Over the years I have admired quilting in its many applications – bed covers, accessories, jewelery, wall hangings, garments… I have made enough of these to realize what goes into quilting, the scope, the satisfaction, the enjoyment of the process and the product.
Awhile ago, having unexpectedly acquired a raw fleece, while getting to know it with eyes and hands, the thought occurred that fleece has likely been used as batting for its warmth, which is the whole point of quilting. And it suddenly struck me what a hidden treasure the ‘ filling’ of the ‘sandwich’ is!
How to reveal the ‘secret’ of a quilt resulted in a small hanging and a greeting card. The decision to ‘go public’ turned into this carry bag. I wanted the fleece to be visible from front and back so a medium gauge plastic has been used for the back of the bag. The material for the front and back of the quilted piece is nylon/polyester finally chosen after many trips to fabric stores and thrift shops: some just didn’t ‘work’ and were either too flimsy or too dense; taking some fleece with me would have been a big help! The raw fleece was loosely placed between the nylon material and machine quilted in a random freeform pattern, a sort of trapunto.
The handle is some of the nylon fabric sewn into a tube and a long length of fleece threaded through it with a very long (sixteen inches) sturdy safety pin (I have no idea what it was meant to be used for but I could not resist buying it at a thrift store: it looks very nice hanging on a wall and was effective in this instance as a bodkin) .
Here is the view of the bag so it can be seen through.
I think it is finished: it seems to be at ‘the artist knew when to stop’ stage. Three – and only three – French knots were added to the front. I like the simplicity.
It is not a bag to carry groceries or library books. It is a bag to take mail to the post office, or deposit gloves, and perhaps scarf, while one is browsing in a store, or tuck a branch or two when strolling in the garden.
It is a bag that may well whisper "Baaa…" when I am carrying it and I will smile broadly should I happen to ‘hear’.