This time of year seems to inspire everyone to regroup and get organized and this was my direction this week, too. Greg varnished and installed the new studio shelves and I filled them with fabric. My helper, Susan, cut bolts of fabric for kits and bundles to take to class. I reorganized the studio space in to new task areas, including a zone for shipping and packing.
But during the whole time, the Garden Divas were competing for my attention. This was not the time to begin a large quilting project! But, hey, a "little" one would be OK, right? So I got out my favorite template, the Fast 2 Cut Fussy Cutter Diamond Ruler designed by Jan Krentz! This is the perfect ruler for symmetrical prints and that's why I have used it for almost every collection. The results are always fabulous.
In the first quilt top the construction is obvious. You can see the diamond, the 9" square, the half square triangle and border. The design is very clear despite the patterned fabric. The colors and simplicity remind my of Delftware ceramics.
The second top is exactly the same, except the squares and triangle have been substituted in another fabric. The effect is very different. Now we have a kaleidoscope that blends and flows through colors and textures. The pattern pieces totally disappear. The composition looks more sophisticated even though the piecing is exactly the same.
This is an exercise worth continuing. I think I will try it in some different colorways and see what happens.
6 comments:
I'm drooling over the second one with the Lively Silhouette. So gorgeous. There's just something very intriguing about kaleidoscopic effects.
Very clever demonstration! I hope you do more of these as a beforeand after sort of quilt show.
I've always loved that pattern, because the resulting quilts are stunning, without fail. Of course, the fabulous fabric choices have something to do with it! Can you tell us the size of the resulting top?
You say that "the design is obvious", but it's not that obvious to me. I've seen your beautiful fabric in quilt shops but feel too intimidated by it to cut it up to create the shapes you seem to see in it. Could you give any pointers on how you determine where to cut in order to get a kaleidoscope or have various shapes line up with a corresponding one to create a new pattern?
Laura needs a book!!!!!!!!!!
What book? I already have the book The Quilted Garden--I'm assuming you mean a different one?
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