Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Coffee Cups

14" x 9"

My intention was to create a quilt with a sketch like quality, with the window screening to depict crosshatching.

I began by tracing a sketch onto white fabric, layered it, and free-motioned the outlines in black thread. The screening was difficult to mark, so I laid it on top of the quilt while cutting, so I could use the outline quilting as a guide. I painted the lightest shade of screening with white fabric paint. The screening is edge stitched down with free-motion ziz-zag.

I’m debating if and how to finish this. I think I might have liked it better if I had used some color in it. Maybe I could add a wash of paint. The quilting and appliqué caused some puckering, but not so much that I couldn’t fix it with more quilting.

Suggestions are welcome.

4 comments:

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Hi Linda, I really like this piece, it is very artistic and a wonderful value study. It definitely has a sketch like quality, which makes it unique and interesting. Wouldn't it lose it's sketch like quality if you put color on it? I wouldn't change anything except to add quilting in the background
Cynthia

Linda Cline said...

I suppose it could loose the sketch like quality if I overdid it with the paint. I thought maybe a thin coat of transparent paint would give it the look of watercolor with pen & ink. Although if I use watered down paint, I worry about the paint bleeding.

Roberta Ranney said...

Hi Linda - This piece looks SO good in black and white - I don't think I could change it if it were mine. Of course I would probably be tempted to do a second one and try a light wash of color here and there.

You have done such a fine job of making this work look like a sketch that I was pondering what non-fabric item you had used and was surprised when you mentioned the screening. Great idea and very well executed.

Roberta

Tina Marie Rey said...

I too think the piece has a sketch like quality but I feel that in the black and white it supports it. I think the screen emphasizes the line and shadows that may have been too flat if used anything else. If you quilted more quilting lines that continue the look of sketched and drawn lines then it would continue the theme of sketch which I see as an asset to this piece. Take a piece of transparency film or print out a photo of it and use that to draw some additional grey quilting lines - make it look like you have a sketched in background - that will eliminate the bit of pull. Bravo!