Some of them are a no brainer and I have abandoned them.
There are some I am still studying and deciding what to do with them.
I also have to decide if they are worthy of any more of my time.
I'll share a few of them with you.
This quilt uses some beautiful hand dyed fabrics.
I created it by free cutting the shapes.
It has a good beginning, but it needs more to make it work.
This started with pieces I cut off another quilt. I continued to play with it and add more free form piecing.
It DIDN'T work so I cut it into 5 or 6 smaller pieces and finished the edges and embellished each one. I thought they would work as smaller pieces mounted and framed.
I should have abandoned this when I cut it off the larger quilt that didn't work.
No matter what I did it just didn't work.
The problem is, when you work this way, you don't know until you try.
Sometimes you win big, and some times you lose!
This is another piece I am not sure is working.
As I look at this view of it I am thinking that maybe if I take off the lower two sections it MAY work.
In my opinion part of the problem with this is that the values and value contrasts are too similar throughout the quilt.
I do like the shapes I have created.
None of these projects need me to make a decision now. They are on the back burner.
ADDENDUM:
I found another photo of this quilt and the first one I showed you was not complete.
Looking at this photo I see something I did NOT see in the other one.
If I take this apart so that I have 3 sections and make a triptych from them hanging them side by side I believe this WILL work.
They also will need some creative quilting.
Often the computer can make me see things I can't see "in the flesh".
ADDENDUM 2
I played with this in Corel Photo Paint and Corel Draw and I can now see what will happen if I do this. I think this is the solution to my problem. Of course it still will need the other important partner, creative quilitng to enhance the design.
6 comments:
How about using just the top (4 block) section...that looks like it has the best color value to showcase the pattern....
Mary,
You put my mind in gear this morning and I think I have the solution.
Thanks.
Kay - I think the decision to put them all aside was good. With hand dyed fabrics especially, the temptation is to use up every little bit in 'something' ; but there is more value I think in passing on such offcuts to someone who works with very small pieces, either traditionally or in a contemporary manner. And in the orange/turquoise blocks, there is a pattern certainly, but really with just the two opposing colours and some blends of them there doesn't seem to be enough interest, except of course to show you have got the hang of improvisational piecing. Early in my experimental days I did something just like this and left it at roughly the same point. I think some things need to be tried, and we learn from them. Abandoning it is not a waste of fabric. Keep a block or two, don't fret about quilting and finishing them off, and pass the rest on to someone who works small, too, someone who will unpick sections and use some of the bits in a totally different way to your pieced work.
The first two have some definite merit. The last one could benefit from some contrasting fabrics or even a lot of solid read fabric. Ideas, you could use the pieced fabric as 'just fabric' and use to piece in another project or finish and paint over it. Or tone the colors down with diluted gesso and ink jet print over it.
I actually like the beginning of the quilt in the turquoise, orange. You cold make it a horizontal quilt. Where the second and third pieces connect, there is a disconnect. What about using thread painting or fusible curvy strips to make the pieces flow better together? The question is what color or shade to add as a fusible?
Another thought is that you could also make it the background with black silhouettes. For instance, cutout several black (or white??) dancers and place them across the background, making sure that the areas where there is a disconnect are covered partially with the silhouettes. The contrast would add interest.
Just my 2 cents. I like the colors.
I think the first piece could be multiplied with the same motif and different contrast values used. Repetition almost always works. I agree that the others don't have enough contrast. Thanks for sharing!
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