Journal quilts continued, August, Brexit - has all hope gone?

Newspaper painted with a mix of red, white and blue giving a murky grey.

Flash of yellow fabric to celebrate the Liberal Democrat win in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, and to represent the conservative party majority of 1 in the House of Commons.

EU stars and blue thread showing inter-connectedness of 'just-in-time" delivery and manufacturing across the EU which the UK will lose access to if Brexit happens on 31 October.

Edged with black mourning ribbon.

Journal quilts continued, June 2019, Brexit, another glimpse of hope

More use of painted newspaper.

Painted newspaper with a flash of black, red and yellow fabric to represent my husband and my sons gaining their German citizenship in June.

Paint is a mix of red, white, blue and yellow, giving a murky grey, quilted with £ to represent the financial speculation occurring around Brexit.

Edged with black mourning ribbon.

Journal quilts 2019, continued, May, glimpse of hope?

Trigger warning - politics ahead.
The brief for the next series of journal quilts was that they had to include a substance that was not cotton, woven cloth. As the Brexit farce continues apace, I had to continue with this theme. That means that this series of 4 is neither pretty nor technically skilled  - rather like the current political environment.
I experimented with newspaper painted with acrylic paint, then  backed with fusible, woven cotton interfacing, before layering with wadding and backing.

Painted newspaper with a flash of green cotton to represent the successes of green candidates in the local elections, giving us some hope?

Paint is a mix of red, white, blue and yellow, giving a murky green - representing the state of my spirits.
There is quilting on this, it is just rather difficult to see, like the UK’s future outside the EU.

Edged with black mourning ribbon.

Journal quilt, March 2019, Brexit 3

Twenty seven different yellow fabrics in fourteen foundation-pieced triangles. Inserted, with curved piecing and appliqué,  in to a rather crumpled and tired looking background. Union Jack fabric at the bottom, tea-stained and of nondescript shape, dissolving into tattered threads at the far right. ( This is straight - unlike UK politics, just distorted by the medium - like UK politics).

Journal quilts 2019, January, Brexit 1

A new year, a new stitching challenge. A4 size, four quits to be made with a sewing technique, four to be made with fabrics other than just cotton, four to be made using a different technique to make a background. The first sewing technique was an opportunity to re-visit appliqué of bias strips, something I have not done for years.
Initial sketch

In development, tea-dyed Union Jack fabric, and very useful, very short appliqué pins. Bias strips ( 1/4 inch) made using a bias strip maker, not essential, but saves burnt fingers.

Sewing down the strips, background is a piece of blue satin from my recent pantomime costume-making. Strangely appropriate for this piece.


Finished and quilted with FMQ, bound with satin stitch.

Does this look like my initial sketch? Mostly yes, but I made these changes

• the twisted chain was too complex in a piece of this size and with this width of strips. It would work on a larger scale
• the strip representing the UK went off the piece to the left in the initial sketch. With everything that is happening in the UK, it was a better representation that it went off to the far right
• final piece of the UK strip is tattered and fractured, linked together by a thin thread
• FMQ on the left is swirling and co-operative, FMQ on the right, where the UK strip is heading,  is a maze of never connecting boxes
• FMQ in the centre is dense and closely connected