Back in March of 2020 I wrote a blog titled “Chaos and Creating” where I first shared “Red Tree” as a work in progress. Below you will see the machine quilting is finally done and the piece is being blocked on my design wall, hence all of the pins. So it is still a work in progress, but the final steps of squaring up and finishing will only take about 5 more hours or less. This composition is number three in my tree series which I started in early 2019. To date I have designed and pieced eight works in this series. The plan is to share this body of work in my next solo show in my gallery.
Red Tree in progress approxiamtely 44.5" wide by 46” tall
cotton dyed by artist, wool batting, machine quilted
@2025 Pamela Loewen
The main trunk is made from one of my early hand dyed fabrics when I used to cure my fabrics in the sun. This created a more uneven distribution of color. Lighter areas dried out in the sun while darker areas had longer to cure in the dye.
Red Tree detail #1
@2025 Pamela Loewen
Red is my comfort color. When things in my life are unsettling, I always reach for red.
Red Tree detail #2
@2025 Pamela Loewen
I find straight line quilting in the background more challenging than free-motion quilting. It takes great thought and planning to make the lines look vibrant and lively.
Red Tree detail #3
@2025 Pamela Loewen
I really enjoyed the design I created for the surface of the tree. While I did not want to mimic real bark too directly, I did want it to relate in some way to actual bark.
Red Tree detail #4
@2025 Pamela Loewen
Last detail showing more dense quilting creating that final layer of design to make the overall composition sing.
One of my current goals is to get back into a consistent machine quilting rhythm. Like any skill, consistent repetition increases proficiency. I have 4 more trees basted and ready for machine quilting. I began machine quilting the Red Tree in January of 2024, but then life happened. I finally finished in May of 2025 totaling 94 hours of machine quilting. I had several starts and stops interrupting my flow. Now that the gallery is open, I hope to get back into more regular rhythms of working. Here’s hoping for a productive summer!