Tuesday 30 December 2014

A modern year end

Almost a year ago, I ordered some screen printed scraps from Karen Lewis.

I immediately sorted some of them into what I thought would be the makings of a good quilt.



But then I got busy with other things and it got put to one side.

A couple of weeks ago, I revisited my idea and decided to add some more fabric in. As you can see, they are only small scraps of fabric so it seemed to me, the best way to show them off, would be to attempt to make a modern(ish) quilt.



I completely took as my 'pattern', the design off one of Karen's prints.


And off I went.

I made it smallish because well, I wasn't really enjoying it that much.


At one point I was in danger of falling off my chair with flat out boredom.
There is just something about a limited colour scheme and great wodges of plain fabric that just don't do it for me.

I want a personality in a quilt and I just felt this was a bit flat, clinical and completely not me.

Colour is off in this one - the vagaries of night time flash photography
However, finisher that I am, I powered on and last night sewed the binding down.

We woke up this morning to one of those rarities - a perfect winter's day, which meant my little bit of modern was going public.

So as it was my idea, I got to do the long walk down the quay.


Which therefore meant I was not in control of the all important art direction.

Errr hello, camera on quilt please



Closer would be better if you wouldn't mind


Thank you.



And the back.


I don't dislike it but I'm not in love with it either.

It was a useful exercise in trying something different but that was it.

I shall continue to make quilts that to me are exciting, visually stimulating and that use a ton of prints.



Roll on 2015 -  may you walk to the beat of your own drum.

26 comments:

  1. "A useful exercise in trying something different" is a brilliant way of summing up a lot of creative experience - sometimes something just doesn't do it for you when you're finished, but at least it's a way of refining what you like. Anyway, I love your usual style, but even if you don't like it, I think this is lovely too!

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  2. I love it with the vibrant yellow background!......Kudos to you for persevering with this exercise. Happy New Year from across the water :)

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  3. Perhaps it will appeal more to you if you put it away for a while - for several months or a year. If you really don't like it then, you can always gift it to someone.

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  4. I think it's lovely, personally, but I can totally see why you are not taken with it. It's diametrically opposed to your usual aesthetic. Always worth trying new things, though!

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  5. sometimes you have to try something... to find out you don't enjoy it!! ... well .. makes sense to me! lol x at least you finished it .. and it can always go in a raffle or whatever x

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  6. You sneak! Now I know what your shins look like anyway. I do love this quilt. I think your use of colour is fabulous and I like the way you constructed the blocks. It's fab

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  7. I think it is a lovely quilt but I am surprised that you finished it if you did not like it. With limited time for one's hobby I prefer it to always be fun.

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  8. I had to laugh at your honesty about being bored!! I happen to love it and usually a lot of negative space doesn't interest me but that yellow is gorgeous! Well done on finishing, I think it's a lovely quilt!

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  9. So different for you but very striking! I have experienced that about-to-fall-out-of-my-chair boredom before too. Always makes me wonder why I bothered! So true that we walk to the beat of our own drum, whatever style that may be. Only we can know the ins and outs of what truly makes us happy.

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  10. Yes, a very different quilt to your usual style. However, I am sure it was a good project for you and helped you 'know' what really floats your boat - pattern, colour, glorious fabrics and vibrancy. Happy New Year and Happy sewing and quilting!

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  11. Sewing/quilting has to be fun, and making things you don't like, takes that away. Definitely stick to what you love. Happy New Year.
    PS> The colours you used are lovely.

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  12. i love your 'Little Bit of Modern'. I love that you have used the same fabric for the binding as for the quilt top and that colour yellow! But it doesn't feel like you. I think your other quilts are more spectacular, in a 'I couldn't make that' way! Happy 2015 to you and yours :)

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  13. well done for finishing it! have to admit thats happened to me a few times. sucks. for what its worth, i like it!

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  14. I really like this quilt and usually anything yellow makes me feel all cringey! Great pics of you - I could easily recognise you now if I bumped into you at the supermarket :-)

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  15. I love the idea of taking design idea from a fabric, and I like the resulting quilt. And I like the line quilting. Many of my guild mates are doing pencil or matchstick quilting; I haven't tried it yet. What I like about negative space is a palate for dramatic quilting, so it is boring to piece, but interesting to quilt.

    I had an experience a little like yours with improv. I totally hated it the first time I did it. Partly because I had assumed it was a shortcut. And it took longer than traditional piecing. Then I started seeing places where it was the right design element. (I'm not at all suggesting that the same will happen to you.)

    I love it all: the starkness of solids, the motion of well organized prints, full of pattern, full of negative space.
    www.knitnkwilt.wordpress.com On Friday I'm doing my year's review of it all.

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  16. Personally I love it. Great job! If you really don't like it and want to get rid of it, I'll be more than happy to provide my address and pay for postage. 😋

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  17. 'May you walk to the beat of your own drum' - hear, hear!!!

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  18. très, très chouette !!!
    Bonne année !!!

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  19. I still think you have the eye! And I'll bet if you had it to enter for QuiltCon it wouldn't be rejected. Keep on learning!

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  20. I love that tone of yellow you have used here, a little bit of vintage - y contrast with all the other little bits of 'modern'. Happy New Year, Linda

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  21. i like it..... it is modern-ish....
    love your display as well!!
    xo
    eva

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  22. Me again : ) I looked for you in Linked In and couldn't find you. I laughed when I got the invite today. Thank you! I'm not real techy so I'm glad you made it easy.
    Cheers

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  23. I love the colours in this. Sorry you found it tedious to make but I think it was worth it. You're right there should be more walking to the beat of our own drums not other peoples.

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