Thursday, August 4, 2011

Recording Memories in Craft

I expect you, like me, are interested in houses because you are reading my blog which is a design and decor blog. I have always loved houses and hold fondly in my memory the various homes I have lived in over the years. I used that as the subject matter for a applique wall hanging that I crafted from fabric.


It hangs in my sunroom near the entry and is a pictorial history. It was originally designed to cover a vertical opening in the wall behind our old, huge CRT TV. I had designed an access port because, once in place, you never moved those behemoth TV's.  They are a thing of the past and we no longer needed this wall hanging in that location.  Its first function determined its shape but it still is a great wall hanging even though it no longer hides a secret passage way.

To make it I create a simplified flat drawing of each of the houses my husband I lived in as we grew up.  The first is the home I lived in from birth to age 4.  It was called Yellow House and my Dad built it.


I pieced each house together using quilting fabric scraps and then used a tight zig-zag stitch on all the seams, attaching the scraps to a backing.  I assume I used Stitch Witchery to temporarily hold the pieces in place.

Below is the childhood home of my husband. His family didn't name their houses like mine did. I used matching fabrics for trees and sky to help with visual continuity through out the wall hanging.


The series also includes Shady Rest, the home my family lived in from when I was 4 through my high school years.



After David and I were married we designed and built our own home. We named it Ashbee Hill (hence Ashbee Design).



And then later I designed (but we had built) The Studio.  This is the house David goes to work at everyday and it is located next door to Ashbee Hill.



All of these squares were offset with a matching patchwork square and then all were combined to create the wall hanging.



The entry way where it is located is narrow and I can't get a full straight on view.  There is a window directly opposite it and this is the wall hanging you see as you approach the front door.




It always starts conversations with new company. This is the kind of craft I love to do - one that is personal and means something to me. This one is filled with history.

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©2011 Ashbee Design, Marji Roy


 

1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness, I love this! Handmade, meaningful, and historical - what could be better?

    ReplyDelete