Wednesday, September 14, 2011

I tend to get stuck in my head when I'm making a new quilt, so this week I thought I'd try something different and just experiment, without having a meaning or image or plan in my head.

It started with this streaky fabric, which was the result of an ice dying experiment last week.


I wanted to try to exploit the linear designs, so in  an experimental mood I cut it up into bias squares, so that the linear design ran diagonally across each block.  And then I started putting the blocks up on my design wall. 


This was the result of just putting the blocks up randomly.  I liked the texture, but I was feeling that there was no focal point.  So I moved them around a bit more, thinking to put the lights in the center and work out into darker tones.


Um, no.


Then I thought, well, I'll just group the colors together in  columns and see how that looks.  (Of course, it occurred to me that the original fabric had colors in lines so why did I cut it up, then?)  But I liked how this looked sort of landscapey, if you turn your head sideways to the left.



See what I mean?  I actually like that, so I sewed the squares together.

And then I sat and stared.  What to do next?  How to quilt?  I started in yesterday, stitching and trying to keep the streaky elements I like, and trying to respond to what I thought the quilt was saying it wanted to be.

There was a big period of time where I think the quilt was telling me it wanted to be wadded up and stuffed into the trash.

So, it's in the works.  I'm not sure whether what I'm doing is making it worse or better.  I realize that without a specific intent about the quilt to begin with, it's harder to decide where to go.  I guess I just need to trust the process. 

4 comments :

  1. I like the movement in your final composition.

    I have many beautiful, multi-coloured shibori and other hand-dyed fabrics that I pull out and stroke but don't know how to incorporate into a quilt. I admire artists like Elizabeth Barton who use patterned hand-dyes in their work to great effect.

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  2. The colours in this fabric are so beautiful. I'm with Brenda - I would be afraid to cut it up, but I like what you have done

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  3. It could be the background for something else. Let it "cellar" for a while until you get new inspiration.

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  4. You realize that your work has taken a geometrically exponential leap, don't you? I love these prints and the painterly beauty of them as they nestle together waiting to be sewn.

    We have known each other since before I had a computer with a mouse - how's that for ancient times??

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