New Lights Quilt

I finished the big layered quilt I've been blogging about and got the show entry done (hooray).  I'll post final pictures of it after I hear back from the show.  Before I go back to my other big illuminated quilt, I thought I'd do a couple of small projects.

A couple of years ago I made some really small (like 7 x 9) quilts inspired by the light-wrapped  trees we see so many places here during the holidays.  I had some trouble with the foiling and glue and had always wanted to come back to the idea.  When our church's youth program asked me to donate an art quilt to their auction to raise money for the youth pilgrimage, I thought it was the perfect time.  

I worked slightly bigger this time, but used more or less the same approach as before.  The first layer is shiva paintsticks to sketch in the tree (using freezer paper stencils).  Then I screened/stenciled the foiling glue on.  This time I just used regular tacky glue and it worked fine for the screen and foil, although it was quite sticky and two prints was about all I could get out of it.  I did figure that I might as well make at least two of them since I went to all the trouble to cut the screens/stencils again.  The quilts finished at ~12 x 16 but I decided to mount them on fabric-wrapped 14 x 18 canvases.  I think it gives a bit more presence for a small quilt and certainly makes them easier to hang.  I love that the black fabric I chose has some pattern in it, it's almost like some sort of black-on-black brocade weave, so there's some variation in the color of the background.

So fun for a short project.  I'm giving the one with the green tree to the church kids and hope that it finds a new home during the auction and raises a bit of money for their trip.

Lights at Chesapeake #3, 2016 c.Shannon Conley

Lights at Chesapeake #4, 2016, Shannon Conley