On a crystal clear September evening, my husband and I were
sitting at our favorite perch on our front deck, overlooking the peace and
beauty of Refuge Cove. It had been a stunning day, clear and sunny, and the
twilight hours were just as lovely. The sky had a particular brightness against
the horizon and the simple silhouette of the trees added to the scene. I looked
up to the night sky and noticed the Big Dipper located perfectly in the notch
created by the trees. It was a quilt journal moment! (The theme I was pairing it with in mind was "All That Sparkles".)
I knew that my black dye would leave a cast of color as it climbed
up a piece of fabric, so I set to doing that. I half-filled a cylinder with
black dye and soda ash, then set a loosely rolled piece of fabric into it and
watched the color climb up and eventually leave a margin of light turquoise.
From there it was working with blacks: creating the horizon, using “Steam a
Seam Light” as a fusible for the trees, adding the binding. A wiggly, feathery
stitch along the branches added texture to the trees. For the stars, I
disassembled an old, never-worn piece of jewelry which happened to have the
perfect blue crystal beads.
I love the stark simplicity of this piece. It will forever
remind me of the many lovely nights, sitting on the deck with Tom, appreciating
life.
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