Monday, July 15, 2013

Nedra's Cell - Honeycomb Garden



The cell that I chose to work with is "a small compartment in a larger structure such as a honeycomb".  This one was perfect for a vintage quilting interpretation of the theme I imagined.  "One of the most popular patterns in North American quilting after 1925 was the Grandmother's Flower Garden" stated quilt historian and scholar Barbara Brackman.  She also reported that "many women who never made another quilt finished a Grandmother's Flower Garden".  I have quilted for about 25 years and I have never made one so I thought I'd use that quilt pattern to interpret this reveal's theme and make my  mini "garden".


Using a fusible backed stabilizer as a hexagonal template and two colors of silk, I made the cells of my honeycomb garden.  I experimented with the placement until I found a pleasing design and then hand-stitched the cells together.  I machine stitched them to a 12 X 12 piece of peltex covered in the ivory silk.  I echo quilted ¼ inch inside each cell and on the bordering background to complete the honeycomb pattern.  A hand embroidered bee was added to finish the piece.  

13 comments:

  1. Great minds, huh, Nedra? I love your beautiful quilt. I love the fact, too, that you have composed an art quilt using an old and greatly-beloved traditional quilt pattern. I do believe that this is the first hand-pieced art quilt we've yet had in our group. The bee is breath-taking!

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  2. This is a beautiful rendition of a hive. The bee's wings are cool!(so is the bee)

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  3. This is stunning! Using silk was perfect as it adds such a nice soft shimmer. Glad that you had the opportunity to try out the vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern. Your bee is fabulous!

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  4. This is absolutely exquisite. I think it is fabulous that you saw the grandmother's flower garden here. I have a pile of these pieces from my grandmother's efforts..large and small and once took a winter workshop on the topic....must be buried someplace. Super to do this on a 12 x 12 so that it gets done...but done so beautifully...

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  5. This is stunning, Nedra and I love the use of all all silk fabrics. I love that you used an old, traditional pattern. It is perfect for your close-up. And, what a spectacular job on the bee! Lovely!!!

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  6. Love the beautiful silk fabric! The grandmother's flower garden certainly was the perfect choice for the honeycomb. Great job.

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  7. Love the quilt and the silk use. I used to have bees. they are an amazing insect. What a great use of a traditional pattern.

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  8. Everyone's previous comments echo my thoughts. I wondered what you used for the bees wings? The simplicity, use of silk and embroidered realistic bee details combine to create an elegant and 'bee-utiful' statement.

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  9. The wings are two layers of an iridescent organza fused together. I machine stitched with black thread to create the segments of the wings(which we learned are cells too). I created the bees and wings separately, stitched the bee with wings attached to the body onto the silk but left the wings unstitched to the background so they are 3-D.

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  10. Beautiful interpretation and work. Everything sparkles - the wings are perfect and I love the way you incorporated traditional quiltmaking and art

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  11. This is really elegant, Nedra! Love your fabrics and design, and the bee is fabulous!!

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  12. Great graphic solution, wonderful colors, and fun as well. Great Job.

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