Free Form Beginnings

-
Ever since reading about ice dyeing and ice dye parfaits in Quilting Arts Magazine, I have created a lot of ice dyed fabrics.  I love the way these fabrics look!

Recently I decided it was time to stop petting them and create a project.
An idea came to mind and I drew a very crude drawing of the idea.
Not sure why I drew it with straight lines because I've always had swirly lines in mind.  More like this sloppy drawing I made in photoshop.
I actually wanted to do something much larger but decided to start with the simpler idea.
I ended up with this piece:
I stacked a red piece on top of a green piece and cut the curves free form, switched the pieces up and stitched them back together.
I really like the way it came out.
It has been up on my design wall while I decide where to go from here.
Should I chop it up and add more pieces to the middle?
And if I did would I do curved pieces in black. . . 
. . .or maybe straight pieces in a different green?
Hmm I like the swirl and these cuts seem to be taking away the curves.
Maybe I should make more of these large blocks and piece them together. . .
. . .Wow that is bright!
The actual quilt wouldn't be this bright and might not even be all green and red because I don't believe I have anymore green pieces but it is a design to keep in mind for another day.
Maybe I can chop it up and add some black borders.
I like this look but I have seen it a lot.
Maybe if the center were on point?
Oh, I like this look.
Now the trick will be. . . how?
I could paint the lines on or make them with Decolourant.
However, they might not give me the stark black contrast I am looking for.
Do I applique black strips on?
No, I like the idea of the lines not quite meeting up as they do in the outside border of the drawing.  
So now the question is . . .do I chop it up and piece it back together?
Or do a fancy piecing job so that I don't have extra seams?
Any suggestions?
Please let me know in the comments section what you think the best way to finish up is.

Today's post is part of a blog link party being hosted by Nina-Marie at Creations. . .Quilts, Art. . .Whatever.  You will want to have a look and see all the other great Works in Progress being posted.

Comments

Silvia Dell'Aere said…
I love your piece and I love the "frames" solution but I also liked the "stright lines". They could give a strange but interesting feeling to the piece expecially if made with more blocks :)
August 24, 2012 at 2:43 AM
Nina Marie said…
Ohhh glad someone else tends to plan things out a bit before cutting into fabric. Sometimes I feel like a freak! Love the comment about stop petting to actual use - using them is always good! So glad you joined our link party!
August 24, 2012 at 3:42 AM
pcoxdesign said…
I love the energy and movement of this but cannot offer suggestions as to how to add the black. Thanks for sharing your thought process! You put into words what goes o blindside our heads when creating!
August 24, 2012 at 6:53 AM
Sylvia said…
I like the center square straight and not on point. I think you need to calm the black a bit,it works well with your drawing, but in fabric I think if you use a very dark blue it would work better. Well, at least audition it on fabric. I am sure that you can figure out the piecing. It is probably a simple fix.
August 24, 2012 at 8:46 AM
Pat .F in Winnipeg said…
You seem to share a quandry with me. I have done so very much dyeing and now need to start looking at what can be done with all that fabric! I like the way you approach your planning--playing a lot of "what if---"
Pat F in Winnipeg
August 24, 2012 at 2:27 PM
janice pd said…
I love seeing your process for the geometry of this design. Not my personal strong suit!
August 24, 2012 at 3:25 PM
Anonymous said…
I love that you tried the ice printing... I've been wanting to give this a try also. The block design turned out just fine! Love the colors and the movement in it.
August 24, 2012 at 5:34 PM
Quilter Beth said…
I have lots of ice/snow dyed fabrics and have the same problem as you. I tend to "pet" them and not use them. I like how you have cut and pieced these. I like all the different looks you have with the different variations. It is such a hard choice.
August 27, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gelli Plate Tutorial with Leaves

-
Image
Here's the Gelli Plate Tutorial you asked for! My Gelli plate has been well used and well loved. 1. Place Gelli Plate on a flat, covered working surface, and place small dots of paint onto the plate.  My demo photos are with me using acrylics and paper but it works exactly the same with fabric paint and fabric.  I like using Jacquard Textile paint when I make fabric prints. 2. Use a brayer to spread the paint evenly across the plate. 3.  I used the leaves as a resist for the first print. 4. Place the paper/fabric on top of the printing plate and smooth it out nicely to get an even print. 5.  Carefully lift up the paper/fabric. Found a photo from when I printed the fabric - see same process. This is a first print. 5.  I know that MONOprinting means ONE print but seriously, when you remove the leaves from the plate there are these beautifully textured leaves left on the plate just dying to be printed.  I couldn't ignore t...
Read more

Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour

-
Image
About two months ago I wrote a review about the book Fabric Printing at Home written by my friend, Julie B. Booth . Today I'm going to show you one of the things I learned from her book and then give you an opportunity to win a copy of the book for yourself. I used a hot glue gun to create a design onto a toilet paper roll.  I was impatient and didn't seal the toilet paper roll with white glue or a gel medium before creating my design.   I inserted a short roller handle that one can find at the local hardware store into the toilet paper roll. . .   . . . and used my 3x5" Gelli Plate as a paint palette.  I rolled the paint across a sample piece of fabric. . . . . .first going long ways. . .  . . .and then again short ways. I really like the texture this provides whether I go once or twice across the fabric and I'm gladly adding it to my art "toolbox."  Have you tried something like this before?  What ha...
Read more

Quilt National

-
Image
My husband and I took a red-eye flight to Columbus, Ohio, and then drove the one hour to Athens, Ohio, to attend the opening of the Quilt National quilt show where my piece, Wild Flowers was being shown. Made a stop at Tim Horton's, a Canadian chain for some delicious breakfast sandwiches and donut holes. We went to the Kennedy Art Museum, on the Ohio University campus. This is the side of the building. Photo of the front of the building from the cleveland.com website. The building was designed in the 1860s by Cleveland architect Levi Scofield, and was originally part of the Athen's Lunatic Asylum. It opened in 1996 as the Kennedy Museum of Art. There were some lovely prints, paintings and exhibits. It didn't take long to tour, which was good for my knees. I was glad to be able to see this Elizabeth Catlett print. I admire her work. I've seen some of her her other prints in person, and was anxious to also see this one. Friday evening, the Quilt National show opened, and...
Read more