Exploration and Detours
I guess it’s a good thing making a quilt takes a while because I find that I often get new ideas while implementing the previous ones. Such has been the case with my current abstract quilt.
I left a large orange/rust shape in the top left corner, planning to balance it with something large and orange in the lower right. Maybe something like this.
But first, I wanted to get my flowers into place. I had planned to use one large open flower, but that turned into two. In the photo below, I was putting them in place.
They blend in with the background more than I had hoped, so I’ll add some orange outline stitching, or something along those lines.
While working on the flowers, however, I had time to think about that big orange shape and I thought I could do something more interesting.
I’d been noticing that I really liked paintings with lots of tiny squiggles and shapes in them. I wondered how I could get that effect with fabric. I decided I could just cut shapes and sprinkle them about. So, I tried a few to get the effect.
I really liked that, so I went for broke.
Oh yes! I love it!
But, this definitely doesn’t balance the big corner blob. I’ll have to do something about that.
Will I need to completely remove that big rust shape, or can I just shrink it? I auditioned the latter in this next photo.
I’m not sure yet. But, I’m having fun exploring options and taking detours!
Ellen Lindner
Leave the big orange “blob”. It looks as if the small pieces are falling out of it.
Sorry, Catherine, but the orange blob has gone by the wayside. I’ll show you soon.
I love the last one too. It’s funny how our brains will search for pattern/meaning and as I contemplated this last view, a woman’s face in profile came to me. She is blue with a flower in her flowing hair, the orange squares represent her thoughts, ideas, words…. Anyway that’s where my imagination is taking me this morning! Carry on! I love that you share your process.
I noticed that woman too, although she was accidental. I thought about removing her, but since she occurred without planning, I sorta wanted to leave her. And, since I’m thinking of naming this piece Daydream, it actually works!
Thanks for commenting.
Now that I read the above comment, I totally see the lady and this is not quite as abstract… I started to ask how the little squares are held down? Did you sew around them individually or are they just stuck on…
Hi Kristy,
I KNEW I should have fused those squares on, but once I got the idea to use them, my enthusiasm took over and I just forged ahead without adding fusible. Which means I did a lot of gluing afterward, and then a lot of stitching. (Next time I’ll fuse!)
I am enjoying your new explorations! As always, you are doing good work and it will be fun to see where this is going. Love the colors!
Thanks, Sunnie. These are my favorite colors: red-orange and blue-green.
I really like the bigger corner blob better–it has some light and shading to it that makes it seem rich. And I LOVE your square doodles.
Thanks, Debby. I’m kinda in love with those squares, too. But, sorry, the big corner blob is no longer there.
Amazing to see how you add a sense of animation and playfulness, even as you use repetition, balance, and rhythm. So cool. All fused??
Oh, Eleanor, I WISH I had fused all those orange squares! I knew that I should, but I got caught up in cutting and placing and didn’t slow down enough to do it. Which required about 4 hours of gluing later. Hopefully, I’ll have a little more self-control next time.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the progress. Me too!
Oh, I just love this, especially the addition of the “squiggles”. They really added the just right touch to your design. Love watching you play! 😉
Thanks, Maeve. I’m loving those little squiggles, too. And having fun!
I like it better with the geometric squares. The orange in corner is a black based print, and stands out. While the other fabrics are white based. Try deleted the top orange altogether, and add more white based geometrics.
Hi Constance,
Great minds think alike, because I came to the same conclusions! I’ll have it ready to show you soon.