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. 

Islamic Prayer Niche

While searching through everything I could find on Islamic Architecture I was captured by the beautiful prayer niches that form part of the inner mosques.  There were outstanding examples of this subject and was overwhelmed by the varied and intricate designs of all of them.  I then decided to make a design of my own which does not even come close to the workmanship of these pieces.

Having designed and made 9 banners for two local churches in my area I was fortunate to have all the right fabrics I could use - lots of gold and cording.  Looks very simple, but it took me quite a long time to actually get my design right. At first I used a stencil, which I placed on fabric and used oil paint sticks through the stencil design, but after putting this on my piece it just didn't work, so off that came, and I virtually had to start over.  In the end I used the blue and gold fabric which fortunately I had in my stash and which worked for me. The gold cord had to be glued on and then sewn over with metallic thread once the glue had dried, and I used metallic thread to quilt the central plain blue to mirror the floral at the top of my piece.

THE WHITE ROSE MOSQUE OF TIRANA

 I have taken my inspiration from a mosque that is only in draft form and it has been designed by architects who have a blog called arcfly.blogspot.com.  

Their intro starts.....Tirana needs a new mosque, not only for the Muslim Community and not only to meet the needs of a growing number of Muslim citizens who are served today by a modest network of mosques.

The background is made up of a wonderful piece of fabric made by Heide Stoll-webe and grey fabric. The mosque is machine applique. The piece is then enhanced with paints and free motion quilting.

My mosaic inlaid lizard（Gaudi work）

 Sorry for taking so long to publish my Gaudi work

There were too many external factors that delayed the completion of the piece.

I am glad that I finally have overcome those difficulties.

I present to you  - “My mosaic inlaid lizard “

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This time, the lack of fabric and tools due to the move made it impossible for me to sew as I usually do. 

So, I tried a different approach 

                  -   Quilt   +   Macrame !

Inspired by Parc Güell's mosaic lizard fountain, I used collage to make the main character, the mosaic inlaid lizard, and then quilt with black lines to increase the three-dimensionality and inlaid style of the lizard.

The background uses macrame style, weaving out branches and leaves. 

(The cotton thread I bought was too white, so I dyed it with coffee first, but it was my first time trying to dye it with coffee, so I didn't get the feeling I wanted!)

I hope you will like this different  piece and give me more suggestions.

Ps: My Islamic architecture work will be delayed! Because I broke my only sewing machine during the testing phase...

I can't make my quilt until the machine is repaired. I'm so sorry!

Sorry

It looks like I'm going to be late with this challenge - sorry!! Its been a hectic couple of months, which has included Covid, a trip to Berlin to see our youngest daughter, a trip, after 2-1/2 years, to our house in France, a much delayed 30th birthday party for our twins (theyre now 32) and some frentic gardening. My plan was to do the design work while in France, gather the materials together in the following week, then hand sew it while on a canal boat holiday. We are now on our way to Wales and the canal, with no design and no materials. We are due back on the 28th, so unless i can pull the rabbit out of the hat on our return I'm going to be late.

Gaudi Mosaics

 Sorry for the delay.  I couldn't get on to post on this blog.  It kept putting me on my old personal one.

When I saw the architect I was quite excited.  But somehow really had trouble coming up with a plan - inspiration failed me.  Until the last minute!!  I love the mosaics and the colour, and I liked some of the window frames such as those in the Casa Batlló.  And I liked that he didn't do straight lines.  

Sorry! I need more time~

wow! Everyone’s quilt  was so creative and did so well. I am sorry to inform you that I am tired to death since I moved to Tianjin with my husband at the end of February this year.

I need more time to finish this project! I'm so sorry!🙏

                                                                 By MoMo

Gaudi

You might not be surprised to find that I find Gaudi's rambling, evolution of design not to my taste.  I needed to regularise this somehow.

I started by looking for recurring motifs amongst the many photos available on the web but having found them, wasn't sure what to do with them. The one photo I kept coming back to was one of the benches at Parc Guell. This is the only CC image I can find to share, the one I was drawn to was taken end on, showing the rise and fall of the seat tops.

I used the seat tops shown in that photo to frame my collection of patterns:

Gaudi?

I too went to Bracelona for the Quilt Expo, many years ago, and absolutely loved the Guell Park, so that was the obvious place to look for inspiration. I went through all my photos (and that took some time), rejecting the obvious candidates as I was determined, this time, to not just do a photo realistic copy of one of my pictures. Two photos stood out.

Later I realised that the first photo might not actually be designed by Gaudi as there was at least one house on the site before he started work. Hence the question mark in the title. I then turned to my favourite computer tool, Illustrator, to help me generate a spiral that I could use as a starting point. Whilst playing in the program, and with the help of Youtube videos, I found a shape I loved and started work.

The piece is 16 inches square, and some of the mosaic pieces ended rather smaller than I had expected. I initially outlined the main shape using a twin needle, but the line ended up too uneven and I wasn't happy with it. I couched gold thread over the edge, which improved the look of it, even if I worried I was veering too much towards Klimt rather than Gaudi. It also caused the entire piece to puff up, so my quilting in the plain spaces had to be denser than origianlly planned. It would also benefit from being blocked, but despite my smugness at starting early, I only managed to finish the piece late last night. Overall I'm pleased with it, and my husband likes it too which is always reassuring.

Casa Batllo - inside out

 It took some time to settle on what to do. I wanted to use photos I had taken of Gaudi's palace in Astorga - worth a look if you haven't seen it - but couldn't find my muse there. In the end, I settled for this wonderful image looking out from inside Casa Batllo. There was so much going on. (From Skip The Line website)

It really stretched my skills but mostly my patience - especially with the circles for the windows.

I stitched the outside view and overlaid it with sheer fabric as windows.

I got ahead of myself and put it together before colouring the background! I am trying to remedy that but have had to abandon finishing touches which I was due to do yesterday as, instead, I spent the day in NZ ED with mum watching her health decline as the flood waters rose towards my home in Lismore, Australia. Fortunately, the trajectory of both has been halted and my house is saved but the situation of friends, family and neighbours is just too distressing to comprehend. Anyway, I will titivate it a little when the time comes. So, here we have it. Oh, can't photograph the colour quite right. 

Casa Mila Gate

 

                             

 

 

 

                 

 

I chose Antoni Gaudi’s massive Iron Gate in the Casa Mila (La Pedrera). The gate gave access to the interior of the building and was originally used by both people and cars, as access to the garage in the basement. This is now an Auditorium.

The first two pictures show me cutting and peeping through the Draughting Vellum.

On my piece, cords were sewn on, to give texture to the gate (the wrought iron); the pillars on either side, have course net laid over them, to depict concrete.  The view through the gate was firstly done with fabric paint, which did not work. Then I tried Oil Pastels, but still not bright enough, so fabric snippets and lace were sewn into the gaps of the gate to create a brighter background. I wanted a frame around the piece and used a brown fabric.

I hope I have done justice to Gaudi’s amazing genius!

 

Allison