Sunday, January 17, 2010

getting back into the game

Friday Night's Sew-In provided two opportunities to me: dedicated time for creating, and time to get back into quilting. I thought a small project would be a good way to spend that evening, not to mention be a "baby steps" approach to something I haven't done in several years. I also wanted a more appealing surface top for my new altar area, presently a dark charcoal gray. A pattern in a small quilt book drew my eye, and with "blue" in mind to coordinate with the blue walls of my office, I set out in search of fabric.

The background, the white fabric, was the only thing in the entire store that seemed to suit the project. From there it was a matter of coordinating tones and colors, and in the end, I thought I had a workable collection. Disregarding the border (which I think will come off) it's not that it's a bad effort; it just doesn't fit the space in terms of mood. It feels better suited to a boys room than a woman's altar. Whatever, it's just not working for me.

So I feel sort of bittersweet about this project. I got it done (the top, anyway) and it's not bad. It just isn't what I wanted it to be. Oh well. This happens. There's no place else in this house for this to fit--our decor is earth tones--so I'm not sure what its future is. But now that the machine is up, the ironing board is up, and the counter is clear for cutting, the future looms large for more projects. Yipeee!!

4 comments:

The Bug said...

I think it's really pretty - but my favorite squares are the solids. Theose look like a lot of fun!

Genie said...

Yay on and for you for your Friday night creation, Anne! It's beautiful, but I can see what you mean about it not fitting the space. Tho I'm not nearly the quilter you are -- I can't really call myself one, in part because it would take me months to do what you accomplished in one evening! -- but I did learn something from a friend to make certain colors 'pop,' as she said. What about removing the present border (as you suggest) to replace it with a rich violet/purple, trimmed in gold? Or go with the deep green and then a dark blue with some gold shot thru it? That would quiet it down a little while still maintaining the vibrancy and cheerfulness ... I still think what you did so quickly is amazing!

Jayne said...

It's really lovely, but I think maybe the stars and the polka dots give it more whimsical feel maybe? What a brave creation to take on! You should be so proud. :c)

Kimberly Mason said...

I think it is quite sparkling and whimsical (my fav) and it isn't what YOU were wanting it to be, but it is what IT needed to be!

Ok, my darling, I'm going to speak from a teaching point of view.

You have wonderful color choices and your workmanship is laudable. Your placement of color (warm, cool, bright, dark) shows you have an amazing sense of balance (NOT an easy skill for most of my ladies!). But, (and you knew there was a but!) you have, perhaps, balanced TOO much.

Your hot reds are scattered through enough to add warmth and sparkle, your purples are a beautiful transition from the hot to the cool. And only using one red and one purple fabric gives the eye a place to rest, an exciting place to rest, from all the cool blues and greens. You used deep tones and lighter/brighter tones of green and blue, great variety. Perfect.

Your background and color balance (excluding the border) is 50/50. If you had tipped the scales one way or the others (more background or more color) I think you would have been more pleased. Even splitting those outside corner white squares into half squares triangles to sorta round the corners would help.

50/50 confuses our brains. "Is it white? Is it color? Where do I focus?" Give us a clear direction and our eyes feel safer. :O)

I would do that, then finish it and then raise up your arms over your head in a celebratory way and yell, "Yay!!!! I'm awesome!!!"

Yup, that's what I'd do!

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