Early Morning Mist

Pieced & Quilted By:

Betty Deemer

Description:

Created for our local quilt guild’s “September Challenge”, the theme of this quilt is “What Does Tranquility Mean To You?”

For me, water and mountains have always been very peaceful… and I find trees especially tranquil. I started with a fabric panel that spoke to me, but it was a very wintery scene and the colors extremely dull. No leaves on the tree on the right. The park bench was empty, no one was on the lake. The whole picture was very grey. So, I painted it. And added appliqué. Added a couple. Some rocks. Birds.

The secondary theme of this scene is the marriage between the two people. He’s enjoying his pastime of fishing; she’s enjoying the scenery and watching him enjoying himself. Although they seem apart, they are very connected. The mosaic is the different aspects of their married life. And it builds through time.

Although the original inspiration came from the local guild, I made this for my husband’s office. The layers build and hold the quilt together, just as one makes a marriage… building it year by year. The frames are the milestones. The large tree on the left is the love that grows stronger. Red is my husband’s favorite color, so it is interspersed throughout and is the final frame.

Quilted On:

Hand-Guided Quilting Machine

Pattern Source:

Original Design by Quilter

Techniques:

Painted, pieced, machine appliqué, built an armature for branch that breaks visual plane. Leaves are individually appliquéd, as is woman on bench, fisherman in boat, and rocks by tree on right. Leaves on smaller tree (on right) are painted and then “thread painted” during quilting stage. Cream borders (interior) are flanges.