Last year I added textiles to my art practice. I started by printing cyanotypes on fabric I had in the studio. From there I moved on to learning about natural dyes and shibori folding methods. Then I started slow stitching as a form of meditation. Throughout this journey I have used as much recycled and personal vintage textiles as possible. The two threads of mindful, slow hand sewing and repurposing textiles is both soul and environmentally friendly.
And so, naturally I came to make my first quilt, “Sorbet”. I have made a few other textile art pieces for the wall that look quilted, but technically a quilt must be a “sandwich” - top, back and middle. My other pieces don’t contain batting so technically are not quilts.
“Sorbet” is made entirely from 100% cotton fabric I have had for many years. Most I dyed with natural dyes such as logwood, osage and madder. The black linen fabric is from some old pants. The quilt was machine pieced and hand quilted. Dimensions are 30” x 29”.
Sewing and quilting are new to me. I am self taught in this arena. I’m happy with how this first quilt turned out and looking forward to building my skills.