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

 

Day at Loon Lake Quilt Top is Complete!

It's been too hot to work on this one to really finish the top.  I was frustrated to lose the momentum.    I am so not-a-summer person.  Grrr!  So I took Friday off in order to work on it in the cooler hours of morning.    And it's done!

Last time, I was still working on the lower 2/3 of the quilt, the underwater scenes. 

Now I've got it all together, with lily pad stems stitched down. 

The Crossover Fish

Here it is from the back, showing the stitching on the stabilizer. 

The elements didn't quite match up on the pattern pieces.  That might have been intentional as part of the water bending light, so you don't see what you see where it is, but shifted just a little.  ???

Looks like he might need a top fin, too. 

Some detail shots of the log.  I wish the multiple browns had blended a little better.

I'll quilt in some bark texture later on, that will hopefully tie it all together.

More sunken log.

Detail of the knot hole.

Lily Pad Stems

After all the big blocks were sewn together, I mapped out where I wanted the lily pad stems to go. 

They bridge multiple blocks so it made sense to do them after the blocks were put together.  I cut green strips of a variety of green fabrics, from my stash, not even bias strips.  Usually they are about 1-1/2 inches wide.  Thinner than that, and I couldn't turn them inside out.  There was enough give and sway with these to meander them through the water for convincing lily pad stems, even of they are a bit thick.  I fused them down to hold them in place for stitching.   

Mr. Turtle needed the other half of his head, once the blocks were assembled.  His head was breaking out of the water. As the pattern was written, there was a mismatch, where his head above water didn't match his head below water.  I decided to make it match anyway, even though the reeds next to him "broke."

Once the blocks were together, and the lily pad stems attached, it was time to add some fun little extra elements, like this jumping green frog.

And this blue snail.

I have two more dragonflies to add once the top has been sandwiched and quilted.  I thought it would be easier to do the background quilting without the dragonflies, and add them last. 

Green Darner Dragon Fly

Here is the full view again.  I am antsy to start quilting it now ... I have definite ideas on what background quilting pattern / design to use at each level / depth.  But I suspect that will have to wait for cooler weather.  It's a lot of work to wrestle a quilt. 

Now -- Let's see if I have a suitable wide backing for this work of art!

When the whole thing is done and quilted, I'll give you detail shots of each element.

Let's hope it won't take forever and a day to finish!

Other posts about this quilt:

Day at the Lake Quilt is Coming Along ... Top Third Done - Turtle and Perch Blocks Done (2020)

Progress on the Loon Lake Quilt (Iris and Loon Blocks - 2017)

Thread painting at Lake Lucerne Quilt Camp (Orange Fish Block, Landscape Blocks 2016)

Progress on the Loon Lake Quilt (applique 2016)

Resurrection of Day at the Quilt   (2016)

Beyond Beyond - Day 4 : Inside Out or Cello by the Lake

 

Cello by the Lake

For this week's lesson, Kim asked us to photograph something that normally resides inside the house, outside.  Inside Out.  At first I was kind of stumped as to what to do ...  Everyone in the class had such great ideas -- raspberries on a wooden stump, a Ball canning jar at sunset, a gold picture frame hung on dry prairie grasses, bathroom table.

While I was going through the lesson notes and vids, I was also listening to the radio.  45 North was interviewing cellist Zoe Keating.   The title of her new album is called Into the Trees ...   Then I got to thinking about how much I have always loved cello; how grateful and pleasantly surprised that my kid actually decided to play cello this year in school, and how we'll probably have to give it back at the end of the school year--only a month away.    He told me he chose cello for the simple reason that he could have a practice cello at home and wouldn't have to lug it back and forth to school.  Practical.  I am amazed at what he's learned in just 1 year!  The Orchestra teacher is a miracle worker.   ;-)    So I'm looking at the cello leaning against Oliver's desk and I think : The Woods!  I can photograph OKL's cello in the woods!  Except, we don't have any woods nearby ...  But we do have a lake with trees!  So this morning, I took his cello for a ride ...  The cello is much easier to photograph than a surly 6th grader!  Such lovely curves--so many possibilities!

Here's the photo I started with.  

Here is the processing on the single photo at the top of this post :
Layer 1 : Background Image
Layer 2 : Copy Background Layer > RadLab (Troy+Antique Tone+Boutwell Magic Glasses 2+ EZ Burn 2)
Layer 3 : Kim Klassen's Cool Grunge Texture - Multiply blend mode at 51% opacity
Layer 4 : Copy Layer 3 - Soft Light 54%
Layer 5 : Kim Klassen's Paper Stained Music Texture - Multiply 52%
Layer 6 : Kim Klassen's Break Free Texture - Soft Light at 72%
Layer 7 : Kim Klassen's Pumpkin Grunge - Overlay at 24%

I came away with several decent shots from the Cello by the Lake photo shoot, so I wanted to try another Light Room Layout with some of the other shots.

Here's the Layout in Light Room with the images straight outta my camera.

Here's the processing to get the texturized version above :
Layer 1 : Background Image
Layer 2 : RadLab with Troy + Gramma's Tap Shoes + EZ Burn2
Layer 3 : Kim Klassen's Cool Grunge Texture - Multiply at 53%
Layer 4 : Text (added last)  Pea Keylor Font
Layer 5 : Kim Klassen's Paper Stained Music - Multiply 51%
Layer 6 : Kim Klassen's Break Free Texture - Soft Light 72%
Layer 7 : Kim Klassen's Warm Sun Texture - Soft Light 41%
                     with Layer Mask to brush off some texture on cellos

Enjoy Zoe Keating's "The Optimist:"