At last Autumn!
The last few weeks have been quite busy though there is not a lot that I can show you. Autumn has finally come to tropical Cairns and there is now actually sunshine between the odd shower of rain. The grass is still leaping out of the ground needing to be cut at least once a week and the temperature usually hovers around 30 degreesC with the humidity often around about 60 percent. Peter has started a massive clean up in the garden to get it all nice for the winter months which is the best time of year here and sees us all come out of hibernation.
In the studio the design wall has been stripped bare and is gradually being filled with the latest design commission. I just love a blank canvas to create with. Lots of different fabrics have been taken off shelves and out of storage boxes, played with and often put back while I decide on a colour pallette to work with. This is the best part of my job and I just love it.
While all this has been happening I keep thinking about what things in a finished quilt are most important for me. Some of the things I like are -
- colours that are harmonious but still offer some contrast
- using different print fabrics of a similar colour value to add texture
- creating structure in the overall design
- a quilt that hangs straight
- a reasonable standard of piecing and applique while not getting too hung up on perfection.
What type of quilt pleases you?
Till next time
Frances
Comments
For me just having the thing finished is pleasing! That I can either put it on the bed or hang it on the wall to enjoy it everyday is also pleasing. I love the visual texture of the quilting as the light on it changes during the day! I tend to go for traditional designs so there is a timelessness about my quilts' patterns and just to sit with a cuppa and daydream on them is very comforting/meditative!!!! I am a bit finicky about my piecing because I don't like things out of alighnment - that would annoy me like a crooked picture on the wall, I'd have to straighten it up LOL!!!!
What do I love about working on a quilt - I didn't have to think much about this - I actually enjoy the whole process - from choosing a design, selecting materials, cutting/sewing to binding and labelling. What I like about looking at someone else's quilt - for me it is not so much as the workmanship - it could be made by someone who is very new to quilting or very experienced - but more about the choices the person has made (if they tell us why)and the joy that the quilt brings to their or the recipient's life.
I so enjoy other peoples quilts and admire them greatly.I would like my quilts to be straight, square and even.The same goes for appliqued quilts. I like my quilts to be correct.I think I am into the structured look.