Raven and Sparrow

The next thing

Mo's pennant is in the mail, so now what? My studio is a mess, and there are piles of fabric to made into tablecloths and napkins for various people, but I need a new creative focus. It is time to turn to my next seasonal table series, made for my sister Lisa. For many years she did not entertain very often, but then, for a number of reasons her social life bloomed and now gathering her family and friends for dinner is much more frequent. Frequent enough indeed that she bought new dishes!  Her choice was "June Lane" by Kate Spade for Lenox. They are warm white porcelain with gray rims...not just flat gray but sort of a shimmery auto paint silver...with dark gold edge banding and a gold dragonfly center motif. The effect is beautiful, both warm and restrained, elegant and relatable. Dragonflies are a totem for Lisa and her family, so this pattern resonates on more than a decorative level for them.

My usual start on a project like this is a trip to my local fabric store with plate in hand to see which colors and patterns work well in real life. With this dish it was easy to find many fabrics that would combine well for a good setting, but only a couple that really sang, and evoked a season. I am sure that summer is one cloth I want to make myself, so that more dragonflies can be invoked, but will need to stay open to the possibilities for the others. I never get tired of thinking about it. 

The dream takes final form

Its funny how every project dictates its wishes as it comes into form. From the start I thought Mo's pennant needed a backing, but I wasn't sure just what kind. I liked the raw edge of the satin scrap and wanted to preserve it so I carefully tacked it down to a piece of white linen with a finished hem. That looked terrible. Next I basted it to a dark blue open weave linen on which I embroidered the words "I dream of a world where love is the answer", trimming it exactly to the contours of the satin. The embroidery made it lumpy so I took it off. Still awkward. Usually I think the texture of stitching adds depth and subtlety but on this satin every single one showed, no matter how small. It interfered with the image and made the pennant look clumsy. I finally just applied a small strip of the dark blue stiff linen to the top and bottom to help it hang well. Otherwise, no backing in the end after all. At least my efforts convinced me that it works best as it is.

On the front, I embroidered around the moon, the bird and the fish, which sharpened them without drawing too much attention to the stitching. I used transparent fabric paint to emphasize the color of the tree, the purple hearts at the bottom and the background moons, again trying to use a light hand. I wanted to keep the essential blue and whiteness of the piece intact, with color as a secondary flourish. The blunt bottom edge bugged me so I added fringe which I think helps to make it look more finished. I also added ties to the top, which can be used to hang the pennant or left to dangle as they are, depending on what works best for Mo's final installation.

I'm a little sad to see it done but feel so honored to have been asked to contribute to Mo's project. I do dream of world where love is the answer.