The Wedding Quilt

What with my oldest son's upcoming wedding, I have been inspired to actually do something with three of the six figures won at a silent auction 3 years ago. Mary, Mary (of 'quite contrary' fame) has been on and off my design board too many times and as a result is currently confined to the closet. The muse just wasn't working or Mary, Mary was just being - well, contrary.

However, when I connected my son with the figure I call the Laird because my son borrowed the full kilt regalia to wear to his MBA graduation party, it seemed that the Laird may very well have proposed. Of course, we're still not sure to whom as you will notice in the finished piece. Which one is the bride? Perhaps she is both.

All fabrics are recycled. In its previous life the background fabric was a woman's jacket which I've pieced using big hand raw edge applique and then free motion quilted. Various found appliques, embroideries and a distorted version of the real church drawn with the sewing machine and coloured with crayons and Shiva Paintstiks create the wedding scene. The border trim was given to me and hand-dyed twice to get the right shade. I was thrilled to see that only the background and not the brown embroidery changed colour leaving the lovely pattern visible.

I see this piece as a contemporary version of 14th-15th century illuminated manuscript tradition. These wonderful paintings in book form often repeat similar elements with rich design & colour, but all the while depicting everyday events. Notice the contrast between elements - the country church with the richer cathedral-style one, velvet-like fabric with the aluminum foil of the church spires, the plainess of the fencing and detail of the figures. I'm sure there are other details that reflect the 'book of hours' look.

For more about illuminated manuscripts & another piece inspired by them, please refer to the Wedding House post.