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!