Sometimes good can come out of a horrible event. That’s what has occurred as a result of the brutal killings of three lovely, innocent teens in Israel. The Jewish population was galvanized to find the boys and once the truth was known — that they had been senselessly murdered — the country mourned together. As a result of their deaths, Israel retaliated, only to discover the dangers in Gaza that awaited us. I never think things happen just by chance.
I have been thinking about what I do lately. Every now and then you are supposed to rethink your vision and mission statement to see if they are still on the mark. I always come back to the same thing. I want to make unique quilt art that adds to the beauty around us and I want the subject of my work to be the amazing landscape of Israel.
Dividing the Red Sea
This Passover matzoh cover was inspired by a returning customer looking for a special addition to her Passover table. She asked me to make a cover presenting the dividing of the Red Sea.
I played with blue fabrics to evoke water. I used cheesecloth and loads of thread paint to make the water frothy. I threw in some Angelina fibers for fun and sparkle. I hand sewed small figures of fabric who crossed the revealed water bed. I think it came out well. My Red Sea parted.
The cover has 3 pockets for the 3 matzot. It is quilted and made of fine cotton fabrics and cotton flannel batting to give it a nice drape.
Dimensions:
14″ x 15″ / 36 cm x 38 cm
Hand washable only. Delicate.
Pockets for the matzoh
Israelites are fleeing
Available for purchase via my Etsy shop.
I was recently approached to take one of my art quilt wall hanging designs, In the Forest, and enlarge it to 52″ x 43″. The buyer debated the size for a long time and ultimately, many emails later, decided she wanted the design to be double the size of the original. That’s not so hard, right? Wrong. The design has a 3-dimensional quality, which I needed to maintain while doubling the size. The challenge was that now she wanted the quilt to be longer than it is wide, exactly the opposite of the original orientation.
0 In Contests & Exhibits/ Israel / Holyland/ Landscapes/ Quilting Guilds
“100 Years of Kibbutz” Quilt exhibit in Israel
The Israel Quilters Association recently held a quilt exhibit featuring the theme “100 Years of Kibbutz”. Each quilt had to be 1.3 m x .9m (51″ x 35″) and had to touch on some aspect of kibbutz life. The quilts were judged and there were several winners. Although not all the submissions were shown, 56 quilts were shown for the month of May at Beit Gavriel, a lovely hall on the south shore of the Kinneret.
Kibbutz Shluhot and Mt. Gilboa
I submitted a quilt for this exhibit and my work was exhibited. I based the quilt on a view of the fields of Kibbutz Shluhot, showing Mt. Gilboa in the background in Emek Beit Shean. I think the view from Kibbutz Shluhot is beautiful and it reminded me of almost 30 years ago when I volunteered on the carrot factory on Kibbutz Shluhot and lived on Kibbutz Maaleh Gilboa. I tried to convey the quiet and serenity of the scene in my quilt.The quilt has a three-dimensional quality, that makes you feel you are entering the scene.
A journalist visited the exhibit and did a short video about some of the quilts that were exhibited and won prizes. The video also discusses the Israel Quilters Association. It’s very nicely done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWghctfSqig&feature=share
The exhibit may be shown again in another locality in Israel. I will keep you posted!
There is a path in the town where I live in Beit Shemesh, Israel that runs quite a long way. This time of year it is very pretty with lots of blooming, particularly almond blossoms. I was inspired while strolling there and decided to work something up with that path in mind. This is still a work in progress, but it’s a nice beginning, I think.
I am thinking about how to best quilt it: maybe cobblestones? maybe ridges? I’m not sure. Also I’ve asked my friend Phyllis Cullen what she thinks about the shadows on the path. In a class I took with Phyllis last year, I remember she said the bottom of the path should be darker than the top so the path doesn’t appear to stand up.
More to come! Meanwhile, what do you think?
Scenes from the Holy Land: Sea of Galilee is my rendition of the shores of lake Kinneret, located in the Galilee in Northern Israel. The Sea of Galilee is our main source of water and due to a severe drought water levels have been a great concern over the past few years.
This is the first of a series of Kinneret quilts I am planning. I think this part of the country is beautiful and I have tried to convey this in my quilt. I hope you too can appreciate the countryside by peering into the waters of my work. I used numerous fabrics to depict the rocks and mountains.
Dimensions: 19″w x 15″h / 48cm x 38.5cm
Available at my Etsy shop. Visit soon!
0 In Israel / Holyland/ Quilting Guilds/ Quilting Techniques
Etsy Quiltsy team: Traveling quilt blocks
The Quiltsy Team on Etsy has organized a round robin quilt. This time the blocks come from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, Israel and many parts of the US. The pattern is log cabin and the color range is blues, greens and purples. Each time someone posts a block, she sends a photo with the block within a scene indigenous to her home. All the posts appear in the Quiltsy Blog.I took a photo of my block on a windy day while standing in front of the ancient wall at Tel Tzora, Israel, famous for Samson and Delilah, which is just a few minutes from our house.
Wikipedia writes: “Samson is believed to have been buried in Tel Tzora in Israel overlooking the Sorek valley. There reside two large gravestones of Samson and his father Manoah. Nearby stands Manoah’s altar (Judges 13:19-24). It is located between the cities of Tzorah and Eshtaol.”
I am going to enter into a contest. I need to make a 12″ x 12″ quilt of a pet or animal in the wild.
I thought I narrowed it down, but I just don’t know. I am now adding a duck and a crab to the list. The crab is amazing! Maybe that’s the one? I already had a bird, a turtle and a cat in a bowl.
So far I have heard from two people. They say the cat and the bird are good choices. Thanks for responding, Amy and Lynn!
What do you think??? It should be endearing and catch the eye. And, I should still be able to create it in fabric. More comments, anyone?
I visited Northern Israel over Sukkot and was inspired by scenes around the Jordan River. The view was breathtaking. I decided to create one of the scenes in fabric. It’s an impressionistic rendering, but I think you will agree you can wade through the water to the edge of the trees. I used cotton fabric to create this quilt art. The batting is cotton as well. If you are interested in purchasing it, contact me here or via my Etsy shop, where you will see other pieces of mine that are also up for sale.
Here is a photo of “By the Lake”.
Enjoy!
