Last October, I went on an absolutely incredible trip to Tuscany with other members of the South Shore Camera Club. Every place we visited was a photographer's dream. There were so many beautiful scenes which I also viewed through the eyes of a quilter. One such spot was Manarola, one of the magical villages in Cinque Terre. I began working on this quilted landscape soon after I returned home. My photo above was the inspiration for this piece which I completed a few days ago. (Note: You may click on any photo to see a larger version of each one.)
I can not draw or paint, so I began by taping a sheet of plastic over my 8x10 photo and then tracing the outlines of the buildings with a fine line permanent marker. Then I took that outline sheet to Staples and had it enlarged to a full size pattern. Next, I used many of the techniques which I had learned from
Esterita Austin when I attended her quilt workshop in Tuscany in 2010.
The entire piece was raw edge appliquéd. Misty Fuse is my choice for fusible interfacing, and I had hoped that it would be enough to hold the windows and shutters in place. The tiny windows and shutters began falling off as I was working on the piece, so I ended up sewing all of them on by hand. There are over 300 windows, shutters, and doors in all. I love the "Stonehenge" line of fabric from Northcott, and I would say that probably 80 percent of this piece was made from that fabric line. The finished piece measures 27x22 inches, and I truly enjoyed the entire process. I've already selected another one of my photos for my next piece.
