Hey Everyone, welcome back to Quilts by Jen and Stash Blasting Wednesday.

Happy New Year everyone – I know, only a month late in sending out these wishes but 2016 didn’t quite start as planned.

I am now just getting my creative juices flowing again and I have a lot of exciting events planned for this year as well as lots of time for long walks in the woods, visiting with friends and relaxation on the deck with a good book or my knitting needles.

The International Women’s Day Art Show is upon me again and I am madly working to finish my piece for drop off at the Orillia Museum on Sunday. The theme this year is “Stories”. This was the very first theme 20 years ago and so the organizers have revisited it for the show’s 20th anniversary. This is also the biggest show to date with 140+ artists participating.

The show starts February 13 and runs until April 10.

I figured for this piece I would do a few snapshots of the landscapes of my life. I have been lucky to have lived in many places and so I picked 5 that have had a huge impact on me.

Instead of trying to make the landscapes look realistic I went for an abstract look using a colour and shape to represent each geographically unique landscape.

Saskatchewan

A patchwork quilt of fields in golden yellows.

Patchwork of wheat fields

Alberta

The rugged Rockies standing bold a majestic.

The rugged Rockies

Northwest Territories

The snow covered earth of the lakes & tundra.

Snow

Australia

The sun burnt red earth of the outback.

Sunburnt red dirt of the Outback

Ontario

The serene lakes of cottage country.

Blue waters of cottage country

For these pieces I have not used any quilting cottons but rather silks and many other varied fabrics from swatch books of upholstery fabrics. I wanted lots of texture and diverse fabrics in the landscapes which I do believe I have accomplished. I have finally cut into the silks I bought in Thailand 10 years ago.

So a different kind of stash blasting today of a variety of fabrics from my back room.

The landscapes are done and now to move on to putting it all together.

Happy Quilting!