Okay, I'm a homebody. I'm a stay-at-home mom. I homeschool. I'm a housewife. I spend most of my time at home. So I spend my time looking out the windows--admiring the awesome mountains, appreciating the beautiful flowers, or just day dreaming about adventure. So naturally when I think of windows I get a little lost in my thoughts. For this quilt, I wanted to capture the chaos and craziness of my house full of kids and the quiet, peaceful place I can go when I'm gazing out the window. For the background I used dyed wool felt. I then added colorful ribbons. The window frame is made from fabric paper and the panes are thin sheets of mica. The paint texture and wavy surface of the mica capture the look of an old window. (Which of course my husband would say needs to be refinished, but I love.)
My one little window quilt quickly turned into a series. I experimented with using hand dyed shears for the window panes. I also added beads for a little extra sparkle or maybe just to capture the look of all the rain that has been dripping down our windows.
I also couldn't help trying different color combinations of windows. Each provides a different feel to the view outside or the mood of the viewer.
Wow Nikki, your using so many different materials - felt, mica, I kept having to zoom in to see all this. They are all so cute and homey looking
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. Everyone should definitely click on the images for a larger view. Really great work. At first I thought the wavy lines in the first piece were painted backgrounds, but now I see it's just the surface of the mica catching the light. Super cool. I really like the ribbons too. I used a felt base for my piece too!
ReplyDeleteI love windows - and doors. I love your whole colourful series. You really had fun!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and peaceful. You have captured such a feeling of serene introspection. Love the use of the letters. I will be so interested to see the 12 together in Brenda's collage, with this lovely blue appearing so often through this group of pieces.
ReplyDeleteNikki! I love these! The first "daydream" one is a wonderful illustration of that sense of peace from gazing out. I had thought about this sort of image, but couldn't work out how to get the subtle window pane effect. I really like how you achieved that.
ReplyDeleteI also like your variations -- it's a wonderful set.
(Um, can I email you for homeschooling tips?!)
Like diane, I love the dreaminess of your first piece. You've conveyed it so very well. It's fun to see your follow-up pieces too. Will we be seeing more windows from you?! :-)
ReplyDeleteWay to run with a theme Nikki! Love these....all of them. Of course the color is what strikes me first. But the repetitiveness of the series is great as well.
ReplyDeleteNikki, these are all beautiful. I love the way you have used ribbon to make those cool vertical stripes. And I immediately noticed the similarity between the bottom one and my quilt - same four by four arrangement.
ReplyDeleteLook what daydreaming results in! Love the simplicity of design and gorgeous use of colours.
ReplyDeleteWell I am off to do some daydreaming now, need to do lots of it!
I love all of your interpretations. You have perfectly captured a window fit for daydreaming. I just love the fabric you used for the windows. How long did it take you to stitch all those buttons?
ReplyDeleteOh, I like these peaceful colours in the first one. Great idea to use the mica.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the next ones in the series.