Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Yeah For Viewers Choice Nomination and More Ad.-Hoc Improv.!

Wowsers! So exciting to see 'Things Will Never Be the Same' voted into the finalist round at the Bloggers Quilt Festival! Thank you to everyone who has {or will be} voting for this very-special-to-me quilt. A Viewers Choice nomination always feels like such an honor.
Things Will Never Be the Same
So today I finally have all my {Cultural Fusion piecing} improv. blocks sewn together--20 of them! When I put them side by side, they look like such a jumble. Meh! The applique circles I intend to sew onto each block will certainly help bring these blocks into better focus, so that's a given. I like that part a lot because it just feels right.
Improv. pinwheel lbocks
This has been an odd project for me. Trying to experiment  more with these sort of controlled, almost formulaic 'improv.' blocks is very intriguing to me. It gives me the perfect setting to be free; ie, cutting the single print squares out and then free cutting the shapes. I like a certain amount of clear cut boundaries, even if self inflicted. But, it also feels sort of like cheating. How 'free' it is when the shape is basically pre-determined? I am having such a hard time getting away from the idea that 'improv.' should have absolutely no barriers!
Considering a corner triangle fabric....
But that's okay. I'm getting around that notion just fine because the fact is, working in this manner allows me to take greater risks with my fabric choices--sort of stretch myself outside of that safe little comfort zone. And these fabrics are some that I've returned to time and again for some crazy reason that only makes sense inside my head. Wondering how they could be used.  Greatly enjoying the faintly 'vintage' vibe that I keep sensing and hoping that same vibe can be made even stronger by careful manipulation of fabric and piecing.
Thought about using yellow instead, but too blendy...
Do you ever feel that urge? To try and communicate a 'feeling' in your quilts? So ambiguous and ill-defined. Fabric is fabric is fabric, right? But we all know there's a key to putting it together. Because some quilts feel flat and uninspiring. Some quilts look like the 80's. Others are joyful or heartwarming. There's all sorts of feelings to convey in the quilts we make. I really, really want to make this quilt feel {and look} retro or vintage. A good challenge always keeps me interested and more focused. How about you?
Really like this floral on white fabric!
To that end I have kept with the aqua, red and yellow colorway that people are getting so weary with these days. There are whole lines dedicated to this particular look, but I didn't want to have someone dictate my specific fabric choices. Digging deep into my stash, here's what I ended up: There are polka dot prints, a bright, clear red fabric and a solid aqua as well, different stripes, small and mid-large florals--vintage, 30's and modern, a check fabric and also a re-purposed small blue/white plaid fabric. Some of these fabrics have been floating around in my stash for well over ten years! I wouldn't want to use a pretentious word like 'curated', ha ha, but I've certainly carefully weighed the value of each particular fabric choice. These colors and prints don't come naturally to me as a unit, so I've been second guessing myself every step of the way!
And love how it starts looking more focused when
the corner triangles get larger plus lighter!
And finally I've decided there needs to be more white. What would a vintage looking quilt be without a solid white fabric? Which is virtually non-existent in my stash. Creams, tans and golds, yes. White? You're looking at all I have.*sigh

So that's it for the September AHIQ. All I have to show you! Still prepping for applique work to finish up on my other two AHIQ projects, but eventually I'll have more to post there.

Why don't you join us in our Ad-Hoc Improv. fun?  It's a great crowd!

22 comments:

  1. Yay you. What an honorific. Your quilt is beautiful by the way.

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  2. I love seeing how you fiddle and faddle with all your fabric. I especially love seeing and reading how you let a quilt talk and what you like and don't like. You have taken a block and then totally made it your own, which is the whole point of creativity. Well done.

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  3. These look great, Audrey. I love those corner triangles! They really change the block. I would disagree that yellow has been overused, if anything, I think designers are afraid of it! But it's often just what's needed.

    Congratulations on the nomination. Good luck!

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  4. Thanks for the reminder about the Bloggers Quilt Festival. I always enjoy it even when I miss the deadline to participate. Some great quilt entries and fun new blogs to explore. I voted for you of course!

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  5. These are great pictures to show how your plan develops. I love the double circle centers. The diamonds where the blocks join really changes the look of these blocks for the better although, like you, the white background sashing attracts me most. Enjoy and show more!
    Thanks for linking with AHIQ.

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  6. Congrats on the nomination! Always so inspiring reading about how you get to your final decisions! I must admit, while I love yellow, I don't use it a lot, it was drummed into me years ago about 'a little bit of yellow goes a lo-o-ng way' ... now I'm itching to make a yellow & orange quilt and test that old theory to the max!

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  7. so good to read you have got to the final and very impressed with your inprov blocks you are going to have one extra super quilt when all sewn together

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  8. Congratulations for your nomination Audrey ! I love your pinwheel project. It's very inspiring. Is this block from a a book ?

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  9. Congratulations with the nomination, well deserved. And I like your blocks and think the colors look very good. Just like the improv style of the blocks. Greetings

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  10. Congratulations! It's a good news :)

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  11. Congratulations - your quilt totally deserves its nomination. I like what you are doing here and love the colours. I think working in a block-based way leaves lots of room for improv, as you are showing, but still retains a connection to tradition. This seems just perfect for the vintage vibe you are after.

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  12. Well I would say that the 'feeling' I get from this one is cheerful /happy! :)

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  13. Congrats on the "Viewers Choice" nomination! I get that vintage vibe from your improv blocks - though not sure whether it's the aqua, the yellow or just the cheerful color/print combinations that reads vintage in my mind. Whatever it is, keep on keeping on with it!

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  14. Congrats on your nomination!! I love the bright colours of your improv blocks. My concern with the white triangle additions to the corners, is that you will lose the curved seam lines (where that has happened) of the pieced block and therefore lose some of the wonky interest that comes from the improv technique. Love watching your process, and hearing you think. :)

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  15. I love the way you're making this quilt your own. The white triangles give it a whole new look. Yea!

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  16. Wonderful, wonderful colours, perfect for the design you're using.

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  17. Congratulations on being nominated into the finals! Its amazing how much the white triangles change the look of the blocks. I like it. It's always fun to see your playing with your designs.

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  18. Yes, congrats on your nomination. The centered applique circles seem to ground the blocks. It looks great and then adding the white triangles adds another element. I admire your playful designs.

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  19. Forgot to say congratulations on your Pateros quilt recognition! It's totally deserving.

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  20. Way to go with the Viewers' Choice nomination Audrey. Must be extra special given that particular quilt and its history.

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  21. Congratulations on your nomination that's great! I like how you are riffing on Sujata's block formula. I think that is her intent in producing the book. And in my humble opinion, unless you are strictly replicating someone else's design (which of course you are not) it's all improvisation. As far as I'm aware, there are no rules in improv that preclude the use of tools (like rulers or templates), regular shapes, straight lines, or patterns.

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