Stained Glass

I love how this background turned out and
would like to make another, but some of
the squares are so tiny (1x1.5) and the
"leading" is so thin (.25") that it takes
a LONG time to piece! The effect is worth
it though, don't you think?

I've been overwhelmingly busy getting ready for the biggest show of my career so far: a solo gallery exhibit and sale! I'm very excited and will tell you more about it in the next few weeks. Suffice it to say that all my energy and concentration has been directed towards that event, but I took a break this week to work on a very special commission from a lovely family who wished to bless their neighbors with a special Hanukkah gift: a quilted menorah. I designed a quilt that I hope my client and the recipients love. I haven't been doing a lot of intricate piecing lately, so working on the background of the quilt over the last two evenings has been really fun and challenging. I felt like I cut pieces for days last night and sewed and sewed and pieced and pieced tonight. I was getting really tired by the time I was cutting the pieces for the last two rows, but surprised myself by only making two cutting mistakes - and both pieces were cut too large, which is easily fixable! I wanted the background to look like a stained glass window. I used batik for the "panes." I love how you can get many different colors and shades out of a single piece of batik - I thought that would add to the stained glass effect. The "leading" is done in a solid bluish grey. I really love the way it turned out - so much so that I plan to use this pattern to make another wall hanging using a brighter, jewel-toned batik, and maybe black "leading." Tomorrow, I start work on the elaborate menorah applique I designed. I'll use that dimensional applique technique I used on the shoe and dolphin quilts over the summer. I'll give you another sneak peek tomorrow.