I nurture my love so that it can be shared with those around me; "I Give You a Piece of My Heart" demonstrates my best gardening techniques. This heart of mine grows with flowers and vines scattered across it.
The flowers are all connected by pearl cotton to the heart shaped piece that I have removed. All of the flowers that are growing on my heart are represented in the bouquet on the new heart; this denotes the love that I share, with the hope that my gift will continue to grow and flourish after it has been given.
The vines are hand couched over a broken silver chain that came from my grandmother. The center heart charm was hers as well. The charms that grow off the ends of this vine come from projects that were made with my daughters. The leaves on the vine are healthy and will continue to grow; they will move into the gap left by the piece that was given away, making my heart whole again. This growth will enable me to share my love again and again. Surrounding my heart are reminders of the value of friendship and love, as recorded in fortunes from Chinese restaurants.
Techniques employed:
· Raw edge, scrap appliqué with free motion machine quilting.
· Machine couching over pearl cotton and rayon ribbon.
· Hand couching over the silver chain with glass leaves that are hand stitched.
· Thread and wire beaded flowers, which are all attached to the surface by hand.
· Paper fortunes are attached with (purchased) hand dyed pearl cotton using decorative stitches and square beads.
· A pearl cotton and ribbon yarn (has a loose thread that was allowed to remain loose) are machine couched to the edge of the quilt as an edging.
In a private collection.