Friday, January 24, 2014

Less is More - Off the Wall Friday

Now anybody who knows me knows that I can be a bit of a More is More person.  I mean why wouldn't I be when there are so many colors out there - so many fabrics out there - so much - well. . . .  .  .  everything out there! But this week, I got a lesson in the fact that maybe the adage  Less is More has some merit.

Yet another Hot Mess
You see, I handed in my blocked out piece to Elizabeth.  It was still a Hot Mess - but it was a Hot Mess that I had re-done 3 times so enough is enough already!!  Now you know when  a critique starts out, " I applaud you for attempting a bigger piece!" that there is a big BUT implied in there.  Its kinda like when you're on American Idol and the judges compliment your shoes.  (Yes that did happen to Kellie Pickler) .  Elizabeth was too nice to say that it was a Hot Mess - but she did clue me into the fact that I had two distinct ideas going on in the same place and that was probably one too many!  (ohhhhh so that's what's the problems been all along - light bulb moment!)

A Good Use of Masking tape
She was right - of course.  So with only 10 days to finish this baby up, I decided to just develop one idea and redid it - again.  Since the lesson was on underlying value, I thought I would take that quite literally and let the dark values hold the piece together.  Working today I finally got the piece together to sew and Ta-Da  with only one idea going on - its much stronger.  So Less is More.  I think with the added texture of the quilting it should end up being pretty good.



The added bonus of doing the same piece over 4 times?  You have a mountain of scraps just dyeing (grin) to be made into a nice pieced background for something!



So what have you been up to creatively?


9 comments:

MulticoloredPieces said...

Ahh, yes. With all those wonderful fabrics available, sometimes there's just too much temptation. Now your piece has a strong base to work from. More fun ahead, right?
best, nadia

Jenny K. Lyon said...

But the 4th piece was worth it! I love the new piece. I'm in the class too. Even my drawings were rough... I hope to finish mine this month but not so sure.

I just finished a piece I did for SAQA-took THREE tries-so I know how you feel!

Teri Berry said...

Completely agree with you about wanting to include every beautiful colour from the colour wheel in every piece but your 4th quilt is gorgeous and some FMQ is going to lift it to another dimension, I can't wait to see the finished quilt. Well done!

Teri Berry said...
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Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing your process…. that is so helpful. Sometimes I just keep going even when I know it isn't working because I don't want to start over. Seeing your project helps me realize that starting over is worth the effort! Love the last one you made.

Gwyned Trefethen said...

Love the monochromatic look. What a powerful piece.

Marilyn Wall said...

I can see something wonderful going on top of that with it being a supporting piece.

Ulla's Quilt World said...

So lovely! :)
Greetings from Finland!
Hugs, Ulla

Anonymous said...

So lovely and strong- I love the monochromatic plan. I love the learning you are sharing as you describe your creative discoveries- so interesting.