$3100.00In stock
Product description:I cut out the tree trunk and branches from one piece of black fabric, and extended the stitching with black thread to make twigs. I attached small clusters of metallic silver thread to look like the tree has grown stars for fruit.
I chose the "Virgilia", or Yellowwood, tree partly because, according to my copy of the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to North American Trees, "...this rare species (is) one of the most beautiful flowering trees of the American Forests... Scattered in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where wild trees bear abundant (white) flowers at irregular intervals of 2-5 years."
The ground and black band of sky are made of a wonderfully textured knit velvet with silver glitter all over. It was so evocative of night sky I bought it on sight! The tree's roots are quilted; there are simple perspective lines on either side of the roots. The black band at top has a cloud pattern quilted free-hand with white rayon thread. On either side of the tree section are narrow black borders with a leafy vine quilted in variegated thread, in the colors of the rest of the quilt.
The two large side sections are in two layers. The bottom layer is an orangish batik. I free-hand quilted a basic "organic" kind of design all over it. I chose a bright fabric so it would be somewhat visible through the green sheer.
The fabric leaves are all traced from actual leaves I've found on my walks in nearby parks. They are attached to the sheers by free-motion sewing of their veins. I sewed a few more to the black section at the top. The sheers are attached to the quilt under the top binding and are loose on the other three sides. I trimmed the inner and bottom edges of each section to be more leaf-like. The sheers will move a bit in a breeze or when someone walks by, like leaves rustling in the wind.
I had aimed, finally, at making a wall hanging that was evocative of a beautiful tree in the middle of a forest. What season is it? There is something of all seasons represented in this piece.
There is a fabric “sleeve” on the back. Display by inserting a slat or rod in the sleeve.
