Quilt Jam 2: Moonlight Sleeping on a Midnight Lake

 

A simple abstract quilt to illustrate Ladysmith Black Mambazo's song "Homeless."

Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake   

This will be entered into the "Quilt Jam Challenge" for the 2026 Fly-In Quilt Show later this summer.   This challenge is to make a quilt based on a favorite song or a lyric.  I've got 100 ideas for this challenge!

 

 Here's a detail shot of the moon.  It is the reverse (non-printed) side of a piece of scrap fabric that fit the requirements for a moon.  I satin-stitched it to the background fabric.  There is an extra piece of batting underneath to make it pop out, Trapunto-style.

 

I shibori-dyed the fabric for the moon's reflection on the water years ago, by wrapping fabric around a pipe, and scrunching it down to get the resisted white parts.  It may even have been dyed in the indigo pot I had one summer.  I never knew what to do with it -- until now!

This section also has an extra piece of batting underneath, but it is so tightly quilted, that this part comes out flat and stiff.  Lesson learned.  It still looks cool! 

 

The background blue is a sheer fabric with some sparkle, not usually used for quilting.  It was so light that I had to add some fusible interfacing on the back of it to "make it behave."    

On the evening dogwalk where I live, we walk down by the lake and often see the moon reflected in the water.  This is a common sight on my neighborhood wanderings.  

 

  

Why is this one of my favorite songs? 

Here's the long story ...  Paul Simon's Graceland album came out when I was in high school.  It soon became one of my all-time favorite albums.  There was a lot of politics around Paul Simon's decision to work with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, an all black band from South Africa during apartheid, when the world was supposed to be boycotting South Africa.  In my mind, it was the right thing to do.  The world exposure helped the band, and it brought attention to what was happening in South Africa, which I believe helped to bring an end to apartheid.  I wrote a paper about that back in the day ...

My undergrad degree from many years ago is in African Literature & Languages.  At one time I was officially studying the Zulu language and could actually understand these lyrics.  ;-)    Music is a great way to learn a language, get pronunciation and cadence, and remember vocabulary.  We were going to see them in concert in Madison last month, but we got a gi-normous snowstorm so it is to be re-scheduled for a later date.

 

Here's the live video from Paul Simon's Concert in Hyde Park in 2012.

It still brings tears to my eyes!   What fantastic vocals!

Here's the official LBM video without Paul Simon:

 

If you click to see it on YouTube, there is a nice explanation of the lyrics and the meaning of the song:

This is the official music video of homeless performed by Grammy Award-winning group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo Homeless was released in 1986 by Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. 

HOMELESS was the first of many hits for Ladysmith as it launched their careers within the international market. The song was on Paul Simon’s collaborative, politically controversial yet his most successful album Graceland. 

HOMELESS like any other Ladysmith Black Mambazo songs before and after the Graceland album expressed depth and meaning about the harsh reality of migrant labor, poverty, heavy hearts, family separation, politics, cultural heritage, and broken dreams however homeless is a tale of so much more. 

The song also speaks about winning: “Yitho omanqoba (ih hih ih hih ih), Yitho omanqoba esanqoba lonke ilizwi (ih hih ih hih ih), Yitho omanqoba (ih hih ih hih ih) esanqoba phakathi e England....” Meaning that they are winners, they have won all over the world, they won right inside of England...They have managed to win over the hearts of people all over the world especially in England as their “Arrival” meant that they managed to escape the apartheid’s rules and limitations around social and economic exclusion because of the color of their skin.  

 

Homeless 

Lyrics from here:

Emaweni webaba
Silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni
Webaba silale maweni

Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
We are homeless, we are homeless
The moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
And we are homeless, homeless, homeless
The moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake

Zio yami, zio yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami amakhaza asengi bulele
Nhliziyo yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami, angibulele amakhaza
Nhliziyo yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami somandla angibulele mama
Zio yami, nhliziyo yami
Nhliziyo yami, nhliziyo yami

Too loo loo, too loo loo
Too loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo
Too loo loo, too loo loo
Too loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo loo

Strong wind destroy our home
Many dead, tonight it could be you
Strong wind, strong wind
Many dead, tonight it could be you

And we are homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
Homeless, homeless
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake

Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih

Yitho omanqoba (ih hih ih hih ih) yitho omanqoba
Esanqoba lonke ilizwe
(ih hih ih hih ih) Yitho omanqoba (ih hih ih hih ih)
Esanqoba phakathi e England
Yitho omanqoba
Esanqoba phakathi e London
Yitho omanqoba
Esanqoba phakathi e England - ih hih ih hih ih

Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody sing hello, hello, hello
Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih
Somebody cry why, why, why?

Kuluman
Kulumani, Kulumani sizwe
Singenze njani
Baya jabula abasi thanda yo
Ho

 

The Magic and Memory of a Kayleigh Spring : Landscape Quilting Class with Susan Hoffman

"Kayleigh Spring"

I signed up for a landscape quilting class with Sue Hoffman at Going to Pieces Quilt Shop in Appleton back in April.

Most of the other people in the class had been with her before.  We all brought photos -- well-- I brought more of a rough sketch with separate photos of spring-blooming trees that could be used in composite.  I had a whole collection on Pinterest of Sakura cherry trees as inspiration.  The image I wanted to work up is a sweet memory from 30 years ago ... that Kayleigh Spring at UW-River Falls.  A beautiful night in May, trees on campus were bursting pink and blooming, smelling so wonderful ...  Evening time, the sun was going down, and the moon and the stars were coming up.  Wow!  Did I mention I was in love?

It was kind of unusual for a student to have only a sketch, and not an actual photo to work with, but Sue Hoffman let me keep it, and was willing to help me work through it.  Really more of a dreamscape -- and a little simpler than some of the other projects people were working on this weekend. 

One of the biggest lessons from this class was to think like a painter, not a quilter.  I'd brought a big bag of scraps that I thought I could use to fill in the landscapes ...  That works perfectly for applique, but this isn't really applique as quilters know it.  The techniques were first put out there by Natalie Sewall and Nancy Zieman.  I have some of their books about this technique, watched the shows, and never really did anything with it.  Live classes are good for having you try something new, or working on a project on which you're stuck -- which I think is where I was with this one.

 Detail of the background fabrics, and the tree skeleton.

I chose a beautiful blue hand-dyed gradient from Vicki Welsh at Colorways as the sapphire blue background.

I had a whole jelly roll of different greens that I thought I would use for the hill, but it just wasn't working.  Susan persuaded me to choose a lovely leafy green off the rack -- yes, great to be in a well-stocked quilt shop with a wonderful palette to chose from!  Yes-- Going to Pieces has the Stonehenge line of wonderful textures, along with a wonderful selection of batiks and hand-dyes.  I LOVE this quilt shop!

Next I worked on the skeleton of the tree.  I've been fascinated with "naked" trees for years.  Looking at those skeleton structures before they are "clothed" with leaves for the season.  I had a few tree skeletons I could work with in my notes and sketchbooks.

In my mind, this image was tall to encompass the sky, not long, like "normal" horizontal landscapes.  But my chosen tree was better suited for a wider landscape, and a shorter sky.  So we blocked it out a little differently .. about 1/3 for the foreground hill, 1/3 for the tree off-set to one side, balanced by the night sky with a bright star (possibly a planet?) and crescent moon.  The tree is only partially on the canvas, otherwise it would take up too much space with this portrait setting.

We used Heat-n-Bond Lite as the fusible.  Funny they call it lite, as it seems really thick and sturdy.  This is what the teacher recommended.  Not identifying as a quilter, she tends NOT to stitch her quilts once constructed, and this has a good fusible bond.  Instead of quilting and stitching, she frames them behind museum quality glass--like a real piece of art.  That way, they are protected, and you don't worry about pieces falling off.




For the flowering tree blossoms, I chose 2 shades of pink in a hand dye with a little salt specks that seemed to mimic each blossom from this distant scale.   The hardest part was "fussy-cutting" all those little pieces.  It's too easy to get into a pattern with that, and then it all comes out looking the same.  The teacher recommended cutting an oblong triangle with lots of ins and outs, to make it look organic.  It took a whole afternoon to cut out all the pink pieces for the tree blooms.

Detail of the 2 fabrics chosen for the sakura blossoms.

Usually the next step in these kinds of landscape quilts is to go in and touch up the fabrics with pastel pencils or markers.  But since mine was more dreamy, and less life-like, I could skip that part.

Once that was done, I pressed (with a dry iron) everything in place.  And that's it!  It can be cut to size and framed.  I like the idea of not having to stitch it -- Once I get the moon and star in place, it can be dry-matt framed, and finished!   I know -- I'm a quilter first, but this idea of being almost done is really liberating!

 

 Still waiting for the finishing touches -- a moon and Venus in the corner.


Detail of the crescent moon and star in an exquisite sapphire sky.
Actually, in my memory, it was so bright, I think it must have been a planet.  Let's call it Venus.


The frame was purchased at one of the major craft stores locally with a 40%-off coupon. It's one of those off-the-rack / ready-made frames (16 in x 20 in), and not custom-made for this project.  As such the glass gives  off a lot of reflection.  I had to pull the glass in order to take the photo.  The frame looks rustic and old--like that tree -- good for a memory.  Nice and heavy, too.

This quilt has special meaning for me, as memory from nearly 30 years ago.  I was a freshman in college, in love for the first time, and feeling so alive!   Discovering the sensual world.  The feeling has definitely shifted to gratitude, appreciation, and back to love again.  Thank you, TM, for making such a sweet memory for me. 

It's a joy to revisit this every spring.  ;-)

Why "Kayleigh Spring," you ask?  At the time, a song had come out by a band called Marillion.
The song was Kayleigh.  The most visual of the lyrics are :

Do you remember dawn escapes from moon washed college halls?
Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square?
Do you remember I thought it was confetti in our hair?
-- Fish and Marillion

 
A lovely acoustic version of Kayleigh.
Don't be put off the the theatrics and make-up in the photo.  Just listen ...

In my search for the perfect Kayleigh rendition, I came across this haunting beauty -- isolated Fish vocals and guitar solo.   Just wanted to share it here, so I don't lose track of it ...



And now for the official video from way back in the 1980s.
The one that tells the story visually--even to the bittersweet end.


A really nice version of Fish's A Gentleman's Excuse Me with Lavendar.
[This one also keeps disappearing from the embedded option, so follow the link above ...]


And because some of the heavy stuff needs a chaser to a happier place--where I am now,
I leave you with Goo Goo Dolls : 

Fabric Post Cards : Moons and Trees

October Trees - as a Fabric Post Card

At Quilt Camp last weekend, I made 3 fabric postcards based on recent photographs I worked up here and here.

By the 2nd round, I simplified the tree silhouette a bit.

Blood Moon - Fabric Post Card

For this one, I also decided that the moon wasn't going to accidentally slip out from under the tree, especially with the tree branches sewn down securely.  

I finally learned to use my satin edge foot to do the edges on these postcards.  It really helps to keep a straight and even edge.

This weekend, I got the disappearing 9-patch blocks together, but before I show you, I need to fix one of the blocks that got turned the wrong way.  I didn't notice it until I had everything sewn together, but now I need to set it right before I continue.    

Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon

Here's the one I was really working on the other day ...  It's the same tree silhouette, an old oak tree here in Oshkosh.  I was trying to figure out how to limit the orange color to just the circle of the moon.  I finally figured it out by clipping the orange texture layer to the moon brush with layer mask layer.  It worked!

I was also thinking about my friend Sheila's Strawberry Moon art quilt, and thinking that I'd like to do a whole series of moons ...   Then last weekend, there was a story about Fleetwood Mac and they showed a neat moon on one of their stage sets back in the day.  Indigo Moon was just the beginning!  Thank you for the inspiration, Sheila! 

Maybe it will also inspire a journal quilt, too?

Photo Processing Layer-by-Layer :

Layer 1) Karen White's Midnight Blues Texture for background

Layer 2) Nancy Clayes Xeveria Texture - Normal Blend Mose at 49% opacity

Layer 3) Moon Brush with Layer Mask

Layer 4) Copy Layer 3

Layer 5) 2LO Fairy Tales 19 Texture - Multiply 100% (Tied to Moon Brush Layer with Mask)

Layer 6) 2LO Fairy Tales 19 Texture over whole piece (to warm up the blues) - Soft Light 20%
Layer 7) Kim Klassen's Jacob Texture - Soft Light 68%

Layer 8) Tree Silhouette (mine) - Multiply

 

Moody Harvest Moon

 Here's another version -- just a little moodier.  It reminds me of some of those old backgrounds in the Charlie Brown Halloween special.   Bruised.

The only difference is that I copied Layer 6 and set it at Multiply 31%.

Sharing with The Texture Artists FaceBook Group and Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.

Everyday Inspiration : Moon in My Tea Cup

I've been thinking about that wonderful Wolf Moon in January.
I saw it again in my tea cup once morning.