Swim trunks, vases, and bubbles

Regarding water themed quilts:

I live in Florida, so I have done a quite a few quilts related to water. One of them started with a pair of interesting men’s swim trunks I found at a thrift store. . .

I then selected fabrics that coordinated with the colors in the swim trunks, and created this Marine Scene.

Many of the fabrics were originally shirts, dresses, or skirts. One green shirt had been spoiled by bleach, but I found it useable in this underwater scene. I found some dusters in the dollar store which worked well as 3D sea creatures. And the print from a black, white and red dress became the embellishment for a giant snake that slithers across the image.

On returning from a cruise, I did this two color quilt study called Paradise. The plaid was broken up to give the appearance of movement in the water.

Sunset Cove was made with some shibori fabrics I had dyed.

Some of the best patterns were created before I knew the proper way to tie the fabric to create shibori. Instead of using a cylinder, I used a large plastic vase, with a base like this:

I wrapped the fabric every which way around that base, and the design came out looking like lightning bolts! It was fantastic!! A happy accident. You can see this fabric in the rocky area on the bottom right, and the sky on the top left.

I have plans to make a series based on some photos taken on the beach on the east coast of Florida. One fine day, two older ladies were shelling, one walked with a cane. (Kudos to her for still getting out and enjoying the gifts of nature.) I made several backgrounds using the fabrics you see in this piece, Come Out of Your Shell.

I will add figures to complete the series. A silky pillow cover served to make wet looking sand, and the pattern from a men’s shirt made the nearby footprinted sand. Torn strips of various prints worked well as the ocean.

Water played a starring role in Jardin du Luxe, which has now found a home with a collector.

Another fun underwater scene, Swim, shows a couple of manatees who reside in our area, resting on the bottom and blowing bubbles.

The last of my water themed quilts I could find is Beached Boats. I made this piece using the color palette of American artist Wayne Thiebaud. The quilt image is quite simple, but the surface is heavily quilted using a seed stitch in embroidery thread, which adds a lovely texture.