Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Neil Diamond's I am, I said


This is my first crazy quilt that I have ever made. Recently Neil Diamond's tribute at the Kennedy Center caught my attention. "I am ... I said" bore a hole in my soul. As If it were the first time that I've ever truly listened to the words of the song. My AH-HA moment was that the quilt was about the song and the song was about the quilt. A lover of Frogs... and always feeling like the LONER.... I worked with a fever to bring this quilt alive. Thank you Neil Diamond for providing the words to my feelings.


The embroidery butterflies have Bullion bodies. the frog beads also have Bullion feet. The Bees on the quilt almost remind me of the flight of the bumblebees. I believe they are humming to the music of the frogs. (above)
I wanted to show that the Dragon Fly were in motion,
so I added the curly motion stitches to show the flight of the dragons as they crossed the quilt.


It took a couple of hours to hand sew the seed beads to the background material.

Stump worked grass hopper.
This was worked out on Puff Foam and the extra wings were embroidered out on Organza material.
The golden button is a frogs head and these unique heads graced the laced seam line.
The Button box came out of hiding ... what better way to display them.

What fun it is to go to the party when the music is LIVE.



I'm sure that the Frog couples are having a swinging time dancing to the live music of the Night.
What with Buzz of the bees, the dragon fly's humming, the grass hoppers and crickets chipping. Everyone wants to play with the band and sing along with the music.
There seems to be a party going all around you. . . . Surrounding you on all sides.



The quilt has over 50 frogs  and another dozen or so of insects  and flowers that grace the top of the quilt. I think everyone is celabrating the Frog becoming a king. 
 That's a good name for the quilt don't you think? 
The King's Party!


 
This is the chair that did not hear. When you say "I am" and it comes from the heart. Wouldn't it be nice for someone to hear.
The chair was embroidered on puffy foam. The flowers and leaves are stump worked on my Baby Lock Sewing machine....
I love my Baby Lock. I added Buttons and Hand Embellishments on the seams .
 
A some-what view of the whole quilt.  the borders were stenciled with oil sticks.  The woodsy look brings the whole quilt together. Hey! When you can't find the right fabric.... design it yourself!


I love the frog that dreamed of being a king.
 Here he sits alone as the party of life moves all around him. He's at the top but all he can hear is the sound of being alone.



Here is the music.... notice the key. 
The key unlocks something... But what?


Notice the Red Heart.... There's the lock.... Ahh... Music is the key that unlocks the heart!!
Enjoy the collector's button... the Hand embrodery... and other emblishments.


 This wall quilt will hang on the studio wall while I play Neil Diamond music....
The Kings Party serves a dural purpose.  It displays my ever growing brooch collection of frogs and insects... much better to be displayed instead of sitting in a box or drawer.



Label for the quilt.  If I ever gave up this quilt... it would be to Mr. Diamond himself...
 and he would have to come to the house himself to claim it.

6 comments:

  1. This is everything a crazy quilt should be!!! An outlet for your passion, creativity, dense with interest and detail, beautiful overall and close up, highly original. Well done!!!!!

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  2. Your crazy quilt is so charming!! I love it. I can't imagine it's your first one!

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  3. Thank you Allison and Hideko for your encouragement. I have a book shelf full of books to guide me along this journey of crazy quilting (includes Allison's book) and I took one class of hand embrodery. Another special thank you to Hideko.... you are my first follower. I don't know why they call it CRAZY, as this quilting is so calming and rewarding.

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  4. All those insects. i love it.reminds me that i must add some to my CQJP quilt.And thanks for commenting at my blog :)

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  5. Hi Jacki, Thank you for stopping by my Blog - it gave me a chance to find yours and WOW! I'm glad I did. I absolutely love your frog quilt and the tribute to Neil Diamond's song is just great - you did a fabulous job on every stitch and your frogs are amazing!

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  6. Thanks Nicki Lee, I struggled to find the right balance of embelishment for this quilt. It being frogs and bugs...just didn't need to be over-whelmed with laces and ribbons.

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