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| Detail of the print is thankfully not obliterated by my intense quilting |
I purchased a Moda Debbie Maddy Shibori print “Shimo” layer cake in Hornsby when Hobbysew had a store there. (Sadly, both the Hornsby and Erina stores have now closed.) That Layer Cake sat waiting on my inspired thoughts for ages...
I had a specific friend in mind though(for her love of blue and whites of all persuasions), and as this fabric set reminded me of stars in a dark night sky, I recalled a challenge given to me many years ago. My challenge was to make an artwork based on the Andre Breton’s 1939 poem, The House of Yves Tanguy. Both Breton, a writer and artist, and Tanguy, an artist, belonged to the Surrealist movement at the time. Inspired by lines such as “And the printed cloth of the sky” and “With the damned host of stars” I set about looking for a star pattern that would create a feeling of swirling night skies, just bursting with stars.
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| Slowly Toward the North. Tanguy 1942. Seen at MoMA in 2011, although there were no stars to see in this painting!! |
Eventually, I narrowed my pattern choice down to Misty Doan’s Woven Jacobs Ladder. Yes, I know it’s not a star block but I could see endless stars in those amazing shibori prints! The Jacobs Ladder design then became a supporting canopy of darkness for them. This pattern is easy to cut and the blocks went together easily. Apart from a slight error in placing them on my part (nobody notices anyway), I quickly produced a top.
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| Outside photos using Miss WJ3 as a prop |
I had fun putting the backing together, adding a strip of Jocelyn Proust’s Australian birds to the mix. I finished off with a simple quilting design that I machined on my domestic Bernina. I have to say that I just loved the modern vibe of the pattern and I’m sure it fits in with our sailing friends’ blue & white theme in their beautiful Urbanna, VA home, which sits in wooded grounds beside the picturesque Rappahannock River.
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| Under the machine in my Garden Shed |
Quilt Finished Size: 153 x 182cm
Block Sizes: 12 inch finished
Cut in: 27 November 2023 (Made a trial block for the first time ever!!)
Pieced Top: 18 December 2023
Basted: 29 December 2023
Quilted: Machine 16-21 Jan 2024 over 6 days; 2 reels Gutermann Sulky 30wt 4023 (Natural Taupe) using 18 bobbins (Gutermann 50wt 618).
Quilt Type: Modern
Quilt Finished: 31 January 2024
Exhibited: No
Collection: Gifted Heather & Bill on 5th March 2025
Pattern Name: Woven Jacobs Ladder
Pattern Source: Missouri Star Tutorial (Misty’s Version) 2023
Fabrics Purchased: Hobbysew, Hornsby NSW
Fabric Design: Moda, Debbie Maddy, Shimo Layer Cake
Fabric Style: Shibori Prints
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton (Warm & White, needled cotton)
Backing: Pieced; 5 fabrics, including Australian birds by Jocelyn Proust
Shibori is a Japanese technique of resist dyeing, traditionally using a bath of indigo. By finding different ways to manipulate cloth, various patterns are revealed after dyeing. Handled by master dyers, spectacular patterns can be produced. It is also a fun way to occupy children in the holidays although probably best to set up outdoors. Rit or Procion dyes make colourful t-shirts or bags. Just make sure dyes are set before you wash them in your ordinary laundry!!
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| Our neighbour came by to offer his opinion of my handiwork too! He'd found free accommodation on the yacht next door |
