Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Cottage CQ Underway, Take 2

I was fully expecting a false start on a project as large and difficult as this one, and yesterday was it. Worked all day, then ripped everything out before going to bed.

I realized first of all that this quilt has to be constructed as a "whole cloth"...I need to see it all at once as I am working on it.
Which meant I needed a wider table to lay it out on as a whole, as the design wall is too vertical. (!)
Which meant I needed to rearrange my sewing room.

I also realized that I need to piece this in "chunks", without a foundation. The large chunks will then be hand appliqued down onto one large foundation.

I had trouble integrating the sky section with the tress, so decided to change my approach to that, too.

All in all, a profitable day spent, as today things flowed smoothly...

I moved my big architect's table to the center of the room, and the narrower table into the corner. I have made many quilts exactly the size of that oak table top. What a coincidence!

Here is the beginning of a "chunk".

And here it is completed. The big tree next to it will remain intact...some imagery needs to be kept whole for compositional purposes, plus I like the differences in scale this gives me.

My second chunk of the morning. I think leaving visual cues like those vertical white pine tree trunks helps gives a coherent illusion of woodlands. And those white pines are so special to me....

So we can start to see where this is going....!

20 comments :

Unknown said...

spectacular!!!!!! seester

Debra Dixon said...

OK, I am getting the drift now.

Susan Elliott said...

Will you embellish it without a foundation? Or will you piece it all onto the foundation and then embellish it? Or a bit of both? (My guess is number 3?)

Marty52 said...

Wow, do I wish I had a room like that to sew in! ***sigh*** ;0)

I'm interested in your whole cloth approach, Allie. I've been mulling over in my mind just how I'm going to do the embellishing on the Midsummer CQ, and I've come to the conclusion that it will have to be done whole cloth, also. I'll be watching and learning!

black bear cabin said...

this is going to be gorgeous...i look forward to following along on this project :)

Deb Hardman said...

Very very nice. I really like the texture of that fabric with the chain stitching. It adds something interesting to all your beautiful tree photos.

Judy S. said...

Perfect work, Allie! This is going to be great! And very fun to follow.....

Vicki W said...

What a cool project. I really, really love your room!

Nellie's Needles said...

Oh, the joy of designing in front of God and everybody. I appreciate the sharing of your thoughts and processes and redos with all of us. You're giving me courage and enthusiasm to tackle a cq of my own. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I am so excited to see how you are using your photos on fabric in this quilt. This is the idea I have had in my head the last couple of years with all the photos I've taken for color and texture, except I wasn't thinking of doing it as CQ but as combinations of traditional patterns. Are these on silk or cotton?
Granny Fran

Threadspider said...

I can already feel the textures of the trees in that armfull of woodland you have captured.Lovely.

Kay said...

I would have been frustrated by that major moving and new approach; but you're obviously so excited about it that you're sailing over the difficulties. It looks wonderful--I totally agree about the tree trunks.

JoWynn Johns said...

It's great to watch your process. I love reading about artists' creative process, in any field. So being able to watch yours in progress is delightful.

Kate said...

I am amazed at your ability to put so much work into something and then take it all apart to start over. I know how you can learn from that and get a better start. I just haven't been able to do it, myself. It's great to see the beginning stages of such a big project. Thanks.

Jean said...

I can just see the wheels in your head spinning around! I'm not there yet... (I mean I still don't have quite all the idea your going with...) but I will get there. Besides... I have a tendency to take a bit longer sometimes... Its nice to keep going when the creative flow hits isn't it?

Rian said...

Oooh yeah. We're likin this.

Anonymous said...

Very cool! I look forward to seeing how this piece comes together. Great studio, too!

Summerset said...

I have *so* been there with working on something the whole day, ripping every last stitch out and starting from scratch!!! I never regret it, though, because the second (or third or fourth) try is always better.

Carin said...

Should turn out really cool!

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