Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Fabric Swatch Challenge has me Stumped!




My original sketch (excluding the brown "rafters"!):
Original plan for 36" x 42" quilt



I like the SERENE (open, peaceful, simple) feeling.


















Audition #1
 I pieced the yellow-orange section, then the 3 top curves.
I'd envisioned the green sect. under the top curves to be one solid piece of green, densely quilted with horizontal lines, but didn't think it was interesting enough, so began making sections of soft piecing.
[NOTE:  All white areas within the green sect. are intended to be filled with green, this photo & next.]

The blue sect. was going to be this one long piece, with one pieced-section just to the left of center, but auditioned a section of curved piecing here (folded under; it's actually twice as wide)


Audition #2




Extras for piecing
More extras for piecing
 Here, the middle blue section's removed, and add'l green-blue pieces are inserted. (The intention was to "blend" the greens into blues, but add'l blues weren't added anyway!)

Also, not sure I liked the add'l shades of green.  Suddenly it seemed too chunky and messy, not at all serene.
 [No, that's not a #1 in white!]


Here are more sections of piecing prepared for inserts, etc.  The blue strip on the far left was to be sub-cut and added as an insert for curved pieces as in the next photo below -- the blue section on bottom right.

Same for the pieced strips of green.  They were used in the same way in the photo above, as inserts in a soft curve.
















 
Audition3
 In Audition 3, I've moved the greens around to balance them out.  Added the wide blue strip in again, and let the green-blue pieced curves intersect the blue area.
I kind of like that part, but still need more in the blue area.  But what?





Last night I played around with it some more, and just for the photos, added some plain green under the top curves so eliminate the distracting white spaces.  Very tired of looking at it.  Worthy of rescuing?

  
Audition #4
 Of course, I've only shown you the top 2/3.  The bottom is figured out, so no need to discuss that section.
What do you think?  Do you like the curved piecing?  (It would be softened up so the pieces flow together, which they don't do now.)  Or do you think I should go back to the original plan of using one green fabric, with dense horizontal quilting lines across it for texture?

5 comments:

  1. Joanna...can I see the bottom 1/3 also..I want to see how it all flows together.

    Then I will post more comments :)

    Maureen

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  2. Hi Joanna,
    I think you're over thinking it. Audition #4 (last pic) looks a lot like your original sketch and it looks great. I can see what you mean about the plain blue in the middle, do you have any of the blue/green speckled fabric you added on a piece in Audition #3 (in the middle)? Maybe a little texture on the fabric would help. I would just keep going. Looks good to me.
    -Lisa

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  3. Maureen,

    The bottom third hasn't even been started yet. I'm saving it for last since I'm pretty sure it will go as planned (see the sketch, first photo).

    Thanks!

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  4. It would help me also to see the bottom 1/3 in relation to the rest of the piece, i.e. what is the balance, where is the top 1/3 leading to or from in the bottom 1/3. I am aware of my eye focusing in on the dark rectangle piece that bisects the solid? blue in audition #4 - seems more jarring, not serene, than the the strip of blue + green in audition #3 but the latter invites additional pieces to continue the bridge across the light blue strip.

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  5. I don't know who this last comment is from, or do you prefer to remain anonymous? Thank you for your input, anyway. (Please see my reply to Maureen, above, re the bottom 1/3: you have to refer to the 1st photo/original sketch.)
    With the suggestions I rec'd today, my design dilemmas have been solved, the new fabrics/design plans are set to go and I'm back to stitching! Thanks for your help!

    ReplyDelete