Because all true quilters plan several projects at once
Tuesday, 14 December 2010 03:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lobsterdesignsI've been considering making a wallhanging for my GP for a while now. She is an absolute treasure, and when you have ME you really appreciate that. I noticed that she was wearing turquoise for one visit, which suits me as I adore turquoise. She was here today for blood tests, and she admired the turquoise/pale green baby quilt which I've just started the quilting on. So I think turquoise is definitely the way to go, especially since it works well for a nice cheery wallhanging. It's occurred to me that I might be able to rustle something up for Christmas if I get to work on it now, and I think it would be good for me to do a quick art quilt project. A bit of brainstorming:
* Wallhanging size. Something I could draw out on A3, say.
* Turquoise, perhaps with deep blues. I'll rummage through my considerable batik collection and see what speaks to me.
* I'd like to play with luminescence, the sort of effect you often get with sunsets when one colour glows through pure and strong against darker, more muted tones. It's also high time I did more with depth.
* Curved, flowing lines appeal here, and something abstract and without too much piecing. I can get all swirly in the quilting.
* Something sea-inspired? I am trying to work out what to put into Google Image, as nothing I've thought of so far has really got me anywhere. Seaweed might be a starting point for the shapes.
* BEADS!!!1! I have oodles left over from the Isis quilt.
* I'll need to be able to hand-quilt it, so I don't want to go mad with tiny piecing or lots of layers.
* I've seen some gorgeous effects with organza on art quilts, and this may be a good time to try that. Or perhaps not. Unless I can find something locally (which means sending out someone to pick out stuff for me, I'm too tired for trips out), I don't think there's time to get anything in the Christmas post. I had a look at organza samples on eBay a while back, but the sodding things were all silk and as a vegan I won't use that. Organza ribbons might be an option, since that would solve the problem of frayable bits. I wonder whether the local cake decorating store, which has lots of ribbon, happens to know whether they're silk or polyester? Does anyone know more about using organza or other sheer fabrics on art quilts? How do you sew them on inconspicuously? How do you prevent fraying? If I perhaps did a butted edge, could I then sling on a ribbon as binding? If I go for ribbons, should I go for wide or thin, light or dark, colour matching or something different? I saw a quick collage at the quilt meet last month where putting a strip of dark pink organza onto a blue background, to represent mountains against the sky, added surpring depth.
Ideas are very welcome!
* Wallhanging size. Something I could draw out on A3, say.
* Turquoise, perhaps with deep blues. I'll rummage through my considerable batik collection and see what speaks to me.
* I'd like to play with luminescence, the sort of effect you often get with sunsets when one colour glows through pure and strong against darker, more muted tones. It's also high time I did more with depth.
* Curved, flowing lines appeal here, and something abstract and without too much piecing. I can get all swirly in the quilting.
* Something sea-inspired? I am trying to work out what to put into Google Image, as nothing I've thought of so far has really got me anywhere. Seaweed might be a starting point for the shapes.
* BEADS!!!1! I have oodles left over from the Isis quilt.
* I'll need to be able to hand-quilt it, so I don't want to go mad with tiny piecing or lots of layers.
* I've seen some gorgeous effects with organza on art quilts, and this may be a good time to try that. Or perhaps not. Unless I can find something locally (which means sending out someone to pick out stuff for me, I'm too tired for trips out), I don't think there's time to get anything in the Christmas post. I had a look at organza samples on eBay a while back, but the sodding things were all silk and as a vegan I won't use that. Organza ribbons might be an option, since that would solve the problem of frayable bits. I wonder whether the local cake decorating store, which has lots of ribbon, happens to know whether they're silk or polyester? Does anyone know more about using organza or other sheer fabrics on art quilts? How do you sew them on inconspicuously? How do you prevent fraying? If I perhaps did a butted edge, could I then sling on a ribbon as binding? If I go for ribbons, should I go for wide or thin, light or dark, colour matching or something different? I saw a quick collage at the quilt meet last month where putting a strip of dark pink organza onto a blue background, to represent mountains against the sky, added surpring depth.
Ideas are very welcome!
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Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 15 Dec 2010 09:48 am (UTC)We seem to have come to similar conclusions overnight. I woke up deciding to do those borders in fabric instead, perhaps two similar shades. Then perhaps on the left I will embroider and bead a design all down the border strip, and on the right I will put that design in the top half of the border strip and continue the lines of the curves into the bottom half, in which case I need to adjust the design so that the curves in that section will work well together when continued into the border. Right now I'm thinking about very narrow ribbon, and running that along the seam joins of the curves, including spilling over into that bottom right border. I could also couch metallic embroidery thread (or something; that's a fairly horrible job, at least in the quantities I did it for the Isis quilt), use ordinary embroidery threads, satin rattail, lines of beading and so forth. I feel the need to learn how to bead barnacles!
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 15 Dec 2010 10:09 am (UTC)Metaphorical, hypothetical or theoretical ice creams are the very best! ;->
What is rattail, please? And what is satin rattail?
Barnacles? H'mm.... I was getting into the pure, abstract quality of this quilt of yours, without any specific images [*chuckle*] Now you've thrown my little mind a curve---no irony intended.
Beaded barnacles should prove to be quite interesting and quite impressive. I know that in your hands, they will be.
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 16 Dec 2010 08:51 pm (UTC)Barnacles are just a beading term, because you create roughly that shape. They have a nice 3D effect.
Having been temporarily offline for a day and a half, we now have a shiny new router. I did the piecing today, and here it is. I didn't actually look at the photos of the fabrics I'd shoved together before, and I'm sort of wishing I had because I think they'd have been a bit more dramatic, but I'm sure there is plenty of space for fun here. I went for fabric borders in the end, as I can do exciting embroidery and beading on them and the dark colour will show that up well.
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 16 Dec 2010 09:10 pm (UTC)Soothing, is this, and contemplative, and yet it rather invites one *in,* something an artist friend of mine from ages ago had remarked on regarding Monet's "Les Nympheas." That the painting(s) invited you in, and then held you so you couldn't just leave.
Oh, yes: liking this VERY MUCH, indeed!
I'm finding myself agreeing quite powerfully with your aunt: art quilts are something for you to explore, and do a great deal more of! Yes! [*nod, nod*]
P.S. Thank you for the explanation about the rattail.
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 16 Dec 2010 09:46 pm (UTC)Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 03:11 pm (UTC)My turn now really to be flattered!
By "scribbling potential beading lines across it," you are referring to...? I don't have photoshop (this isn't my own machine I'm communicating on: mine doesn't have an internet connection.) In fact, it has no graphic program I'm aware of other than Microsoft Paint.
Or did you mean by "scribbling" a scribbling of *text?*
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 04:10 pm (UTC)Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 04:55 pm (UTC)Sometimes I get things exactly right with pc's, and other times I'm completely inept with pc's, computers, and the Internet. Mostly,completely inept.
How do I save the picture and put it into Paint, please?
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 04:58 pm (UTC)Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 05:10 pm (UTC)Last week I learned something about embedding (I think that was it, anyway.) And the week or two before that, about making hyperlinks in LJ entries (mine, I mean.)
Oh, don't laugh! I know that for a lot of people, probably most people, this is child's play but I really do have to work hard at it.
(Straightforward e-mail, I learned fairly quickly.)
Thanks again! 8^)
*dashes off to play in Paint*
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 16 Dec 2010 09:49 pm (UTC)More intricate barnacles:
And they come from a fabulous-looking beading site which I am now happily bookmarking.
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 16 Dec 2010 10:50 pm (UTC)Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 16 Dec 2010 10:54 pm (UTC)Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 02:37 pm (UTC)Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 02:43 pm (UTC)Must resist, however. Can't get drawn into yet another art hobby right now...
Is it wrong that I really do prefer the smaller, less complex barnacles in the top image? ;->
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 02:59 pm (UTC)You could always do a quilt journal project instead. I'm trying to recruit people on my main LJ and over at
Re: Me, brainstorming
Date: 17 Dec 2010 03:14 pm (UTC)One of the things I've enjoyed a great deal about the Quilting community is that I don't feel any pressure---just inspired!