BLOG 479

Blog 479

 

I have never really thought of it before but the weather and the seasons both play a part in my creative process. In winter, I can do no gardening so I have more time to sew; that’s the theory. But because it is often so cold and wet, it is more difficult to separate myself from the house and go to my playroom in the garage. That said, once I am in there and in the ‘creative zone’, there is no other place I would rather be. What works well for me is having an on-going project; one which I enjoy doing and I don’t have to think about too deeply. The Linus quilts are doing that for me at the moment and I completed another top this week as well as adding more building blocks to the pile. (Can anyone else see the two faces in this quilt? Or is it just me!)

 

 

            Linus quilt #2

 

Working on the creative side of quilting is slower and more deliberate. This week I was inspired by one of my art cushions.  The background of the one below was made with hand sewn lozenges over paper (English paper method); it took ages to prepare! This time I am working with circles of ready-fused fabric left over from other projects.

             Inspiration

 

I started with a square drawn onto the release paper from a roll of fusible (baking parchment would work well too).

              

              Foundation paper

 

I have plenty of prepared shapes to play with and so the creative process begins. What I am trying to do is to cover the square with fabric shapes, over-lapping them slightly so that they stick together when ironed. I am aiming for a blending of colour and a smooth transition from one to another whilst avoiding abrupt tonal changes. It’s fun to do but requires a great variety of shades/tones/tints in the chosen colour palette. Here’s the sequence.

             Palette

 

 

          Sequence 1

 

 

                Sequence 2

 

 

 

             Sequence 3

 

 

           Colour movement

 

 

             Detail 1

 

 

            Detail 2

 

 

           Trimmed square

 

 

 

            Trimmed square on wadding

 

All I need now is to create a rich applique flower to go on one corner. And after seeing the above sequence, now I know why I like doing jigsaws! I have just completed my Christmas jigsaw. It was very difficult because of all the detail and the frequent colour changes but I enjoyed the challenge.

             Jigsaw