My Egyptian Garden Quilt

The right photo is a picture of the quilt I just finished. The hanging sleeve that I put on is working and the top part of the quilt is not falling forward. The method I used to keep it up is working YAY!!!!!!!

The left picture is the pattern of the scarf I am making for a Fiberarts Connection fund raiser scarf challenge to raise money for The Nature Conservancy. The scarves will be sold at Wilsonville Community College in Wilsonville, NC. We have children participating in this one. The scarf is going to be a quick project.

Flower Parts on My Flute Player Quilt

Here are five flowers pots, each with a different plant. Also a close up shot of the mosaic on the back wall. The jars are sitting on the staircase on the right.

Detail Shot 3 - Egyptian Quilt

Here is another detail shot. You can see the basket that is holding figs.

Detail Shot of Fnished Egyptian Quilt - 1

This is a detail shot of the flute player. I think I will name the piece " Garden of the Blue Lotus".
I had a picture of a tomb painting that I kept for years and it was from the inspiration from that photo I made this quilt.

My Egyptian Quilt is Finished

Here is a picture of the finished quilt. I will post some detail shots in another post. The quilt is about 30 inches across. It is a simpler quilt than I usually make but I am pleased with the result. I am thinking of donating this quilt to help raise money for an organization that I want to help.
The next piece I am going to work on is a scarf for Fiberarts Connection fund raising challenge, "Enduring Earth." The money from the sale of the quilt will help The Nature Conservancy .
I haven't decided how I will make the scarf but I want to put animals and plants etc on it. I am also going to make two bags for friends. One a spirit bag for someone who is ill and the other is a book/cell phone bag for another friend.
I have also found a pattern for a shopping bag that folds up to a wallet size.
A friend gave me several boxes of pre-cut fabric that I can use for these projects.
The new projects will be fast and easy and it will give me time to think about the next quilt I want to make.

Egyptian Quilt Progress

I have been working on the quilt and have been able to get a good amount of surface stitching done. I finished the jars holding the plants on the back wall, and stitched them into place. I have also stitched to pool in place but I need to put a edge on it to finish it out. I finished attaching the date palm on the left and I left a little of the fronds loose so it can overlap the border when I sew it on later. I free motion stitched the the flowers that are in pots on the left by the date palm yesterday. I used some plants that I cut out of fabric for the plants that are in pots and placed the cutouts between two layers of solvy and free motioned stitched over the surface to give the plants texture.I was also able to finish the pomegranate tree on the right. I'm going to start working on the blue lotus plants today. I can only sew a little bit of the lotus plants on the machine because they come so far out of the quilt. I will have to do hand stitching on the parts that I can't get under the machine. I was also able to get the stairs attached. While doing the potted plants by the stairs I found out I needed to back the plants with a thick piece of felt so that the plants wouldn't have a hump in the middle when placed in front of the stairs.

Egyptian Quilt Progress

I made sure everything was pinned down on the quilt in the places I need each piece to stay. I set up my ironing board next to my sewing machine and made sure they were the same height.
I put the quilt on a foam core board so that I could move it to my sewing machine.
I leave my quilts on the foam core board so I am able to move the quilt around while stitching little areas I am able to slide off.
On this quilt I will have to do some hand stitching because the appliqué pieces I made are sticking out of the quilt by about 3 to 4 inches. So it will be impossible for me to sew them on the machine.
This is the stage of making the quilt that takes slow steady stitching. It isn't as complicated as some of my quilts have been but there is still a great deal of stitching to do.
I made the appliqués so they show the life cycle of the Blue Lotus.
It is a very interesting plant with an ancient history.

Another Day in My Egyptian Garden

Here is a picture of some pretty green striped fabric that I think I will use for the border. I will cut a bias strip and put it on the quilt edge to see how it looks.
I made the other seed pod and sepals for the lotuses today and after sewing them I pinned them to the quilt. I also moved the vines. The vines will be thinner once they are stitched in place.
One of the next things I will add is water reeds to the pond. I cut a couple today to see how they look and to make sure the size is right. I also decided to resize the pond and move it. Decisions, decisions . . .

Blue Lotus Seed Pods and Other Parts in Place

I have started arranging and pinning all the elements I made for the quilt. I was also able to finish the blue lotus seed pods yesterday and get them pinned to the quilt.

Making Lotus Leaves

I am making the leaves for the Blue Lotus today. After dyeing my fabric and heat setting the dye I drew my design for the leaves on tracing paper so I could move it across the surface of the fabric to choose the color I wanted for each leaf. After sewing my leaves together I free motioned stitched the surface of each leaf. Now I will add them to the quilt sewing only on the vein lines to give the leaf dimension.

My Hand-dyed Lotus Leaf Fabric, Pattern and Vines

Here are photos of my hand-dyed fabric for the lotus leaves, the patterns I made for the leaves, and a picture of the stems I made for the flowers and a couple of pictures of lotus pods.I sketched.
Next I want to make blue lotus pods to go on the quilt. I have been working on the design and construction technique today. It will take a few days to figure out how I want to make the pod. I am aiming for a 3-d look with these flowers.

Painting Stamens of Lotus Flowers

Here I am painting the stamens for the center of the flowers. As you can see, it is quite tedious  to get everything just right.

Blue Lotuses Looking Good

Here are the finished flowers, buds, and flowers pods that I made to use on the quilt. I will appliqué them on to the surface of the quilt.

Rain Goes Well With Blue Lotuses

It has been raining and cold for the past few days so I have been able to get a few pieces made to go on my quilt. Here is a picture of one of the finished flowers. I made the stamens in the center using a punch needle, variegated thread and a water color pencil. I made the fabric for the flower, then appli-bonded the fabric to make the petals.

What Would We Do Without Tools?

This is the tool I will use to put the yarn in the fabric tubes. Can you imagine trying to do this job without the tool?  I don't think so!

Blue Lotuses Fabric

This is the fabric for the lotuses I made using Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paint. I will cut petal from this fabric and appli- bond it.

Silk Flowers to Use for Lotus Patterns?

I had some silk flower petals on hand that I thought would make nice patterns for the lotus I want to make. I like the shape but the color is not what I want so I decided to hand-dye some fabrics for the lotuses. I am going to use Pebeo Setacolor fabric paint to do my hand-dyeing. I find it works so well and the color is very vibrant.

My Pomegranate Tree and Other Details in the Egyptian Garden

The vines have been pinned in place behind the flute player. I moved the pomegranate tree and I will put the pond in front of the tree. I wanted to be able to see the stairs behind the tree. I think the next thing I will do is to start stitching the surface elements in place. Everything will be stitched in sequence layer by layer which will take a few days. I will also need to attach the pool to the quilt. I decided I will put the pool further back in the scene. Once that is done the final shading on the background can be finished.After that step is completed I can start adding the plants in the front and do some surface embroidery.

Creating the Border for the Egyptian Garden Pool

I have been working on the pool area today. I had to have a friend show me how to draw the edge so that it looked right. I cut four strips and painted them to go on the edge of the pond. I then put them around the pond to see if the length was right and also to see if I like the color. I am going to reinforce the strips with fusible web so that when they are placed on the quilt I will be able to sew them on without them unraveling.

My Egyptian Garden Quilt Update

I have added the mid-ground elements to this quilt to see how they look on the quilt top. I have the elements pinned in place (no stitching) so that I can decide if I want to move any thing or if I want to add anything. I let the quilt sit for a couple of days and think about the changes or additions I want to make. I make notes after asking myself how I want to proceed and what I need to make to go in the foreground.
Some examples of changes and additions I want to make are:1. move the pond, 2.,move the pomegranate tree 3. make some simulated stones for the edge of the pond, 4. make some reeds for the pond, 5. make stems for the plants, 6. make arm bands for the flute player, 7. messy cut more greenery for the flowers, 8. make thread painted 3-d leaves for the foreground of the quilt, 9. make vines for the daisies, 10. make dates to go in one of the baskets.
I also need to paint shadows on the bricks. The sun will be coming from the back forward. Another reason I place the elements the way I do right now is to help me decide where I want to paint in the shadows.
This is a step in the quiltmaking process where you need to take your time and make sure  everything is where you want it. After everything is placed where you feel it looks the best pin everything down and leave it for a few days to see if your vision of the piece changes.
Oh yes, one thing I forgot to mention is that I used a stencil tool to remove the net around the branches of the date palm tree.