I am one who has an idea and builds upon it as I go. A little idea takes form and I just have to figure it out.
When I started this project "A Seed Taking Root', I didn't know where to go, what was next or what to do with it. I pushed it aside and began working on other projects. It was taped to the wall staring me in the face each and every day. When out of the blue ~ I decided to pick it up again and see where I could take it.
Of course, black & white stripes were going to be the focal point. To get me on track and motivated, I thought that making a couple panels of stripes would be a good place to start.
So I did. Once they were finished, I put them on the wall with the first piece I finished. That was easy enough. I was thinking that I might make a couple more circles with them. As I walked past it a billion times, I liked it more and more just as it was. With that in mind, I knew I had to up the 'ante'!
Half circle? Why not, give it a go! Instead of making 1/4 circles, I decided I would keep it a half circle. Curve the edges. Would it work? I certainly hoped it would!
Things are coming together! Maybe not as planned...then again I tend to work without plans most of the time!
After twisting and turning the half circles, I ended up here. It needs more color. Not a lot. Just enough.
I had cut the the stripes to be in the center, but it didn't sit right with me. I was so mad that I pieced the stripes, cut them and then they were totally wrong. It need an intervention fast! I took the finished block down a size. I was able to salvage the stripes and make them work.
See the black? This is where my mind started to veer in to a completely different direction.
I'm getting there, it's taking shape. At some point I know it will come together, just not sure when!
I should probably tell you that the majority of my quilts start as a little, bitty thoughts and come together after some playing around. That would also explain why I don't have 'action' shots or patterns for my quilts! I get in a zone or groove.
Let's revisit the black. Throughout this quilt top process, I was sure it was going to be mostly white. I couldn't think of a way to bring black in without it looking like an after thought. My freaky little brain was in overdrive after making the smaller circles. there had to be a way. There was! It totally smacked me in the head after the center panel was together.
I literally started talking to myself! 'You got this', 'Do it', 'this is gonna be great', 'go for it', 'cut the damn corners'!!! Those were a few of the many pep talks I gave myself. Honestly, I poured a glass of wine and got my courage up!
There it is. It did need some balance from when I originally started working on it.
Teresa Duryea Wong from Third Floor Quilts was kind enough to leave me a comment with some very helpful suggestions:
1. You could make 3 more blocks and make is larger. I think he looks very cool as is, but maybe a little lonely. If you added 3 more, you could repeat the circle as is, but turn the circle each time. Would look cool. 2. Keep as just one block and machine quilt it in black thread with a super dense pattern.
Great suggestions and they made me think long and hard what I wanted to do and what direction I wanted to take it next. Putting it aside for a while was the right thing to do. It let me step away and take the pressure off of myself.
Do you do that? When something isn't coming together or the ideas dry up, do you put it away? Are you frustrated at that point or relieved?
I don't often name my quilts. Mostly because I honestly cannot think of any good names! I'm good at lame names...Stripes, Circles...see! This one needed a name. Something that describes the over all feel. I settled on 'Encapsulate'.
Encapsulate: to show or express the main idea or quality of something in a brief way, to completely cover something especially so that it will not touch anything else, enclose something in or as if in a capsule.
It seems like a good name for this one! Maybe I should have waited to name it after it was finished! I look at this and cannot help but feel panic!!! You mean I have to quilt it too?!
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