A Useful “Failure”

Well, it happened: I got completely stumped on my current quilt and have decided to scrap it. I’ll show you what I’ve been up to and what I’ve learned from it.

I started with what I thought was an interesting sketch.

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And if I wanted to make a quilt with 3 lines in it, on a solid background, this would have worked nicely. But, what I really needed was SHAPES. And a plan for using different values. I did neither, and forged ahead.

I did take the time to do a color sketch in my computer and dubbed it “not bad.” I thought the patterns from the hand dyed fabrics I’d be using would carry it. (Note to self: why even continue with a design that needed to be carried???)

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Here it is with those first 6 fabrics in place. (Which is pretty close to where I expected the design to be complete.)

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Hmm. It was pretty obvious that more was needed. The patterns did NOT carry it. I decided that I should try adding more, with little fused motifs.

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I really liked the very skinny blue-green strips in the lower left. But, the green circles as the top? They were a maybe.

Next, I made the lines skinnier. That did truly help. It lifted my spirits and helped me decide to continue.

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Next, I did a TON of trial and error as I tried to add some energy and excitement to the piece.  New fabrics were folded and placed for auditioning. (This went on for about a week!)

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And this is where I ended up when I decided to give up on it.

A Useful "Failure." Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog
Is it horrible? No.
Did I like it well enough to continue? No.

Before disassembling it I asked myself, “What’s wrong with it?” I think I already knew: it needed some contrast in value. And I couldn’t quite figure out how to inject it.

Next question: “How can I avoid this error in the future?” Again, I already knew the answer: use a sketch WITH THE VALUES COLORED IN! Get happy with the shapes and contrasts before reaching for the fabric!

How do I feel about using my time and my fabric in this way? I’m not bothered by it. Of course, we’d all like to have things easily fall together, but I’m philosophical about this “rough sketch.” It made me really study why things go wrong and that examination revealed concepts that will be helpful in the future. As far as I’m concerned, I wasted neither my time nor my fabric.

Have you ever scrapped a project? How did you feel about it?

Ellen Lindner
P.S. I don’t actually call such incidents failures. I call them rough drafts or sketches. The word failure was just to add interest to the title.
P.S.S. I’m excited to start on my next project, which has a value sketch! Yippee.

 

6 Responses to A Useful “Failure”

  1. Pat Hanna November 6, 2019 at 12:08 pm #

    Oh yes, I have ditched projects that don’t work. I have one queen-sized failure that I will use for a backing at some point. Unless I get inspired to cut it down and rework it into something smaller and more exciting.

    • Ellen Lindner November 7, 2019 at 10:22 pm #

      That’s the spirit, Pat. I’ve been known to cut mine up and rearrange them, or cut them WAY down to very small art pieces (5 x 7, etc.) (Things sure look different at that scale! With the addition of a little hand stitching, they can be quite charming.)

  2. Cindy November 6, 2019 at 1:04 pm #

    You may have learned more, and shared more, with a piece that ultimately didn’t work than with one that did! It’s hard to know when it’s guittin’ time but I think you illustrated some valuable lessons. Thank you for documenting this. There is a lot more to a successful abstract than most folks think!

    • Ellen Lindner November 7, 2019 at 10:23 pm #

      Thanks, Cindy. At least by making a mistake I learned something! Maybe even a lot.

      And, even when I’m completely happy with a piece, I still ask, “If I were to do this again, what would I consider changing?”

      And, yes, abstracts are challenging. Maybe that’s one of the things I like about them!

  3. Roxane Lessa December 6, 2019 at 5:53 pm #

    Definitely been there, done that. Love seeing your process. for what it’s worth, It wasn’t a bad design, just needed to substitute some dark values and light values as you realized in the end 🙂 As much as we KNOW this, it’s not the same thing as putting it into practice. I share a similar learning example in one of my slide lectures. I still have and show the boring quilt where I learned this lesson LOL.

    • Ellen Lindner December 7, 2019 at 11:44 pm #

      Roxane, you’re absolutely right. Even though I know I need those value changes I’m seduced by the bright fabrics of medium value. It’s a challenge.

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