They're Breeding Down There

Somehow while I wasn't looking the UFO's started breeding down in the basement.  Last time I really looked I was at a very manageable 22 items.  Suddenly it's 27!  Ack!

We split this into six pieces, each person to create one, then they will all be sewn together.
Only one done so far, though.

I had completely forgotten the Grateful Threads Pink Petunia Project until I discovered it tucked away on a shelf.  (I’m still organizing and figuring out what to put in all this storage space!) I don’t know if that thing’s even going to happen, but I do want to work on it – hence #22.   Then since my super efficient friend sent me a beautiful beaded necklace in our Facebook gift exchange, I figured I’d better get going on her iPad cover.   Technically I agreed to make six gifts, so I should have added six separate items and deleted “six gifts for friends,”  but the other five are not only unfinished, they’re unstarted.  Hence not UFO’s in MY lexicon, anyway.

The next item to appear was the neutral strip piecing/restructuring piece which seemed to literally start itself the minute I finished assembling Film Strips.  It was bubbling under the surface just waiting to burst forward, as were the figure-ground study(ies) which involved cutting up a stack of 16 squares “stack-n-wack” style then reassembling them.  It is also called a curved piecing study because even though the curves I cut seemed subtle, they really are a bugger to sew!  Good advice from Alison Schwabe who was kind enough to write and share some of her work with me.

I really don’t know why I felt I HAD to make deck cushions…but as noted here, I did.  Learning process, I guess.  I am fighting the urge to play with more paper piecin.  This is a constant battle, since I created ¼ of a Christmas star, and UFO #25.  I’ve been particularly drawn to a beautiful New York Beauty by Venus de Hilo.  You can see her blocks in progress on her site, or her Pinterest page. But I don't WANT to get sucked into something that isn't my own creation that I will get bored with half way through.

What gorgeous colors. They make me drool!  I’d love to do something combining the “white-plus-bright” color scheme of the Galaxy quilt I showed in my last post, but with the NYB patterns.   I think there are nine different designs, so four of each would create 9 blocks…  could be parlayed into a bed quilt with some accents and borders.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Contrast! Value!

One of the things that really sunk in for me at the show this weekend is that Contrast is the most essential thing in quilt design.  If I may digress for a moment, there are things that I have "learned" i.e. read in a book and can parrot back, and then things that I "know," and when something crosses that line, that's when it really becomes part of me; I guess that's the best way to put it.  This weekend, the point about value really sunk in for me in a visceral way.

I looked at a large number of quilts that had beautiful, gorgeous fabrics in them, and were very interesting designs, and very well crafted, but as I looked at them, I just thought, hmmm, that's nice. As I looked at the "Hmmm" quilts vs. the "WOW" quilts, what was the biggest difference - Contrast!  Value!  Color is secondary, and can be almost anything, but without a range of values properly placed, quilts just look blah.  Wish I'd taken more pictures, but I don't like to feature a person's quilt and call it "blah."

Instead, let's look at an example of some very similar quilts, that manage to have very different effects within each block of the quilt.  Following are two beautiful quilts, patterns available for sale here on "Broderie."  The first is Galaxy.  Even though the range of values is relatively narrow - few super dark or pastel pale fabrics, each piece stands out from the one adjacent to it.

Galaxy by Trish Harper

Now let's look at "Camelot," also a pattern by Trish Harper.  I want to show two versions, see what you think:    This one, I believe, is executed by the writer of Broderie, Elizabeth Wright.

And this is by Trish herself - as featured on Broderie.

For me, some of the blocks in each are fantastic, some not so much.  Which ones jump out at you, and why?  What do you think about Elizabeth's choice of background?   All are beautiful, to be sure!

First Show - Moonlight Quilters

Yes, it was only a local, non-juried, local guild free-for all.  But it was still fun to see my quilts hanging in public.  I didn't linger in front of them to eavesdrop on comments; didn't really want to know what people thought.  Other than being mine, they're pretty unremarkable.

I wonder if I could have done something different with the sleeve to make it hang flatter?
I don't see how, with this hanging system.

I was a little disappointed at how this one got wedged into a margin. 

This one looked nice. Wonder how much dog hair it had on it?  

Here are a few other quilts that caught my eye, for various reasons.  I saw this design displayed in a local shop and thought it was wonderful, and thought about trying to create one of my own.  Apparently it was a commercial pattern - here are two examples of it.  It is a nice way to showcase pretty Asian fabrics that lose their effect when cut up.  Pinning the descriptions on the quit was not a big deal on an all-over design, but really distracting when composition was an important part of the quilt.  

This black + batik one intrigued me.  The subdued palette was more sophisticated than many, and the way the pattern is created was interesting. Click the small photo to get a better look.  I'd be tempted to arrange them less randomly.

 The next one was my favorite of the show.  I sometimes have an urge to make a traditional sampler-style quilt, but many of them come out looking like a big hodge-podge.  The fabrics and design of this one really held it together.  I'm guessing that all the fabrics were bought from one coordinating line.  I always have the niggling sense that is "cheating," or at least missing out on the fun but risky process of putting together your own palette.  But it's hard to argue with the result.

The only thing that really stuck out (in a negative way) is that brown circle around the bottom block.

This was a beautiful display of traditional work.  Hand quilted, too.

The vast majority of quilts were very traditional.  The "art quilts" were mainly things like the seasonal ones in the second photo above.  There were a large number of one-block wonders, too.  Those do little for me.  I love the concept or technique, and have seen some fun results.  I tried it myself on that very first baby quilt.  But when the composition of the blocks is so random it doesn't do anything for me.

There were a few more art-y art quilts, i.e. beads, sequins, self-portraits, etc. etc. But absolutely nothing of the abstract type I've been studying, and Definitely none of the type I'm now making!  When I'm reading blogs on line, or studying the major art-quilt shows, quilt national etc. I feel like, there are SO many people doing this, I'm just one little tiny fish in a huge ocean.  But in this venue I feel like a complete outsider.  There have GOT to be more people doing art quilting in this town!  It's a very artistic community.  I just don't know where they are, or how to find them.  I guess I will try going down to an association meeting in Seattle, the CQA or Contemporary Quilt Association.  Or maybe I'll just stay in my basement and make art.

Link to The Free Motion Quilting Project: Question Thursday #28

Leah Day, the queen of the Free Motion Quilting Project had a great post on Thursday, about diagnosing problems with your FMQ.  She is incredibly generous in sharing her skill and knowledge - not to mention 365 different FMQ designs!  I thought I'd post a link to it so I am sure I know where to find it when I need it!

The Free Motion Quilting Project: Question Thursday #28

Odds and Ends

I was able to spend a considerable amount of time in the studio today, although a lot of it was not creative time. I learned how to make hanging sleeves and made a two-piece one for the large quilt. I took five quilts to be in the Moonlight Quilters show which is next weekend. They are:

Cloister

Beacon in the Darkness

Wonky Log Cabins

Organic Waves

Stolen Moments

Then I worked on the deck cushions.  One is done and the second one just needs a minor adjustment. Three more to make. Greg was right, I should have just bought them at Home Depot.

I looked at my twenty-one yards of new fabric and attempted to visually sort them by value. Way Off! I wish I'd taken a photo of my attempt but I too quickly rearranged them correctly after peering through the "Ruby Beholder." (what a name!)  So work with me a minute on this: enlarge the photo by clicking it - then count up from the bottom, or darkest fabric.  Doesn't it look like #5 & #6 should be moved up (lighter) and #7 &  #8 moved down (darker)?  Now go to the colored photo.  5 & 6 are the chartreuse and magenta.  They are LIGHTER than the blue and sage above them?  How can this be?  I need to be better at this!

This is how they looked after rearranging.

It seems that my weak point is in mistaking bright and/or warm colors for dark values. And also thinking that dull grayish colors are darker than they are. Can you believe that those orange-y fabrics are so light in value!?!

Same stack!

The fabrics look so much more interesting when spread out dark to light. They looked rather boring and too "pretty" when arranged by color as they were on arrival.