Sunday, October 17, 2010

documenting the process


I keep seeing this "I took the process pledge" on the side of blogs.  It is a great way to share and learn from each other. 

I have always documented my progress and ideas for quilts in two graph notebooks.  Sometimes it is a plan for the future.  Sometimes it is working through ideas for a current project.  Sometimes it is documenting the pattern after I have made it, especially if I used another pattern as a guide but significantly altered it for my own purposes.  So I thought I would share some of the plans I was reviewing in one of my notebooks.


This is Scrap Happy that I made a few weeks ago.  I drew it out-size to scale though not the scrappy strips. 


An anniversary wall hanging of a scrappy appliqued vine and leaves around an embroidered sentiment for my mom and dad dated 1998.




  
This was a small wall hanging from a class.  We had created fabric with irregularly cut strips then cut out the blocks for it.  Me being me had to change it up.  The kite shape pieces were supposed to have the fabric going horizontally but I thought it looked more interesting vertically.  Even my teacher was impressed-she had never made it that way. 

I hang it on point and call it 'Crosses'.  I have always wanted to experiment more with this.  Make a larger quilt.  Use different kinds of sashing and borders. 







 Interesting factoid about this project.  We selected our fabric.  I was always looking for bold and graphic color choiceschartreuse greevarigated, obnoxious orange, black and white eyebender (this is the 90s remember).  The purple, black, and brown fabric if you look close enough is ghosts-see their eyes?

 This is # 3 in the All American Dad Series.  If you notice I cut out a different star field and glued it in place.  I think I tried many different combination.  I can actually remember sitting outside on a beautiful spring day in the park planning this quilt.  This was the first one I drew out so completely.  Most of the time I draw during or after.  I'm a 'fly by the seat of my pants' kind of gal when it comes to quilting.


I also did a LOT of planning on the computer using drawing programs.  Of course that was when I still had a mac...ahhh my plus/SE/performa how I miss them so.  

I hope everyone documents their process whether on a blog or in a notebook.  It is a great way for those in the future to learn from those of us in the past.  I need to take the process pledge now, good night!



Keep dreaming...Colleen aka 'butterflygirl'




2 comments:

WoolenSails said...

Wonderful designs and quilting. I tend to do my own thing even when I use a design.

Debbie

quilary said...

Hee hee I have a maths grid book just like that, pencilled-in layout, colouring pencil sketches, wavy lines, scribbled notes, measurements marked with and with out seam allowance - you haven't picked mine up by accident have you?