Blue Jungle

For the 2014 International Freeform Fiberarts Guild Challenge - One Color - I began at Christmas when I heard Elvis' song, "Blue Christmas". I knew it had to be blue. My mind jumped to another song, "Blue Bayou", and my theme was chosen. The finished sculpture was published in the book "One Color", edited by Cyra Lewis (http://www.blurb.com/b/5466596-one-colour) and published by Blurb as well as on the IFFG page (http://ffchallenge2014.weebly.com/2014-challenge-theme----one-color.html).

First, I selected yarn for the project - so many blues - so many textures - so many sizes of yarn - quantities ranging from a few yards to several balls.

Then, I searched the internet for pictures of jungles, tropical plants, vines, leaves, and ferns.

I sketched a bit in my journal with thoughts of a square wall hanging. My work board is a blue square; so that was easy. The floppy leaves on the right were the first pieces I created - two meandering leaves. Then I tried a round piece, but it didn't fit my ideas. The Irish Crochet looking leaf on the bottom left came next - from a pattern by a friend in The Netherlands - Hyke Groen (http://www.bizzyhands.nl/). I started a river using slip stitch, a very cool stretchy piece. And, I made some spirals.

The angel wing begonia originally grown by my great-grandmother had died recently; so I created a begonia leaf pattern and made half a dozen begonia leaves in different colors. We had tried some "encasing" techniques in a ravelry group; so I added some swampland next to the river. I wanted some tall leaves such as the mother-in-law tongue leaves; so I added some of them on the left.  And, I tried my hand at Irish Crochet buttons and some crocodile stitches.

I created some variegated grass (at the bottom) and made a tree with a limb and some vines. The fuzzy ferns on the right came along as well as the clump of mushrooms.

But the pieces did not fit on a wall hanging; they confidently demanded to be a sculpture.

A 24" square of plywood covered with some leftover denim became a base, and an old pillow gave its innards for a hill. The tree stood upright with the help of a cardboard tube stapled to the plywood.

The river got bigger; the vines got longer, the spirals hung off the tree; the tree limb drooped. Needle felted rocks edged from the hillside into the river and the mushrooms gathered around the tree trunk.

That left a lot of blue denim showing.








Florist wire helped the begonia leaves curl and twist, but I couldn't figure how to attach them; the padding wouldn't hold them upright.

I tried florist foam and florist wet foam, but they both shredded when I put them underneath the denim. David glued several pieces of inch-thick styrofoam together, and I cut it into the shape I needed. The florist wire poked through the denim and into the styrofoam easily, and I arranged the leaves.





The swamp from the beginning had to come out and was replaced by some knitted water with lily pads and lumps. The river grew a waterfall at the edge.

The tree got a square stick screwed into the base, and the floppy tree limb got a dowel stapled to the stick. The pillow stuffing covered all the rough edges and various blue pieces covered the stuffing.

The back got some terra-scaping and the crocodile stitches nestled at the base of the tree.

The vines were fun to make - chain stitches with limpet stitch and popcorn stitch and other little furls.

The begonia leaves were happy on their hill.

Lily pads floated calmly in their backwater.

And, the fairies opened a portal with a walkway and flowers at the back under a fern.