The Quilted Raven Contest: Winter Raven
I attribute my start in the quilting arts with a contest, and was happy to continue on with the tradition this past holiday. A few weeks ago, I was informed of a block contest at my favorite quilt shop in Anchorage, The Quilted Raven. The timing was perfect, since I was already scheduled to be at home for Thanksgiving, it would have been no trouble to drop off my entry in person while I was home. I eagerly began to search for inspiration. Ravens and I have a special relationship; my mother, Cindy Shake, uses ravens frequently in her artwork, so I imagine that probably has a lot to do with my liking them. I find them to be fascinating, and one of the most intelligent species of birds on the planet (To see a great article on PBS.com about their intelligence, click here.)
One of the most frequent sights you see as you shuffle along the icy pathways of the UAF campus to and from your classes as an undergraduate are the large ravens that squat over hand railings, cars, buildings, pathways, with their feathers all puffed out as if in defiance of winter itself. They are very hearty birds here, as compared to their dumpster diving cousins in Anchorage. They are also very mischievous little critters, and always appear to be sneaking around, looking for an ample opportunity to snatch a tasty treat. So, I decided to create a free form quilt block that would honor their beauty, but, at the same time, be true to my character and make a funny statement about their nature.
I have had skiing on the brain lately, and am just counting down the days until I can escape this icy freeze we have in Fairbanks for the slopes of Alyeska Resort. As such, this became my background for my block. The exact measurements of the contest called for a 10 x 12 finished block, so I portrayed my raven on a ski slope, with two chairlifts above. Trees were added, with snow on top, as was a pair of ski goggles in my raven's mouth. I used Wonder Under for my applique method, and then quilted with white and silver thread in free-form waves along the ski slope to give the impression of ski runs. This was the finished product, on the left, labeled as number one:
As you can see, there were some incredibly creative entries for this contest. I eagerly await the results!!
One of the most frequent sights you see as you shuffle along the icy pathways of the UAF campus to and from your classes as an undergraduate are the large ravens that squat over hand railings, cars, buildings, pathways, with their feathers all puffed out as if in defiance of winter itself. They are very hearty birds here, as compared to their dumpster diving cousins in Anchorage. They are also very mischievous little critters, and always appear to be sneaking around, looking for an ample opportunity to snatch a tasty treat. So, I decided to create a free form quilt block that would honor their beauty, but, at the same time, be true to my character and make a funny statement about their nature.
I have had skiing on the brain lately, and am just counting down the days until I can escape this icy freeze we have in Fairbanks for the slopes of Alyeska Resort. As such, this became my background for my block. The exact measurements of the contest called for a 10 x 12 finished block, so I portrayed my raven on a ski slope, with two chairlifts above. Trees were added, with snow on top, as was a pair of ski goggles in my raven's mouth. I used Wonder Under for my applique method, and then quilted with white and silver thread in free-form waves along the ski slope to give the impression of ski runs. This was the finished product, on the left, labeled as number one:
As you can see, there were some incredibly creative entries for this contest. I eagerly await the results!!
Comments
Post a Comment