Infinite Hope

Infinite Hope - a mini quilt and my entry to the Great British Quilter, Hope Mini Quilt Challenge.   

I began with a nine patch hand pieced base.

On the center patch I embroidered a Martin Luther King Jr quote.

The central square is white surrounded by dark squares and this is a metaphor for light at the end of the tunnel signifying hope.

A spiral composed of appliqued circles, Buttonhole wheels and French knots.

The spiral is a metaphor for growth and therefore hope.

Ready to start quilting.

I decided to quilt the mini quilt the same way kantha quilts are quilted - an all over running stitch which creates these soft rippling texture.

For the binding I decided to use white.

Another metaphor for Hope - Every cloud has a silver lining.

Infinite Hope quilted and ready to be bound.

Like the rest of the quilt, I was going to hand sew it. 

This was a first for me but I managed to do it thanks to YouTube videos this one by Missouri Star and this one without which it would not have been possible. The binding is not perfect but it's not bad for a first attempt. Encouraged to try again when I make the next quilt which is going to be a crazy quilt.

Traditional Indian quilts don't have a binding.

We must accept finite disappointment, 

but never lose Infinite hope.

 

12" × 12", entirely hand stitched, hand embroidered, hand quilted and hand bound.

We are in lockdown so all the materials used are from my stash. All the fabrics are upcycled. The batting and backing are old bedsheets. Similar to traditional kanthas which use layers of cotton saris. 

Waiting to hear from the Great British Quilter.

The Cocoon

The Cocoon will emerge from a torn bedsheet. A cotton sheet made soft and with use and washing for more than a decade.

The idea to repurpose the sheet as a kimonoish robe came from Spirit Cloth - Jude Hill's blog as well as the Instagram account @ragmates2020 where like minded people are showcasing their work.

I'm no dressmaker so the kimonoish robe is the result of research on Pinterest.

The king size sheet allowed me to get the kimono as a single piece garment.

I couldn't wait to attach a couple of patches.

A rust dyed patch was the first addition. I attached it to the base fabric with my interpretation of sashiko. The second patch was from an experiment with bleach. I did blanket stitch around the bleached out splotches.

There is no plan as far as placement of patches, it's just whatever strikes me at the moment. So while planning the next patches I decided the sleeves ought to be symmetrical. The rest of the robe will be asymmetrical. That's the plan at the moment.

Started attaching other bits of fabric. The patches overlap and I do running stitch, almost like darning through the patches and the base fabric.

This project of The Cocoon really ties in well with my effort to adopt more sustainable living practises. To reduce the consumption of resources, and see the potential of reusing and recycling things and materials which I already possess.

I'll be looking at Kantha, Japanese boro and Sashiko for inspiration. I want to embellish the Cocoon with things in my environment -  the flora and fauna. I hope I can capture the balance and harmony of the natural world which surrounds me and constantly inspires and leaves we wondering and delighted.