Is it a sin to make a detailed plan for a quilt before even cutting the fabric?

If it is then I am guilty. I definitely do a lot of thinking (overthinking) about a project before I commit to it and before I actually start making it. I like to know where I’m going. Most of the time things change along the way as things come up, but generally I have a pretty clear idea of where the project is going to go. Even so surprises do occur. Often times the original idea is not exactly what I end up with. Usually that’s because translating an idea into fabric or recycled plastic bags results in necessary changes. Things need to be simplified and rearranged. Using a photo or a digital image for inspiration can be difficult to translate into fabric. It’s a whole different world than creating a painting where you can create infinite colors and shades and blend them.  

Quilting is somewhat limited by what fabrics are available. Fabrics manufacturers have certainly given us more choices than ever. How did we live without batik fabrics, Stonehenge fabrics, mottled texture fabrics, hand painted and dyed fabrics, and fabrics that look like abstract paintings? I do love the challenge of working with fabrics to create art.

So planning is just the way my mind works. I’m pretty sure that my science brain has contributed to that. I have learned to embrace it. All the quilts that I sold at my exhibit in July were planned. So planning does have its rewards! Idaho Beauty (Sheila) commented that’s what she thinks it is.

I know a lot of people like improv quilting, but that’s not my thing. A few years ago there was a person who was an improv quilter that insulted the way I work like improv is the only way to do things. I’m basically terrible at improv and am not really impressed with some improv quilts. I guess the closest I come to improv is when I make a scrap quilt. I remember discussing this with a teacher that I admire and she said improv could do with a bit more thought and planning!

I’m also not great at taking an in person class for the same reasons. I’m not a create on demand person and feel awkward in a class. I still take those classes, but feel a bit out of my element at times. A lot of the pieces I’ve made in classes were not great. They needed more planning and thought. I’ve had mixed results with mystery quilts. If I don’t know where a quilt is going it’s hard to pick out the right fabrics for it. Knowing you need light, medium, and dark fabrics is not a big help.

My least successful recycle piece did not have enough planning. I just quickly went with an idea without much thought. The original idea was based on a photo we took of an art exhibit of ghostly figures in a forest. I used my husband’s old jeans as the recycled material. I was going to use used dryer sheets for the ghosts. That did not work at all. I ended up adding a pack of wolves to the forest instead. If I had done more planning I would have picked a different project. Here’s the end result. Should have spent more time thinking. I did end up using used painted dryer sheets. If I had thought this through more I would have just glued the closest trees in place without stitching them with zigzag on the edge.  That flattened them. Glued alone would have made them pop forward and be more dimensional. Live and learn.

Cold dark orb 18 by 18

So most my experimenting occurs during the planning.  I like to try out ideas on paper or my iPad  before getting out the fabric and scissors. A sketch or photo doesn’t cost much except a little time. Or in my case a lot of time!

Here’s where I am with the surreal show at this point. This is the image of the woman and tree house and reflection of an old person. This will be too hard to make. Especially the old woman reflection. 

I keep coming back to my original idea. Maybe it’s because that’s the one I need to make.

At this point a bunch of editing needs to happen as I create it.  I like certain things and not others in these 3 images. The moon reflection needs to go. The brighter roots are good. The tree branches need editing. I’m leaning toward this one. This is the proposal I submitted weeks ago. Next Wednesday I’ll know if I will proceed with making it. Size will be 24 by 30. Potential title is “Memory of Trees” from the Enya song. 

So is this the one??? 

Thanks for reading. 

Chris

A Quiet Delusion

Did you think my obsessing about this surreal piece was done? I wondered what would happen if I combined the 2 ideas.

First idea

Second idea

With a lot of tweaking I got this for the combined image. The woman in the tree is still there and the color scheme is still blue gray. Surreal images should have something unexpected. The unexpected elements are the house in her head and the reflection that is old and has its eyes shut. I did a bit more research on surreal art this time before creating this image. If I make it the size will be 24 by 30.

Any comments? This is it on this for a while….I hope.

I finished my sister’s gift. Shipping it today. 

I think I will be teaching a class on making an original gnome next fall at the local art alliance. The potential title will be….

Character & Form in Soft Sculpture: The Art of the Storybook Gnome

You can see my gnomes here.  https://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/2025/02/last-gnome-coming-up.html

The class will be all hand stitching.  The materials will be wool felt, wool roving, fur, stuffing.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Just to muddy the waters….

I was cleaning out photos last night and found a surreal one I created a while ago. Here’s the image and some changes including how it might look as a quilt.

Then of course I wondered and worried if this kind of image was better for the surreal show.

Here’s the info on the show.

Jennifer Sampou has a couple of sky ombre fabrics that would be perfect….storm and sea glass.

What do you think? Here’s the latest images of my old idea.

Or how about a cross between them with a face change?

I wait for your comments. Meanwhile I’ll be finishing my sister’s gift. 

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Why am I struggling so much with this surreal art image idea?

What can I blame it on? Here’s what I’m thinking…..

My background in Physics and Math can be a great advantage at times with my quilting. At other times it can be a disadvantage because I tend to over analyze things. I think that’s the case with the surreal show. I’m used to making sure the physics is correct. I make sure things are illuminated correctly based on the light source location. I make sure the perspective is correct. I make sure the values are correct. I want things to physically realistic. Plus as a quilter we are used to making sure our compositions are balanced.

Of course all of those things are not necessary for a surreal image. The balance, the perspective, the lighting do not have to be correct. But my physics brain wants them to be correct. So there has been a real mental struggle with this. 

My last image with the super large crescent moon did not excite me. I have rejected it. 

My original idea for this quilt had a glowing doorway that my daughter did not like. I took it out to simply the composition. People will say things like…let the quilt tell you what it needs. I’m not sure what that means. I don’t think my quilts ever talk to me. My process is to think, analyze, think, analyze, try different things, analyze again, try more things, and finally settle on something. Maybe that’s what the quilt speaking to you means. 

I’m a planner and need to know where I’m going with a quilt before I start. I’m not good at improv quilting. Of course even with a plan things have to be changed during execution. Plans don’t work 100%. I’m definitely not a throw it at the wall and hope it sticks person.

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this image. I missed the illuminated doorway and wondered what else could be illuminated. First thought was to put the doorway back, but that did not work because it’s really distracting. I suppose it could work for a different idea like having a huge lit portal with crows flying out of it into the night sky. I actually like that idea. Might have to work that out.

My next thoughts were to think about what else could glow besides the eye and tear drop. Maybe it could glow below the roots like the tree was glowing. I tried several versions of that. First glowing brightly then less bright. Then I drew in some fissures in the tree bark. You might notice that I decided to move away from a square composition to a vertical portrait composition. 

The fissures needed to be cleaned up so I did that. They might be glowing too much. Will have to over analyze that!

I want this to be a standard size so I can Velcro it to a gallery canvas. So I thought 24 by 36 might be good. That means it would have to be narrowed to work out to that size. Plenty to edit when making this. 

Here it is square. Is it better vertical or square. I’m sure I will over analyze that. 

So with edits as I construct this do I have a good idea? Sometimes I feel like starting over with something completely different. My goal is to still use Jennifer Sampou nightfall sky fabric for the background, batiks for the trees, silk for the eye, crow, moon and gold stuff.

Well that’s enough over analysis for one day.

Thanks for reading on this long journey.  And for the title of this…..The Weight of Midnight (or nightfall) or Exit Light. More thought needed there!

Chris