Been a really hard week in the sewing room. Lots of work and not much to show for it except a pile of "think I might just throw it aways", a worn out seam ripper and a not so good attitude hanging around. I think that internal critic has been working overtime. I can't seem to get on track. Everything I put on the design wall just doesn't seem to make muster...if you know what I mean. I worked with my disappearing nine patch and added frames for each of the blocks...it's now in a heap on the floor...can't decide to whether to start ripping or just put it away for now. Here is what it looks like. Maybe quilting could transform it. As I stared at it more and more...it began to take on the look of a depressing hospital room. As I post it here...it seems to look a bit better to me. I really don't know where to go with this!I did get a wonderful book over the weekend, Quiltmaker's Color Workshop by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr.
It is a fascinating book about understanding color from a quilter's perspective. The book has a series of exercises; they call them color explorations. I worked all weekend on a couple of those and really struggled. One challenge I'm working on is to make a small quilt for each member of your family with colors that you feel represent them. When you're finished the challenge is to show it to that person and see what they think. It sounded like so much fun...and at first, so EASY. Well, I'm STILL on the one for my youngest son...so much for easy. It's hard to really THINK about color choices.As for the title of this post...(yes, it takes me awhile to get to the point!) I did have one of those ahh ha moments as I struggled with my design efforts and fabric choices. I think I am what this book calls "Matchioso". I've let fabric designers make my color choices for me. I need to think about how the colors and fabrics I choose will express and support my design ideas. I tend to almost choose fabrics first and then design around them. It's like the Disappearing Nine Patch. I had the fabrics and said to myself...what can I do with these...rather than thinking about what might make the the pattern sing.
Like I said...my internal critic is on overdrive...I almost deleted this whole post...it's so not like me. I need an attitude adjustment or some spring flowers would be nice!
3 comments:
Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. I say put the blocks away for a while and come back to them. Sometimes when I am working on something too long I start to feel like it doesn't look right or will never get done. After you haven't seen them for a while seeing them with fresh eyes may help you see what they need, if they need anything.
Keep your chin up and find a fun project to distract you for a little while. (When I feel that way I work on string blocks. I love seeing all those different fabrics as well as the 'mindless' sewing) and hopefully those spring flowers will be showing themslevs soon, I'm ready for them too!! :cD
Please don’t think too much about colours. Some advice: don’t start making every family member a quilt in the colours that fit them. In art school I learned to make colour boards before designing something. You can take some old magazines, take out pages with colours you like and try to make a composition on a piece of paper. When you like it you can glue the pieces on the paper and pin it to the wall. When you like it after some time, you can try to translate those colours into little quilts!! Have fun, that’s the most important part!
oh I know these up and downs in working with my quilts, if it occurs, and it does frequently because of me being such an idiot perfectionist, I put the quilt on the "hatch" pile and do what country mouse advises: work on another project(knit,crochet,handquilt) which lifts my spirit and sets my creative powers free again.
or play rice riddles which I love dearly :-)
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