  Thanks Allison.

Hilary

second bridge quilt using 'bridge as 'connection'.

 

AIR BRIDGE

 No other type of bridge has played such a significant role in my life as the air bridge. I had the good fortune to be born an Australian and with it, the privellege of having a passport that allowed me to travel easily - to visit and, in some cases, live in a wide range of countries. 

Of course, the more I travelled, the more long-distant connections I formed and before I knew it, I was living in another country to family and my closest friends and it wasn't until COVID hit that I realised just how much I had taken for granted that airbridge that had hitherto enabled me to visit my significant people.  

Now, the air bridge can't fully serve its function as a bridge to the traveller without offering you a plane to sit on part-way through the journey! I was going to have a less identifiable airliner but ended up choosing to represent Air New Zealand. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, as NZ was my adopted home for many years, I have probably flown with them more than any other airline. Secondly, during all the stresses of the last 2.5 years with my freedom to travel to and from NZ so severely restricted, Air NZ were just wonderful from when I had my meltdown at Sydney airport when I was told I couldn't fly to NZ, to crediting flights, changing flights, providing great inflight service and so on. And, thirdly, I love their logo - the Koru - not only because of its visual appeal but because it symbolises 'new life, growth, strength and peace' (Wikipedia).

The background fabric is from a piece I bought from the Apple Basket quilt shop in Kaiwaka, north of Auckland. Mum and I had been in there a number of times together and I had shown her this fabric on one of our visits but didn't get it at the time as, well, I was having a rare moment of constraint in a patchwork shop! I bought it after mum died knowing there would be something I could do with it. And, here it is as the perfect backdrop to the air bridge! I can find on that fabric cities and countries that are meaningful to me. (It is just a pity that Europe is not featured.)

The airbridge is flattened-out left-over binding I very conveniently came across. I concertinaed it and - voila - we have an air bridge!

The bridge of friendship

 

I used a metaphorical approach to create the theme of this piece - bridges.

The gesture of shaking hands is often used for making friends and exchanging greetings, so I used "the bridge of friendship" as the source of inspiration for this piece.

The influence of covid now avoids physical contact. The simple handshake has become rare in the past. Therefore, I designed this work as an interactive.

There are two pockets on the back that are not interchangeable. When you put your hand in it, it looks like you are shaking hands with the person next to you.

Very interesting and meaningful piece !

Momo

THE ROLLING BRIDGE

 The rolling bridge was conceived by Thomas Heatherwick.  It consists of eight triangular  sections hinged at the walkway level and connected above by two-part links that can be collapsed towards the deck by hydraulic cylinders mounted vertically between the sections. When extended,  it resembles a conventional steel and timber footbridge and is 12 meters long.  To allow the passage of boats,  the hydraulic pistons are activated and the bridge curls up until its 2 ends join.  The bridge  won the the British Constructional Steelwork Associations  British Structural Steel Design Award.

This bridge was completed in 2004 as part of the Grand Union Canal office and retail development project at Paddington Basin,  London. 

Applique,  paint, stitching form the background.  The rolled up and the fully rolled out images are painted stitch and tear which painted proved to be quite tolerant of the cutting and stitching. The bridge rolled out also proved a problem as I could not get the whole bridge in without minimizing the scale of the bridge. I also would have preferred to have got a 2d effect of the bridge but time was not on my side as I to finish it before I left for the UK.   Other than that I am quite happy with the result.  

Forth into the Future

 Almost straight away I knew which bridge I would use having seen an episode of Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year being set on the banks just below the Forth Railway Bridge.  But...I failed spectacularly in my plan to create something abstract or even impressionistic.  I just don't seem to be able to loosen up.  One day maybe?

I also made a bit of hash of this piece in not thinking the process through thoroughly first.  I should have completed all of the far side of the bridge first, and then added the near side.  It meant a lot of splicing in small pieces!  Lesson leant.

It is a mix of commercial and hand dyed fabrics, Inktense painting, raw-edge applique and machine quilting. Edge satin stitched.  It measures 14.5" x 20"

Hilary

PS  I will reveal Allison's choice of theme soon and also start the ball rolling on what Series 5 will be all about.  H

Le Pont des Templiers

   The oldest bridge in the Ile de France ( the Paris region) is about fifty minutes walk from where we live. We cross over the bridge, and on the other side of the motorway there is a pleasant walk through the woods along  the banks of the river Yvette, then through a little arboretum, which is at the back of some housing, then along the banks of the Rouillon stream. The Templars' Bridge, the last vestige of the Templar Commandery of Balizy founded in 1288, is located in the hamlet of Balizy in Longjumeau. It is the oldest bridge in the Ile de France region, classified as a historical monument in 1930. The bridge has two parts: a main arch that spans the Rouillon, and two smaller arches. All three are Romanesque. At the downstream end of the bridge inderneath the largest arch is the Jerusalem cross, symbol of the Order of the Temple.

   When I first started thinking about this subject, I was considering doing a sketch map of our walk along with a picture of the bridge itself, but I couldn't get it all to fit together, so eventually decided to just show the bridge. At first I was  going to print the image, but it didn't work, so I drew it, coloured it in with markal paintstiks, then quilted it. The stream that runs beneath the bridge is rather small and sluggish, but in my version it seems to have become a stronger flowing river! 

Jacques Cartier Bridge

 As you may or may not know, Montreal is an island in the middle of the St Lawrence river.  Consequently bridges play an important part in the livelihood of the city.  In early days canoes and boats provided crossings as did ice bridges that could be traversed by horse and buggies and even for a few years, a train.  We still have ice bridges - these are opened and maintained and checked regularly for safety for cars in the winter months.  But they don't cross the main river, just smaller parts.

The Jacques Cartier was built in 1930 and is still in use today - carrying over 30 million cars per year.  And it's only one of several bridges and a tunnel.  It is lit up for various celebrations, pride week amongst them and I wanted to capture the idea of light and colour. 

Another activity is a fireworks competition every summer hence the "stars".  

 I look forward to our next challenge and to continuing with the group.

MONET'S BRIDGE

 I was inspired by this piece by Monet who painted 12 different aspects of this bridge during the different seasons of the year, therefore there are many varied pieces of his work.  Yes I have used mosaics yet again to depict the water and water lilies, which in fabric is not the easiest to do, but this was the only way I could possibly achieve any semblance of water.  I did a bit of painting over them but it tended to flatten the overall look, so here we are again using tiny pieces of the various colours.  I also used a lot of paint on the background as the only background fabric I took to the UK on holiday was quite dark, but on my return I used quite a bit of paint to lighten it.  I also quilted the background with a lot of threadwork.  I really enjoyed this subject, so thank you Momo for choosing it for us.

BRIDGE

My choice was to do a suspension bridge using the design the right way up and then upside down.  The wavy blue pattern on each side of the bridge indicates the water flowing under the bridge.  Here is the final piece.

PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF ROSEMARY

Domed rood

I've finally finished my Islamic piece. I initally thought about a lot of the decoration you find on these buildings, but realised that wasn't really fulfilling the brief. I've always tried to work from my own photos whenever possible for all our challenges, so I went back through all my photos from India, initially think of doing something using the outline of the Taj Mahal. Instead of which I found the following photo - the inside of a doom looking directly up.

This appealed to me as I can't resist circular symmetry, and I loved the way the structure formed a pattern. I've fussy cut fabric for the decoration, and used quilting for the lines. I hope this gives a sense of one of the pervading characteristics of Islamic artitecture - light, open spaces.

One of the reaons I was so late on this challenge (apart from the three week road trip to Romania) was that our son got married (actually a civil partnership) last weekend. Here are the happy couple, being photographed by his twin sister, He made/adapted his own outfit, I made Becky's silk waistcost!

Still working

My apologises for still not having posted my piece. I drew the design just before we went away, but three weeks touring in a 50 year old car round Romania (not to mention getting there and back) in a heatwave has knocked the stuffing out of me. My studio is also one of the hottest rooms in the house, so until the UK heatwave diminshes I'm avoiding the room!! I will get my piece done soon(ish) - promise. Linda F

The Islamic Museum of Art

 I was inspired by the Islamic Museum of Art on a man-made island in Doha, Qatar, designed by the 91-year-old I.M. Pei - whose work on the glass pyramid in the Louvre, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Bank of China Building in Hong Kong have long been world-famous. As one of the most successful architects of the 20th century, I.M. Pei says that the Islamic Museum of Art will be his last major cultural building.

I.M. Pei said if we say we have found the core of Islamic architecture, shouldn't it be located in the desert, with a solemn and simple design and sunlight to revive the form?

This is also the main point of my work!

At the beginning, I chose the colors commonly seen in the desert as the background, and the theme was to use different colors of lines to present the simplicity of the building and the changes of light and shadow in a pressed cotton way. However, due to the lack of threads, I couldn't present the feeling I wanted...

After a long time of trouble, I suddenly had an idea and used the color pen on the table to trace the appearance of the building, and found that it worked well!

I was a bit dissatisfied with the result that I couldn't imagine at the beginning, but I still stick to my initial beliefs - simplicity, light and shadow changes.

 

   Momo

Alhambra Doorway

 

   The subject for one of the modules of my ill-fated City and Guilds patchwork was  'floors, walls, windows and doors'.  I have never been to the Alhambra in Grenada, but was fascinated by the architecture of the building, so the next best option was borrowing a book from the library for the drawings of various architectural features of which  this doorway was one.

   One of the exercises that I had to do led to this collage, which I have thought about using for a design, but have never got round to. This challenge was the chance to use it.

    I found some lovely handprinted Indian block print fabrics and used those to to represent the carved details round the doorway, making another mock-up of the design at half size using photocopies of the fabrics, so that I could be sure that the designs fitted. I didn't have large amounts of the fabrics and was worried about making a mistake when fussy cutting them.

   The drawing represents the Court of the Myrtles, but I don't know whether the original doorway leads to it. I used inktense to colour the drawing.

The Call to Prayer

So sorry this is a month late.  You'd think that as I chose the theme, I would have had something in mind...  I didn't but two images kept cropping up in my search - minarets and screens.  I love the sweeping lines of the modern minaret architecture.  I also like the geometric shapes and designs, so decided to combine the two.  I was tempted with the arches that Linda B was attracted by, but choose the Hizdahr Tower.  Actually, I'm not sure it has actually been built but it is a design by Hugh Marentes.

The minaret is white fabric appliqued and painted with Inktense pencils.  The quilting is embroidered on my machine and I am less happy with result.  I had hoped to get radiating circles of light/medium/dark thread colours but the medium is too dark.  Ho hum.  Size: 15.5" x 20".

Now, to get my act together and make a start on 'bridges' - love the theme.

Hilary

Next challenge!!

Finally, it's my turn to announce the topic

I've thought about it for a long time and decided to use "Bridges" as the theme for this project.

A bridge is an important building that connects two places, and also communicates the relationship between people.

This time, we can use the bridge as the main character, either in a straightforward way or in a metaphorical way.

Ps: If the theme is duplicated, please let me know! I will publish a new theme separately.

 DOORWAY-TEASER

  I have finally found a little bit of time to work on my Islamic architecture quilt, though I am not sure when I'm going to be able to finish it. I decided to take a photograph of my mock up and the fabrics. I have been lacking  enthusiasm for the project, but simply taking the photo helped to get me started on colouring the image I am using

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

 I couldn't resist choosing a mosque minaret and then looked at designs which appear on Islamic buildings, inserting these onto the minaret.  I painted it with metallic paint before appliqueing the design pieces on.  It was fun to do.  Here is the piece.

POSTED ON BEHALF OF ROSEMARY

Dachang Muslim Cultural Center

For weeks I've had a fabulous time, having fallen down the rabbit hole that is Islamic pattern. I'd not got as far as a quilt design but playing with the colours and shapes that typically adorn mosque interiors was great fun - but not architecture, so I had to start again!

Fortunately I quickly came across a building that provided several ideas - the Da Chang Muslim Cultural Centre near Beijing:

Unfortunately Blogger isn't giving me access to my photos so I'm going to log out and try again later!

Sheikh Zeyad Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

 I loved this mosque very much. Detail, colour, symmetry - it had it all. I came into the possession of a slow stitching embroidery book as this challenge was set. I decided to try and draw my own pattern of one of the beautiful doors. I worked from my own photo and one I found on a tourism site. I loved doing this. Looking back on my architectural pieces, I realise I have chosen doors and windows a few times. Perhaps because through this time I have known my mother would be going through a door soon and she and I spent a lot of time together looking through the window of life wondering where that door might lead her. Well, my mum will have found the answer to that big question today as she passed away in hospice. I was with her. It was very special. She really loved seeing the results of my participation in this group. My best fan, was my mum.