Square play
I sat down this morning just to have some fun with my squares. Get some idea of what I’ve got and how they might relate to each other. I’m very inspired by Jude Hill’s Nest of Days, although I feel inadequate in the face of it. I could never get the poignancy and emotion evoked by that piece. And I don’t have enough indigo or worn/dyed fabric. Well, carrying on anyway. I know I’ll come up with my own patch language whatever that might mean.
Here’s the first layout, random. Just playing with the math. Fours in the center, surrounded by a band of twos, then a band of fours, then threes. Started twos up the side, but I didn’t have enough. I occasionally calculate (6 fours = 24, should allow for 8 threes alongside them). It’s fun to see it working out. This will not be the final layout, but it was interesting anyway. Watching the mind come up with rules, based on likes and dislikes.
Then I spent a little more time with the colors.
I have a lot of that gold, so I emphasized that on one side. It’s a green/gold celebration along there.
I’m still wanting to find those pants remnants, because I really like the dull olive color, and how it helps subdue the brighter squares.
The twos are problematic because they are so varied in color, and have a lot of moons (threadcrumbs). I’ll work on that.
I would like to insert some very plain bands in a subdued color to rest the eye.
I don’t know if I want a very symmetrical layout like this. It’s easy and it’s simple. But I don’t feel sure about it.
I decided to make two four-patch blocks with olive and dark squares. I really like them. The dark squares draw the eye so strongly due to the contrast. Will the pieced composition then have two centers?
It seems like this is going to come together and be something. I discarded some squares from the composition, and while doing so, comforted myself saying “these can become placemats.” We need a few placemats for everyday use. Apparently, I’m planning to make a couple of placemats and a quilt top of some size. We’ll see.
the joyful squares, an enchanted Place…the gold and green, the meadow that leads to it…..i like this Very Much. I hope
it’s seen to be more than a placemat?
Thank you for your words, Grace. A meadow, yes! I think it will be a much larger piece, but there will be some placemats too, probably 🙂
these squares are beautiful, just as they are … and I’ve been thinking lately of how those who look at paintings don’t give a thought to much beyond “this one is good to look at” or perhaps “this one tells a story” … as opposed to cloth-making which seems more likely to elicit “but what it is FOR?”
that said, I like making cloth that has a purpose … placemats and their kin … kitchen towels, bed blankets, pillows … like to feel them and see them and use them, even when the using makes them thin and shred … dis-integrating over time … much like living I suppose
Cloth has such a long history of useful purpose, it feels like an imperative sometimes. I am craving a nice cozy quilted blanket, but thin. I don’t have such a thing, but I will make one!
The thing is, I rarely decide on a layout. I just put a few together and look for a while and work around it.
I love how the field of greens changed it into a garden of delights.
“put a few together” – that seems to be how this is moving forward in spite of all the square play going on.
I don’t decide on a layout either. This current version totally works imho. I don’t think it needs more solids to make it work.