Skip to main content

Cathedral Window Boutis Blues

Stitched in white, restitched in shades of smoky blues and then finally corded, my boutis interpretation of the Notre Dame Rose window (Rose Sud) was finished over the summer. "Stitching the Boutis Blues", which was posted on October 10/2019, describes the inspiration and the evolution of this piece.

The original intent of the project had been to make a traditional white on white boutis piece. The addition of the cut out "rosettes", a technique that I had been wanting to try for a while, were added to lend a sense of luminosity to the window. With the rosettes done, the stitching was complete and the piece was ready to be corded.

But then, on April 15, 2019, when much of  the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris was destroyed in a devastating fire, a pristine, light interpretation of the rose window no longer seemed appropriate. I felt that the piece needed to be darkened, dirtied somehow, to convey this recent destruction.

To achieve this darkened smokiness, I started over stitching one row of arches with a simple stem stitch in a  smoky blue silk thread.  When the one row of arches didn't achieve the effect that I was going for, I added some blue background stitches to areas of the window that would not be corded, (almost like a stipple stitch is used when free motion quilting). (See above). Once that first row of arches was restitched, it became clear that the whole piece needed to follow suit.

This was a gradual process and over the next few months, the stitching was completed, (for the second time), and the rose window was ready to be corded. But it wasn't until the Covid lock down in spring that I picked it up again and finished the piece with the cording.

Traditionally, boutis is corded with a white cotton yarn, but in order to deepen the smoky hues, I chose a steel blue cotton yarn to cord through the pre-stitched channels.


Now the smoky boutis Rose Window is complete. The last step will be to incorporate the rose window into a quilted framework, similar to the way I finished my  Boutis Hummingbird quilt.

 


 

Labels:

Comments

  1. AveryclaireSeptember 20, 2020 at 3:03 PM

    I don’t think I have ever seen this post! I am so sorry! Your methods and story are fascinating. You are truly creative and a master at this delicate work! Love the blue! 💕

    ReplyDelete
  2. MatistsatSeptember 21, 2020 at 6:04 AM

    Your Cathedral window is an extraordinary piece of BEAUTIFUL WORK .... Mrs Magic fingers .... bravooooooooooooo...😍🌻🐝🐝🌻😍😍🌻🐝🌻😍

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boutis: Traditional French Needlework

" Piqûre de Marseilles" or "Boutis" is a traditional French hand stitched and corded needlework technique, which uses embroidery stitches to create intricate channels that will later be stuffed with yarn, thereby creating a raised design with three layers. It's origins, and it's name, can be traced to the port of Marseilles in southern France to the 15th century. Traditional boutis was a technique invented to embellish otherwise plain white cotton with intricately patterned channels that would later be stuffed with a plump white yarn to give it relief. The resulting corded whitework created an elegant, embossed textile that was much sought after. Not only was it aesthetically appealing, but it also provided warmth and absorbency, so could be used for bed coverings, toilette linens (like towels), clothing items, home decor, etc. The first two photos below are from the collection of Mme. Monique Alphand, a well known French expert and collector of antique t
3 comments
Read more

Amish Hand Quilting in France with Esther Miller

Esther Miller, was born into an Amish family in the U.S., and now lives in Germany where she has for many years taught the techniques and methods of Amish hand quilting to anyone interested in learning these skills. As a child, she would closely watch as the women of her community worked together on a quilt, and eventually she was rewarded with a needle of her own and encouraged to join the group. Through the years, she has mastered these skills and techniques and now generously shares them with anyone who has a genuine desire to learn. Esther Miller in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace France. An example of her own work, Esther brings this intricately and perfectly hand stitched wall quilt to class as inspiration for her students.  Last week, at the "European Meeting of Patchwork" in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines, in Alsace France, www.patchwork-europe.com , I had the privilege of taking a 2 day workshop with Esther. The Amish quilting method requires a free-standing simple
1 comment
Read more

Blocking and Squaring Boutis

The door of her cage has been opened. She is free to fly off and find her destiny. After many months of hand stitching and then many more months of cording, my little "colibri" is ready to set off on her own. As this was my first attempt at designing so large a boutis piece, it was a learning curve. All of the tight swirls, curls and circles are a great deal more difficult and time consuming to cord then are the longer more gentle channels. Maintaining an even tension is absolutely necessary throughout the process, so patience comes in very handy when doing the cording. The process of stitching and cording a work of boutis subjects the fabric to a lot of handling and manipulation that can distort the design. For this reason, once all of the stitching and cording is complete, the boutis must be washed, blocked and squared.  The first step of washing is to remove all traces of the marking pencil as well as any soil that may have collected over the many months of working w
17 comments
Read more