Next Step in the Healing Words Quilt

I started by going through my stash of hand-dyes plus a few commercial fat quarters I keep on hand. I tore strips and laid them down to audition colors, moved them around, and after a couples days of going away and coming back to get a fresh perspective my quilt started coming into focus for me. I'm starting to sew down some of the strips. I need to put similar colors into different areas of the quilt in order to give it some unity, since I started with various focal points, like the bird and the leaves. I'm also thinking ahead about more hand stitching to unify the quilt even more. . .

Fabric with Healing Words

Here's this morning's fabric with freezer paper stenciling, decorative painting, and the words: "kind, heal, and trust". I didn't want the words to stand out too much, but I want the viewer to be able to find them upon further examination. Hopefully whoever they're meant for will see and take them to heart. Since this is for the Centura hospital show, they're to help someone (or more than one someone) with their healing journey. I plan to do some hand stitching around the leaves next for added texture.

Stenciling on Fabric

I drew and cut out simple leaf shapes to stencil onto fabric for a healing themed quilt. I wanted simple shapes because I'm going to stitch around the leaves to add dimension. First, I ironed the freezer paper shiny side down onto the already dyed fabric. Next, I used a sponge which was on the dry side so the paint would be softly applied in light layers. Peel away and see the pretty results! Next, I'll add more elements for complexity . . .