Wednesday, June 22, 2011

New Christmas in Italy Quilt

Last November my family and I were blessed to spend 8 weeks in Italy. The trip was a dream come true for me and something I had been planning for a few years. The experience of soaking up another country's culture was a wonderful experience and something we will all never forget.

One of our very special moments was experiencing a white Christmas, something very different for we Aussies who normally sweat in the heat of summer over an oven, or contend with seafood, salads and sand at the beach. Seeing snow fall from the heavens was something very new. And I will never forget the delightful squeals of  excitement from Miss 10 as she looked up into the falling snow and exclaimed "It feels like fairies are dancing across my face".

For so many reasons I felt that my next project should be one inspired by my trip to Italy.

Truth is though it took me a while to get my Mojo back in full swing, but thankfully when the ideas started to flow I was soon on my happy way, sketching from images fresh in my mind.

A few months on, the quilt is now complete and I have a confession to make. I have not been very diligent in taking photos of my progress. So instead I have another idea.

Over the next few weeks I thought it would be fun to show you where my inspiration has come from. So I will include some photos of sections from the quilt and then show you some of the places and buildings that inspired their creation.

The overall concept for the quilt flashed into my mind as we were driving through farmland in the Northern part of Italy just outside of Venice. Red and terracotta brick farmhouses nestled amongst snow laden trees was a scene quite new to me. The colours were so pale and yet so beautiful. It was the trees that intrigued me the most, their delicate branches dusted with snow silhouetted against the sky. Hopefully you will get an idea of what I saw from these photos, taken from the inside of the car (it was too cold to wind down the window).








So including these trees within my design was a must. I discovered a variegated DMC thread that gave the perfect effect, doing all the creative work for me.






As you can see there's lots of little houses, hills dusted with snow and lots more to come...!
Warmly Lenna

20 comments:

Sheila said...

Look forward to seeing more of this quilt - :)

Marg said...

This looks gorgeous. Can't wait to see more.

Pauline said...

How creative! It'll be interesting to see the rest of your quilt!

Sherry said...

Wow! That's going to be beautiful. Can't wait to see more.

CHRIS said...

HI LENNA,
BEAUTIFUL AS USUAL. NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY.DOING STITCH ALONG AND NURSERY RHYME QUILT WHICH IS NEALLY FINISHED AND NOW ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL ONE COMING.LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IT.A REAL CREDIT TO YOU LENNA
KINDEST REGARDS
CHRIS.

H Johnson said...

Lenna, these are lovely! The textures and dimensions are beautifully executed. Thanks so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I am not a quilter (embroidery is my thing) but your quilt is lovely!

Roz W said...

Wow love the look of your new project, can't wait.

Jeanette Inger said...

WOW. How I envy you that you can see something and go quilt it! Look forward to more pics of your lovely quilt.Thanks for sharing.
Jeanette.

mamypatch said...

Trés joli début....
Viens voir sur mon blog, il y a des photo du Nord de la France :-)
Bises

gloria said...

Cute!!! looking forward for the next step!!Have a good day, Gloria

Lorraine said...

Love the little houses, so,so different...

Anonymous said...

Geweldig mooi zo is het hier in holland ook met kerst.
gr Margriet

Carrie P. said...

Beautiful! You definitely captured the look from the photos.

johanne said...

love your vork.it is beatifult. look forvard to seeing more of this quilt. it reimind mi of christmas her i liv. tank you for shering.

Farm Gate Creations Incorporating Hummingbird Quilting said...

Love it Love it Love it. Looking forward to seeing more of this one.

Anonymous said...

Great creativity. Love the houses. Looking forward to seeing more

Maminti, a kicsi zöld tündér said...

I just love your work! I send you my true congratulation!! However I do know snow (since I live in the centre of Europe), I can imagine how happy you could be to face this new experience. It's great how you tried to put the details (not only the environment, but also your thought and feelings) into stitching.
I look forward to seeing your work phase by phase. I think it is a brilliant idea to show the process with its parallel picture...

Marian said...

We were fortunate enough to be in Italy last Christmas as well, we even got snowed-in while in Florence! I have been wanting to make a quilt exactly like the one you are making - please let us know when the pattern will be available. I am looking forward to seeing more blocks along with the inspiration pictures.

catherine bartley said...

Wow,Lenna, what a fabulous idea, I have some Italian friends/neighbours who I would love to show your finished product too. Can't wait! Go Girl! Catherine Bartley

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