Tuesday, March 20, 2018

STUDIO NOTES---HAND QUILTING BY EYE


I mean to say that I don't use a pattern or template.



The start of the quilting



Somewhere along the way I played with some random stitches using silk thread



The end of the quilting



All this color was used just because thread comes in so many colors


My grandmother told me that a quilter's stitch was unique to the individual as is a signature. That perspective frees me to be expressive and satisfied by the process. I appreciate the organic, random and imperfect. I once read that the occasional large stitch was a "toe hooker". Utility quilts used on beds were probably not a venue for fussiness, but a toe getting caught in a stitch? Quilters have to have their humor too!   

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

STUDIO NOTES--- SOLID MINIMALISM


You keep me inspired. I see what you do in class. Some of you sew so elegantly. I have noticed the beauty of straight seams in solid cloth. Someone, and you know who you are, pieced a string of 3/4 inch black squares. Why would anyone do that when a stip would have worked just as well? The seams offered subtle straight lines, just the texture and detail that was called for. 

Notice the lines and the way the light is active in the above blue block. Nice, isn't it? I'll observe that this strategy of piecing is a way to express minimalism. 

Consider the painting Forest Architecture by Paul Klee here . I thought of piecing. Lines created with seams. Seems like I have something to explore. Complex or simple images created with solid color.

I will get right to work and have another sample for class at Woodland Ridge. Three month countdown--- details here