The patchwork rug Sun Wheel for a seaside village nursery, for the floor of the hall. The patchwork sun wheel is 310 cm across.
The client's wish was to have eight pointed stars in the picture. The eight pointed star, or eight pointed cross, the cross radiating light, is widely known in Europe as a magical sign bringing good fortune, a symbol of love and fertility.
From my own side, bearing in mind the nursery's location, I added the sea and flounders, a ferry passing on the horizon, the seashore with children playing ball, a pine forest and an enormous disc of sun.
Since this is a rug, I tried to avoid large light areas. That is why the background of the sun is slightly cloudy and the forest floor cheerfully green and flowery.
With this rug I once again set a new size record for my patchwork, after the one I set a couple of months ago with my densely quilted quilt (250 x 250 cm).
The material used comes to about 26 m: the base fabric for the pattern, the background fabric and the appliques, the wadding and the backing.
This piece too is densely quilted. How did this work fit under my machine? I will keep that a secret. I have no quilting machine; it is all quilted in free motion technique. That means I switch off the feed dogs on the machine (the teeth that push the fabric along) and, with my palms on the work, move the work under the needle to "draw" lines and patterns on it with the seam. The effect of the quilting is best seen on the middle part, the sun.
For the photography I borrowed a grandchild and their home. I also got on video the delight of the little one at home at that moment over the colourful rug. He simply ran back and forth or round and round over the rug and laughed out loud.
I will add the video or videos separately.
Many thanks to the client, who gave me a free hand with the design. It was a very exciting and inspiring thing to make.
