August 22, 2011

Ohhh the agony of the quilt....

Okay....I am writing this to ensure that I don't use the next week and a half to make another quilt for the Sew and Quilt Expo.  I must say....When I was asked to create a 15" x 20" piece that demonstrated what modern quilting meant to me...so many glorious ideas came to mind.  So many, that I had to sketch some, write others, and just realized that there were not that many hours in a day to complete the gazillion ideas that came to mind.

So i settled on this. (Oh and the lighting does not show how nice the gold looks on the black and white pic..or how the off white and blue pics up...)



And during this process, I must say, it metamorphised into something slightly different than what I initially sketched out.  I also, got lost in the quilting.  I was not sure what to do...I managed to stipple around the edge to allow the filigree (sp) white to pop.  Not sure if it comes across in this picture...Overall, I guess I am happy with it.  I plan to redo it slightly larger and more ornate..I attempted some new techniques, i.e., thread painting, fabric painting, and other methods of enhancing.  I even used Misty Fuse for the first time.  So, why do I say the agony of the quilt.... Its because I do not believe I did the piece justice with the quilting.  This was the second go round.  The first, I ended up pulling it out...then I realized that the fabric sheets used to print photos are not that forgiving with the holes...so I had to sort of redo what I took out...otherwise it would not have worked...

On a fun note, I actually loved searching through the library of congress and finding this pic of this woman from Hinesville, GA army camp, that was awaiting reassignment to a place to live.  She was quilting in this smoke house in 1941.  (The pic is copyright free...I even have the print out giving me the okay...smiles just in case.)  So from that I came up with a concept.  For me, what makes something modern, is when it was created.  So she was modern in 1941...and I am modern today...So ten years from now, I may not be viewed as modern...But I would say that it was modern "Back in To-Day".  (The name of the quilt)

Anyway...I clearly need to let it go...and know that it is a work of art...atleast my art...and viola...here it is...what modern means to me.




Oh and yes, I still owe a feed sack discussion.

3 comments:

  1. It turned out beautiful!! Just perfect for the show. I just love your interpretation and the quilting looks perfect.

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  2. It looks just wonderful! I love it! I can't wait to see it up close and personal, but i guess that will have to wait until April and MA. My you have been quite busy these days, very impressed with your output! ;)

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  3. It looks amazing, and I love the use of photos! Great job. :)

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