inspiration photographs and some of the fabrics I've chosen.

Most of the fabrics I use are batiks or hand dyes, because of the subtle colour variations which I can use to replicate the patterns of the rocks in the background and foreground.

starting to build up the designMolly watching the progress of the waterfall

Building up the background for the waterfall using a variety of different batik and hand dyed fabriccs.  For the area at the back of the waterfall I used a preprinted fabric and used fabric pens to emphasise the trunks and branches of the trees.

I’ve used invisible machine applique to construct this top, first making templates from freezer paper which I iron on to the right side of the fabric.  I clip the seams, brush the edges with liquid starch, then turn under the edges using the tip of an iron. It is time consuming but I prefer this method to ironing the freezer paper on the wrong side and glueing the edges because this way I don’t have freezer paper to remove after. I also prefer the look of turned under edges.

For the waterfall I used a batik fabric as the base, then added details using Shiva paintstiks and Angelina fibre. The rocks are all added individually and I have turned under the edges of each one. It’s a slow process but little by little I’m getting there.

adding the rocks to the foreground.

Little by little I am adding all the rocks, then the next step will be to add some foliage to the foreground and background.

I was going through my stash of browns and autumnal colours looking for fabric to complete another project when one of the batiks caught my eye and I thought it would be just right for my leaves. I just added a simple border as I felt the design didn’t need anything else.

The colours of the border fabric compliment the colours I have used in the leaves. I quilted in the background using a fine black 50wt cotton thread and because there is no quilting on the leaves they stand out well from the background. I used a thicker variegated cotton 40wt thread in the borders.

Detail of the leaf rubbing and quilted background

Despite the dry weather the jungle foliage was lush as usual as you can see from this photo looking up towards the canopy. We walked for about an hour and a half to the waterfall, then stopped there for a dip and refreshment.

The picture above shows the river where we stopped at the waterfall, with the rain forest trees coming right down to the water’s edge. A couple of people swam in the river but it didn’t look too appealing with the dark water concealing anything that might be lurking there. We didn’t see any interesting birds this time although we could hear them in the distance. We did spot this rather hairy caterpillar though.

An unusual specimen, and I’m sure those spiky hairs would give a very nasty sting. Our walk back was a bit quicker than on the way out and then the drive home again.

On Friday we got together again with a smaller group this time and headed over the border to walk in The Lambir national park and to the Pantu waterfall which is one of our favourite treks. The rain forest here is very impressive although sadly there is only a small area left now. There are many ancient trees with their great buttress roots spreading out, twisted creepers that have grown to the thickness of small trees and huge fallen leaves the size of a tea tray.

We stopped at the waterfall to swim and although the level of the pool was lower than usual it was still surprisingly cold, but it was refreshing after the heat of the jungle. On the way back we spotted this marvelous crested lizard. Actually one of our group put their hand on it as they grabbed a tree for support and got quite a shock.

He obligingly stayed still enough for us to take a few photos before deciding he’d had enough of us and disappearing up to the top of  that tall and spindly tree. Before we set off  on the walk we also spotted this unusual insect which was pretending to be a leaf on one of the posters at the park head quarters.

Well, plenty of inspiration here for future quilts so I don’t think it will be too long before I make another rain forest inspired art quilt design.

Before starting on the quilt we had another trip to the jungle and I took some more photos to inspire me and get me in the mood for another rain forest project.

I was slow to start this quilt but as soon as I started sorting all my fabrics out I started to feel inspired again. The quilt is of a waterfall set deep in the forest and is a design that I have made several times before but every time I make it, it turns out slightly different. My fabrics are always changing, I run out of old favourites and find new ones. I wanted to start fresh with this design so once I had assembled my fabrics and got my inspirational photos I didn’t look at any pictures of the previous quilts I’d made.

The quilt is constructed on a background of stabilizer on which I sketched the outline of the design and then the individual fabrics are added one by one. I use freezer paper templates and the edges are coated with liquid starch and then turned under so there are no raw edges in the construction process. Something funny happened when I first started. I grabbed a can of what I thought was spray starch and sprayed some in the lid and thought that it had perished from long storage as it came out as a sticky yellow mess. It was only when I stuck my finger in it that I realized that it was in fact spray glue and I had an awful job getting it off my fingers and paintbrush, but luckily I hadn’t applied any to the fabric.

These are the fabrics and photos assembled ready to start, and the design drawn out on tearaway stabilizer. I tend to use mostly batiks for these designs and I have some lovely striped batiks which I find particularly good for replicating the layers of rock.

In the photo above you can see where I have started layering the fabrics for the background, pinning them in place individually before stitching with invisible thread.

 I continued adding fabrics until the background was completed, then I started to add embellishments to create the foliage, waterfall and jungle creepers. I also added some machine trapunto to make the foreground rocks stand out. The whole design was outline quilted with invisible thread, then I used rayon threads to stipple in some of the background areas, finally finishing off with a variegated cotton thread in the borders.

Detail showing the foreground rocks made to stand out from the background a bit more by the use of machine trapunto, needlelace foliage and raw edge applique with decorative quilting for the water and sand.

The completed design, and it is particularly pleasant to look at the moment, with the image of the lush vegetation and the cool, flowing water because it is extremely hot this morning. There is an inland wind blowing, parching everything and bringing with it the smell of distant fires as the forest burns. This morning I woke with a headache and the smell of smoke throughout the house, I prefer rain any day.

Heliconia flower

Yesterday was national day here in Brunei, and to take advantage of the day off we got together with some friends to do a forest walk. The place we chose to go is about an hour and a half’s drive away from where we live and one of the few places left that still has primary rain forest. We set off early in the morning and it promised to be a fine day and as we drove up into the hills there was still heavy mist hanging over the tops of the trees.

 We were intending to walk to a place called Bukit Teraja, bukit being the local word for mountain, so the first part of the walk was very steep. The previous time we did this walk it was pouring with rain so it made a nice change to do it in dry conditions although because of the recent rain there were still plenty of leeches around. We were soon out of breath from the climb but the minute one stopped anywhere the leeches would home in, so it was best to keep moving.

After about twenty minutes of walking (or climbing) we emerged into a clear, exposed rocky area and this place is well known as an excellent place for spotting pitcher plants and we weren’t disappointed. It seems that there are a number of different varieties growing in this spot, some nestled in the undergrowth at ground level and others like creepers, climbing up through the branches of trees. Some were small and round like little pots, others long and thin.

It seemed the more we looked, the more we saw, they were just everywhere. After crossing this open space and ridding our boots and socks of leeches, we went back into the trees to continue our climb but we hadn’t got far before we found our way obstructed by a large fallen tree. Beyond the tree the path had been completely obliterated by a large landslide so this time there was no chance of getting to the top. We had a bite to eat and then went back down the path, the return journey being easier than the ascent, although by the time we got back to the cars my knees were feeling rather wobbly. The walk was very enjoyable even if we didn’t reach the top of the hill and more  photos for potential wall hangings.

my rain forest threads

Before starting with the coloured threads I outline quilted all the main features using an invisible thread, I then quilted in a trailing leaf pattern between the trees, using a darker coloured variegated cotton in the lower part of the design.

creepers and leaves

I’ve couched some yarn for the creeepers in the top part of the design and here you can see a detail of the quilting. Below you can see the completed design, I have allowed some of the leaves and foliage to spill over into the borders to break up the edges of the quilt. I finished the binding by hand stitching it on the back and then adding a hanging sleeve. Now I just have to find somewhere to hang it.

The finished wall hanging

Some detail shots:

foliage spilling into the border

Fan palms

In the photo you can see my pile of  fabric scraps and the photo taken on a recent jungle trip, which I used as my inspiration for the design. I never through any of my batik scraps away and keep them sorted by colour in clear plastic bags. I drew a basic outline of the forest path design on my backround fabric and then started applying the tiny snippets of fabric starting off with the lightest and most distant leaves.

Distant leaves and tree trunks, the design starting to take shape.

I used a pale grey fabric for teh background as I wanted some of it to show through as sky, but it meant that I had to cover the rest of the design very densely. I think next time I will use several fabrics for the background, roughly pieced so that I don’t have to cover it with so many pieces. I used tweezers to position some of the tiny pieces and when I was happy with the arrangement , fused them in place.

The finished design with borders added and a few leaves and plants spilling over the edge. The quilting will have to wait a while as we are away for most of December having a holiday in the Philippines, so I’ll be writing about that rather than my sewing for the next month.

Impressive buttress roots of a rain forest tree

We set off quite late,there was a queue at the border and it was almost midday by the time we set off and so we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife. We’ve had a lot of rain recently so the paths were quite wet underfoot and there were a lot of leeches, but we reached the waterfall which was our destination without mishap. After walking for an hour we were all hot and sweaty so it was refreshing to plunge into surprisingly cold water of the forest pool and cool down.

Forest Pool

The waterfall which has inspired the various waterfall quilts that I’ve made.

Lush forest vegetation

rain forest inspired wall hanging

I have finally finished my rain forest design. I added a creeper made from some chenille like yarn along the top edge of the quilt which I allowed to twist and curl naturally and stitched in place using invisible thread and a free motion zig zag stitch.

I quilted along the outlines of the foreground trees to make them stand out more and then did stippling in the background using a fine polyester thread for the leaves and invisible thread for forest floor and fallen leaves. I then used a variegated cotton thread and a random stippling pattern in the borders.

Detail of creeper and background

my new fabrics and threads

trees and foliage

I have been continuing to work on my rain forest design this week. This time I tried a new technique for adding leaves or foliage to the background, I applied fusible web to the back of small scraps of fabrics then snipped them into small pieces and applied them to the background. When I was happy with the placement I fused them in place and then used variegated cotton thread and a free motion zig zag to stitch over them. I was pleased with the way this turned out because it makes the background trees recede into the background and look more realistic. i did the same for the fallen leaves in the foreground, very time consuming but effective.

detail of forest plant

local beach view from the water