Yes, yes, yes….yeah!

Well I submitted my blocked out windmill quilt to Elizabeth and received her feedback.
I will first talk about my quilt and my concerns and then give you the feedback that I got.

“ Gathering Storm” 15 in by 15 in

I wanted a stormy sunset type fabric for the sky. I figured with a storm brewing the windmills would be turning like crazy. Plus this sky would look turbulent which could add to the idea of motion.This fabric is a piece that I snow dyed last Thursday during a snow storm in NJ. I used 2 yellows and 2 purples. Where the yellow and purple dyes overlapped some browns were created.  I had no idea if the fabric would come out right for this piece since snow dyeing while creating some wonderful fabrics can be very unpredictable.
We certainly have had plenty of snow around. My secretary said that it is good to have something to do with snow other than to shovel it! My husband even liked the piece of fabric!

My concerns that I sent to Elizabeth about the piece:

• Are the windmills OK now or do I need some larger ones on the left hand side? Or more of them?
• Also is the sky fabric OK?Or should I go back to my stash to find something else?
• Are the land pieces dark enough? I wanted them to kind of blend in with the sky a bit since near sunset the distinction between sky and land is not very distinct.
• Plus I am sure you thought of something I should be concerned about that I am not seeing.

This was Elizabeth’s feedback:

“I love it!!! the background fabric is perfect...and coming in really close on that front windmill absolutely the right thing to do...you don't need to do anything more...the vanes move, the sky moves, even the shadows move!  super. 
Are the windmills OK now or do I need some larger ones on the left hand side?
no that would make the balance too static...that long diagonal totally works as a balance for the largest windmill.
Or more of them? not at all...would serve no purpose and just clutter things up.
Are the land pieces dark enough? I wanted them to kind of blend in with the sky a bit since near sunset the distinction between sky and land is not very distinct.
I think they really are and I like that the values get a little darker in the bottom left hand corner - you've made absolutely the right choice.  They're a medium value and that works well. 
Now wouldn't this be amazing if it were 60 by 60?!!!!  Back out to the snow dyeing - quickly!!”

I was so happy yesterday when I read the feedback. In fact today I am still doing a happy dance!
One thing I never thought of is the background fabric helping to balance the composition of the windmills. I thought you would need more windmills to do that. At one point I had the diagonal of the sky fabric going the other way. I guess I figured that did not work and flipped it, but did not know why it did not work the other way. It basically added weight to the already heavy side of the piece.

Did you know that the background fabric can help to balance the composition? Please tell me that I am not the only one that did not know that and have never thought about the background fabric that way before. Maybe it is because a lot of times the background fabric is not that graphic and strong and does not really balance or unbalance the composition? I guess now I should think more seriously about the background fabric!

One thing is for sure is that I am still learning. And Elizabeth is right that this would be great as a large piece. I would have to have a great sky fabric for that. If I happen to snow dye a large piece that works I might just do this much larger….someday.
Thanks for reading and go visit Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday to read what other great quilt artists are doing.
http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2014/02/off-wall-friday.html

Chris