Tag Archives: Silk Floss

Elder - The Celtic Wisdom of Trees. Art Quilt by Dorothy Russell

Elder – The Celtic Wisdom of Trees

Based on information taken from the book ‘The Celtic Wisdom of Trees’ by Jane Gifford, about the tree associated with my birth date – the Elder. The associations are dark, with reminders of ‘death’ and ‘the inevitable’, witches hide in their trunks and the wood will not burn well: associated colours are dark green and black! However it isn’t all bad news – the tree has healing properties and it provided elder flowers to make cordial or champagne. The berries also make a good natural dye with alum and salt used as mordants.

Cotton and silk fabrics and silk floss – some dyed: machine piecing, applique, free-machine quilting and hand beading.

  • 123cm x 61cm
  • Cotton
  • Silk
  • Silk floss
  • Fabric dyeing
  • Machine piecing
  • Applique
  • Free-machine quilting
  • Beading