Forest Vibe

I entered Forest Vibe, in a curated show with the theme Textures of Canada. It wasn't accepted.

Forest Vibe
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The top was created in 2009 when I was still new to quilting. I learned how to discharge with bleach, and came up with a concept for my design. I used a very limited array of fabrics - mainly bleached solids, a shot cotton, a batik, a cotton print - that fit with my idea of light slanting through a forest and filtering to a darker ground. Units were placed on the design wall as they were made and the design developed as I worked. 

Once the top was pieced, I couldn't imagine how to quilt it, so into the closet it went. The top was in and out of the closet several times over the years. It seemed I was permanently stuck.

When the call came for Textures of Canada, I thought, aha! Motivation! 

However, the quandary continued. Ideas were not flowing, so I forced myself to just start. Stitching the ditches seemed harmless enough, so that's where I began.

Stitching in the ditches
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As I stitched, I tried to imagine what was next. I remembered some silk embroidery threads in my stash and thought perhaps I could hand quilt the rest.

I decided to start quilting around the leaves, toning the threads to the background values.

A million stitches in and hardly a dent...
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Pretty threads, insane idea!
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As the deadline started to loom, I realized the quilt was too big to hand quilt in the time I had. Back on the frame it went. The next logical step was to stitch leaf veins. (I used pressed leaves as a reference.)

Stitching leaf veins
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Then I did line work to mimic light rays streaming across the quilt.

Line work
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And then woodgrain in the batik fabric. 

Wood grain
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For every area of the quilt, I made up little "forest logic" rules to follow. Vertical lines in vertical areas to mimic tree trunks, horizontal lines on the ground, diagonal lines for light rays, and so on. Of course, I mixed the leafy directions to keep things interesting.

Leaves could go in whichever direction I wanted.
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Along the way, I decided to add more hand quilting in - what I thought of as - the tree trunks. (Trees can be both standing and fallen in the forest, so - tree trunks. My quilt, my rules!)

Additional hand quilting in the "tree trunks" of my imagination.
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Finally, the quilt was ready to trim!

Ready to trim!
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I'm so pleased with the gorgeous texture of the quilting! The hand-work was worth the extra effort.

Yummy texture!
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Trimmed and ready to face.

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I beat the deadline by 3 whole days!

Facing goes on
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This was horribly difficult to photograph. The colours changed in every light. The photo I submitted  was taken outside in December (minus 21 Celsius), so I didn't dawdle. My hands were freezing in the wind!

Submission photo
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Here's the detail shot I sent. Fastest photo in the north! It's maybe not as focused as it could be, but Brrr!

detail, Forest Vibe
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I did request a critique. It indicated that the "background quilting and hand-stitching are well done", but "the bottom third of the composition is rendered in similar values which detracts from the varied block sizes and patterns..." 

There was more about value being used effectively in the top portion, but "Overall, the artist could consider increasing value changes to increase the eye movement and overall appeal of the quilt in this complementary colour scheme." 

(Complementary? oh, no - did it look orange and blue on their monitor??? It's actually red, purple, brown, rust, pink - all difficult colours to capture.)

I'm taking this in stride. 

There are things about the composition 2025 me would have done differently, but 2009 me - beginner me - took a heck of a good stab at design for a first try! 

It's a concept quilt and it's not perfect, but I love  it. And I love that it is FINISHED! (and it only took 16 years!)

Try, Learn & Grow!

Carole