I promised myself I would declutter / repurpose something of mine each week. What do I do with the boxes of things I've saved for over 50 years? Old art projects, doilies, vintage clothing, scraps of fabric, books, and the list goes on and on.
Well, I had to just do it. I took one of my Chakra wall hangings I made a couple of years ago, and decided I would make a new piece out of it. I thought I would embellish it with appliqued flowers and sequins. - sequins from one of my ballet costumes from when I was 6 or 7. After a lot of free motion quilting, I started added the embellishments.
Free motion quilting a pattern on my quilt. I use rubber finger tips to help move the fabric under the needle. It was a bit bumpy at the corner seams, so I had a little trouble keeping the curves consistant. Practice Practice Practice. I wont give up!!
My quilt took on a new meaning as I hand sewed each sequin on. I loved when the sequins hit the light and sparkled a bit - I remembered all my dance lessons. I could hear "Mr. Bill" giving us instructions, and the sound of the squeaky wood floors as we pointed our toes, and one and two, and one and two .. strangely I felt a sense of freedom as I remembered moving my body across the dance floor, how I felt so empowered with who I was, and how good it made me feel.
I wanted to show movement in my piece I was creating, so I appliqued vines going around the center. I saw the center as the dance floor, with the flowers being the dancers, moving along in dance. The sequins sparkled, the fabric moved, the colors, the lights on the stage. I could hear the music so clearly.
