See The Forest from the Trees

Do you have a piece of hand dyed fabric that's shot with wonderful color and you're not sure what to do with it?  Well, I took inspiration from Design Matters TV and cut a yard of hand dyed fabric that I've been cherishing for some time now into 1 1/2" x 4 1/2" strips. I then sorted the pile of strips into groups of like colors, four strips per group. Each group was machined stitched together to create a 4 1/2" block. 

Once all the blocks were made, they were sewn together using the traditional rail fence pattern but... not in the traditional color scheme.  I placed the lights together, ran the mediums and the darks through the design to create a look of reflections on water. I then quilted expanding circles throughout  the wall hanging. 

When that was done I thought it looked a little flat and needed something, so as is my custom I left it on the design wall for a few days and just looked at it.  Then it dawned on me, perhaps I could stitch in some metallic thread, I tried it, but it did not work.  I then tried Shiva Iridescent Paintsticks, darking the darks and highlighting the lights.  It was too subtle.  It needed sparkle, so dusting the quilt with 007 Bonding Agent, I foiled the quilt.  I did not want the sparkle to stand out, I wanted subtle flecks of light dancing through the quilt. The foil did the job.

Although this piece started out as reflections on water, when all was said and done, I called this wall hanging, See The Forest From the Trees.  The piece is reminiscent of the deep forest with the light filtering through the leaves, reflecting off tree trunks and pooling on the forest floor.  Enjoy.