How does a quilt that looks like it will be easy turn into a headache? I think it happens as soon as you think that it will be easy! I have to remember that nothing is easy for me when it comes to creativity.
Color Inspiration
I was looking through my fabrics and took a break for lunch. While making lunch I looked at an Amish quilt that I made many, many years ago hanging on the dining room wall and thought red and turquoise. I happened to have a turquoise gradation that I dyed in EB’s class. These were 4 quarter yard pieces. Unfortunately the two darkest ones looked pretty much the same so that left me with 3 shades of turquoise to work with. That answered the question of whether to do 2 or 3 lines of birds. I was leaning toward 2 lines anyways….well at least that is what I am telling myself. I guess I could always dye some more turquoise fabric…yeah right. I guess depending on EB feedback I might be doing that.
Now to pick reds. I found 2 red dot fabrics that I received from someone in one of my online groups. I never thought that I would ever use them. I added one of the fabrics that I monoprinted last week at Create NJ and a red batik and a dark red. So now I am ready to go to work….wrong.
I decided to soak my hand dyed turquoise fabrics and the reds. That took all day yesterday. Lots of dyes coming out of the reds and the turquoise. Yikes!
My Amish inspiration. Hand quilted back when I could see well enough to quilt black on black!
The first run at the quilt
So here is my first run at the quilt. I will let this sit on the design wall and come back to it later. This one I think I will bind in red. Have to decide about the 2 bright red dot birds. If I use them I have to back them with white fabric since the background fabric is showing through them.
I have to decide if I want to satin stitch around the birds and the wires in a black or dark thread to outline them. I think that might look good. Or maybe put black fabric behind them a little bigger than the birds to outline them. To outline or not to outline that is the question. So sorry, William.
What do you think? Feedback appreciated.
Linking to Nina-Marie. She has her rhythm quilt posted. Check it out.
http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/
Thanks for reading.
Chris
I like your birds and love that color combination. I'm not sure if they need outlining. Perhaps just free motion quilting around them would make them pop a bit.
ReplyDeletei agree with Norma, the red really makes the birds pop! myself, i would hand quilt with pearl cotton just to see if the sky can be popped out too. curious to see where you go with this!
ReplyDeleteI too like the birds and the background colour. However, the wire (to me) looks a bit thick vis a vis the proportion of the birds. What if you were to create the wire with stitch or couched cord (something thinner). You could use red thread/cord if you wanted to keep the piece two colours only...Just a thought. :-)
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