The Big Mrs. Moen's Napkin Challenge Reveal

Ever since the article "Adinkra, cloth from the heart" article appeared in the June/July 2008 issue of Quilting Arts, I have had an interest in bringing ancient forms of symbolism into my quilts.  This napkin, one I had received in a swap, was a shoo-in to inspire my quilt entry for Mrs. Moen's Napkin Challenge!  It so happened I had one of these symbols on my hard drive already and when I brought it into Photoshop Elements, I got really excited to see it pretty well filled out an 8 1/2x11" sheet.  Ahhhh-ha...print it out in coloring book mode and print it out on freezer paper to be used as a stencil...I thought to myself!

And there you have it...Flight of the Ancient!  The freezer paper stencil was ironed onto black cotton and a discharging agent was applied.  The black was then fused onto a larger piece of muslin that had been rusted and then over painted to bring in the color of the bird.  The small dots framing the black are french knots made with DMC variegated #8 Pearle cotton...and they add interest...and texture.  The black background of the bird is free motioned with a small close meander stitch, and flying geese pattern was a natural for the border quilting. This was fun Mrs. Moen!!!