BLOG 192

 

I have started to think more positively about my calendar quilt and I have tried some different ideas. First I wondered how a dark fabric in the centre square would affect the look of the delicate colour-washed surface and embroidered flowers. I found it completely over-powering and rejected that idea very quickly.

                                 Dark centres?

 I chose a pastel sky fabric to go there instead and I liked that effect.

                                           Light centre

Then I wondered whether I could use sheer fabrics to create a shadow of the floral shapes thus giving a feeling of depth. Not sure about that one.

                                           Flower shadow

What if I tried sheer fabrics on two sides of the square to give the appearance of shadowing and therefore a feeling of depth? Again I found this quite harsh but at the moment the jury is out on that one.

                                        Square shadow

More pondering followed. I must say that I have always liked the effect of the sheer fabrics spilling out beyond the flower embroideries and how, when in position, they affect the colours of the batik fabrics underneath. So my next idea was to add more sheers to give the feeling of the brush strokes that you would find in the background of a watercolour painting. I liked that a lot but I am undecided how to proceed technique-wise. I need to think about this a bit more.

                                  Brush stroke effect

And then Jackie, a friend and fellow quilter (we are joint ‘mothers-in-law-elect’ too!), went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at the NEC and purchased a Margaret Beale soldering iron on my behalf …. And I got distracted once more! It is a marvellous tool and, after leaping straight in with a couple of samples, I decided that I had better read the book first and avail myself of all the knowledge, experience and expertise that the author has drawn on to the write the book. What do I know about this?  … Nothing! So I will read and learn.

                                      Soldering iron

 

BTW: I go to Suzette ‘one pin’ Smart’s house for machine embroidery and chat every fortnight and guess what? She has won something at the Knitting and Stitching Show at the NEC for a dimensional piece of embroidery featuring teacups. I will find an image of her entry for next week. Well done Suzette, thrilled for you! Google her and find her wordpress link.

suzettesmart.wordpress.com/author/suzettesmart/‎