What size do you usually make your quilts? Do you tend to make them similar (or identical) sizes?
I have some favorite sizes, but as I’ve recently been playing with abstract pieces, I haven’t been giving it much thought. Just experimenting.
I made this piece and planned to enter it in a juried show. I finished it all the way to trimming it. And only then realized it wasn’t big enough for the intended show!
Darn!
I quickly set it aside and made a new piece that was big enough.
Meanwhile, I had been thinking about making a series of these abstract pieces, repeating the colors and motifs for continuity. At this point I was thinking, “Well, this one just won’t be part of the series.” But, when I showed both pieces to my art quilt buddies, they said “Why not enlarge it?” Hmm. That idea had merit.
Here’s the size difference:
Since the quilt was not yet faced, I could add additional batting and continue on. I decided to give it a go.
After adding the needed batting, I came up with a loose plan. I’d extend the top shape, finish the flower, and add some more orange rectangles.
First, I completed the teal shape and the background. I quilted those areas at this point, so I wouldn’t have to dodge the flower and squares I’d be adding later.
Then, I added a little yellow and finished the flower. The top right petal got sorta lost, so I’ll have to think about how to improve the contrast in that area.
Next, I added more orange squares. I like them a lot.
As you can see, I was also auditioning the idea of adding some orange near the top. Cuz it seemed like it needed something else up there.
With that in mind, I came up with the idea of a “ghost” flower in the top left corner. I auditioned the idea on my computer, using an earlier photo. I really liked this a lot! But, how would I do it?
Maybe I should make a sheer flower. Perhaps with tulle?
I auditioned the idea with 2 layers on a scrap. It showed up on the rust fabrics, but not the blue-green ones.
Still, while I was experimenting, I tried one more thing. I wanted a rather splotchy, imperfect flower, so I wondered if I could melt the tulle for an irregular effect.
Uh, no. The tulle melted in the middle, but left two channels of undamaged tulle along the side stitch lines. Not the look I was after.
So, I decided to do it with lighter fabrics, cut into little jagged blobs. Here’s my first attempt.
My idea worked, but it didn’t show up well enough. I’ll have to try again with lighter fabrics. And maybe enlarge the ghost flower while I’m at it.
After that, I’ll have to experiment with some additional orange and also see if I can make the flower petals show up better. One thing ALWAYS leads to another.
Ellen Lindner
