#myquiltcouldlivehere- Cyanotype Quilt
I love the Cyanotype quilt.
That blue.
I knew there would be some version of cyanotype in Wise Craft Quilts.
From Wikipedia–
“Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints.”
This process creates beautiful silhouette images of plants, leaves, and other natural objects when exposed to sunlight. For the quilt in the book, I thought it might be fun to create silhouettes of physical things that define our family. Like the haiku my son wrote in kindergarten. The dragon drawing my daughter did in elementary school. Bike gears that belonged to my husband. I love how it turned out. I purchased the treated fabric for this quilt from Dharma Trading and give more details in the book.
And then it dawned on me! What about my favorite childhood book?
My absolute favorite book was The Borrowers by Mary Norton. (Here’s a synopsis for those who have never read it.) My favorite teacher read a chapter of that book every day after lunch in my 3rd grade class. I was completely obsessed with it!
What struck me about this project was how easy it would be to involve little ones in the process. They can choose their favorite toys to make the prints. It would also be lovely to include special things from a loved one who has passed away.
In the meantime, I’m thinking about where this quilt would live. Thinking about what works in the original quilt so well for me. Aside from the subject matter (my favorite people), I loved the African Wax Print fabric I used on the back of the quilt (seen below, top right). It pulled in a golden yellow-y mustard shade that I think works with cyanotype blue so well.
Photo by Stephanie Congdon Barnes
I focused on that combination for the collage for the Cyanotype quilt. I see this quilt living in an environment where there is an appreciation of clear color, a comfortable, well-designed space, and a celebration of cyan blue in just the right amounts.
Not too much. But just enough.
From top right- Blue Dress :: Blue Fern :: Blue/Mustard Bedroom :: Tiny flowers :: Cup :: Illustrated Ceramic :: Spools :: Bar Cart :: Mustard Sofa :: Center- Cyanotype from Wise Craft Quilts