A new art quilt, sketching, and Kanazawa

Here are a few pictures of beautiful Kanazawa, almost a year ago...

I finally decided to try and make a new art quilt. Here are two photos I took during the quilting process. The other pictures in the mosaic are from my sketchbooks, and also from a few days at the seaside.

And here's my new quilt almost quilted. Next, I must finish the edges, and also add some embellishments.

I dyed some of the fabric myself. For the largest piece of indigo fabric, I used an old sheet I found at my parents' house. There are even a few holes in it, and I'm very tempted to leave them like that. Or maybe, I could add some stitching to emphasize them.
I also used a few pieces of indigo fabric I bought in Kanazawa last year, at Ai Life Studio, and then a piece of antique Japanese fabric bought a long time ago in Kyoto, at Gallery Kei.

Sketching and Japan

Here are a few more pictures taken in Japan last autumn...

I'm spending most of my free time sketching these days. I took a class at Sketchbook Skool recently. It was all about drawing people and it was a lot of fun.

I still sew from time to time. Last month, I made a fabric book for my little grandson, but it looks like I forgot to take a picture of it completed...

My quilting mojo isn't back yet, but I've pinned this on the design wall...

Who knows? Maybe I'll start making art quilts in a while.
In the meantime, I'll be sketching, and also sorting my stuff and my pictures.
Next task is to choose some photos of beautiful Kanazawa.

Housekeeping, drawing, quilts, and Japan

I've been doing some much needed housekeeping in the studio, and also in my photo files.
So, here's a mosaic of a few pictures...

Some of my textile UFOs,
my latest baby quilt, in situ,
a few pictures taken in Kyoto last year,
and a sketch I did of a ridiculously crowded street in Arashiyama.
More pictures soon...

It's winter!

We had at last a little snow, yesterday and today.

No sunshine unfortunately, and as it is already melting, I quickly went out for a walk and took a few pictures.

Btw, autumn in Japan was really beautiful!
It was the only season I had not seen there yet, and it could well be my favorite.
Here's a little mosaic...

And in other news, I am binding the piece I finished quilting in May...
Better late than never!

Bonne Année!

May

A little late, my mosaic for May...

Some very nice weather, lots of sketching, and a drawing marathon at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
I started with the dinos, but as I always had a thing for monkeys, I got a bit carried away with the gorillas...
I definitely have to go back one day to sketch more dinosaures.

April

At last, a mosaic for April...
A little trip to the seaside, lots of sketching, a visit to Brussels (with very dark and very bright skies on the same day).
And I'm done with quilting the indigo-turquoise-orange quilt. Still need to finish the edges though.

Incertitude 5 and 6

Here are "Incertitude 5" and "Incertitude 6"...

"Incertitude 5" is 47cm by 47cm, and "Incertitude 6" is 17cm by 47cm.
I will update my gallery very soon.

The next top is almost ready for quilting...

I see it as a transition to another series for which I plan to use my indigo fabrics.

March

A little snow... then some sunshine and even springtime temperatures for a couple of days...
Today, it is cold again and windy, and we even got a few snowflakes this morning...

I think I'm done with my series "Incertitude".
Here are numbers 2 to 6...

I'll take a better picture as soon as we get some sunshine.

As I still have got a lot of these printed faces, and I'm not yet completely tired of them, I'm going to try and work a little more with them.
But I definitely need a change in colour scheme, and I also want to use the indigo fabrics I dyed before the winter.
Here's how my design board looks at the moment...

February

The sun came out today. So maybe it is time to take the blog (and myself) out of hibernation.
I spent most of my free time this winter sketching, still having fun with the selfies and other exercises.
I'm also studying  Japanese again.

Last week, I finished another little quilt in the "Incertitude" series.
And this is how my design wall looks today...

The plan is to make a fifth quilt using the printed face on the right.

I had the next mosaic ready some time ago, but apparently, I forgot to post it...

... and the next picture too...

Happy New Year!

Brussels and Brugge

Last week, I was a tourist in my own country, thanks to a friend visiting from abroad...

One day in Brussels and the next one in Brugge...

We were so lucky with the weather...

And now, back to my design wall...

Blue

The weather last weekend was absolutely beautiful and I decided on a whim to try and prepare an indigo vat. First time I did this, but it worked really great.
I dyed cotton thread and fabric. I had tied some of the fabric pieces shibori-style. No stitching as I did not have much time to prepare the fabric. Just folding, crumpling, clamping and so on.

Next are my new blue fabrics and threads.

The vat still looks good a few days after using it. We'll see if I can have one more dyeing session before the weather turns too cold.

More pictures of the show

The weather was a bit better yesterday for the final day of the quilt show. Not sunny, but mostly dry...

The 2016 challenge of the European Quilt Association was also exhibited at the show. The theme was "Greetings from..."

Next are two pictures of my group's exhibit...

The quilts that are not mine are by Yvette Winand and Martine Chapuis.

It looks like it's now mushroom season in my garden. This morning, I spotted dozens of them in the grass. Here's a very colorful one...

Quilt Exhibition in Enghien

The quilts of my group are hanging at the exhibition of the Belgium Patchwork Association in Enghien (Edingen) until Sunday.
Here's a little mosaïc of my ten quilts, plus some gorgeous trees in the park...

"Kabuki 1" and "Kabuki 2"...

"Tunisie 1" and "Tunisie 2"...

"Incertitude" and "Eclaircie"...

And a picture of the beautiful Parc d'Enghien...

This photo was taken 3 years ago when the Twelve by Twelve quilts were exhibited in the Château...
Yesterday, when I visited the show, the weather was just too miserable!

September

I spent two days at the European Patchwork Meeting in Alsace. I really enjoyed the exhibits, but bought almost nothing, just two small books and some dyes, and I saw again a few copies of the first Twelve by Twelve book in a bookstore.

Back home, only two more hanging sleeves to sew...

The weather has been rather nice these last few days...