Trees Again

This morning I woke up with a new awareness about this ongoing theme of trees in my work.
The loss of a dozen large trees from our landscape really increases my feelings of attachment to trees. On the rugged landscape of eastern Montana, trees are scattered and widely disbursed. They are found in greater numbers along rivers, and in the hills or mountains - and in the cities and towns. When driving across the landscape in this region, the sight of a tree is something to be savored. I especially love the look of naked trees against the winter sky.

My current quilting project is an ambitious one - something I will be working on for a month or so. I am quilting a silk garment and the image on it is a gigantic deciduous tree. So far, I have only worked at putting the tree trunk, branches, and roots in place. The lining and exterior of this garment are made of 6 yards each of green and burgundy hand dyed habotai silk. The batting is Thermore ultra thin and although it is huge, this garment is remarkably light and not at all bulky. I thought I would hate working on it on account of the slipperyness of the fabric and the size of the piece, but it is actually going quite well so far. The weight and sheen of the silk make the quilting very dimensional.