Challenging Colours & Fabrics

Indian Sari Series #1: 2010  (Started: 2004)
Garden in the Amber Fort

On display at the Australia Day Exhibition 2011

I wanted a simple block to highlight several ikat handloomed fabrics I had discovered in Nehru Place.  And feature those bold colours so loved in India!  I found an interesting design for a background in a bamboo sampler design that I adapted.  It was interesting because the plaid increased incrementally over the length of the quilt.  This seemed a great place to make a start.  I also deliberately chose an asymmetrical design – I guess that’s the Japanese influence coming out too. 

Preparing my fabrics wasn’t easy as I only had a bucket in my shower to wash them.  Here I learned about renegade dyes…. And then later about fussy cutting! The quilt went together quite easily and as always the ever-reliable Hopkins & Martin ensured my rotatory cutting was less wasteful and more accurate.  The main feature for this whole “set” of quilts however, was always going to be that fab ikat fabric.  Don't even ask about the choice of yellow - it just seemed to work...

Close-up of fabrics, quilting & those prairie points

With a few bulges...line dried

Finally I used a sarong I’d purchased in Kathmandu as backing.  The colour red has special significance especially to married women in India & Nepal.  The whole thing was machined and I managed to eventually locate some wadding to baste it together. (Wadding is not something needed in Delhi’s warm climate, although there are traditional quiltmakers – just not quilts similar to the ones we were making.)

For those interested (& as it’s quite fashionable at the moment) ikat is a resist “tie & dye” process where threads are dyed in a specific pattern before being woven to complete the design.  Here’s a few descriptions of the ikat process to follow up on:

Here's a simple description of ikat or a more complex one with lots of detail to follow up on.

 

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 119 x 140cm
Block Sizes: various
Cut in: 27^th Jun 2004
Pieced & Basted: Machine Pieced 2004; Basted 2005
Quilted: Machine & Hand 2010
Quilt Type: Own Design
Quilt Finished: 2010
Exhibited: Australia Day, 2011
Collection: Home# 042
Pattern Name: Various
Pattern Source: Own Design
Fabrics Purchased: India 2004
Fabric Design: Ikats
Fabric Style: Handwoven Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Cotton Batt
Backing: Cotton Sarong