eels and islands

We’ve been away at the weekend again. I took the blue and white quilt to work on-the hand patches are easy to transport, easy to stitch and can be picked up and put down in moments. At the current rate of progress, the quilt might be ready before Christmas. And I took a journal to try to give some shape to the ideas I was playing with here.

I’ve found a font I like the look of-it’s based on Charles Rennie Mackintosh lettering- and I was playing with forming letters in odd proportions. This is an early, badly photograohed idea of what I had in mind-using little squares on point to underline, empahsise, separate and unite. Perhaps eyelets would work too?

Today I made two more windows in the quilt and waited until this evening for some decent light to photograph it. I can’t tell you how miserable it is here, but at around 5 the sun peeped out for a few moments so I can show you this.

I had been thinking about how the fens were originally a waterland, with islands that emerged from the reed beds. This little window is a peep across the reeds to a distant island, perhaps where Ely cathedral was built. More detail will be added, and there is finishing to do.

And then I wondered , what if across the fen, a pair of fishermen from time out of mind came by, with nets, hooks and baskets. Eeling at Ely. There are many places in the fens ending with an “ee” sound. It was the Saxon word for island. Ely. Eel island.

Pencil sketch on paper placed behind the window. This could be fun.