More black, red, flowers
It was the large-scale B&W print that prompted a quilted version of ‘Roumanian Blouse.’ Beginning with simple stripes in different widths, I built the background. A freehand version of the flowers from the platter (photo in earlier post) provided the pattern for the applique. As I cut out the background behind the appliques, I found a gift of a smaller set of flower petals–now in the lower RH corner. I had some interesting red buttons for the flower centers.

This quilt developed very quickly until I needed to design the quilting for it. I took some photos and printed out two or three copies. With a white pencil, I auditioned some quilting lines until I found that outline quilting created a second layer of texture very simply. There was no need to mark the fabrics with the outline stitches.
A darker quilting thread looked very thin and weak on the red background fabric. The red rayon thread works much better. In general, I have learned that lighter color threads for quilting are more of an enhancement; darker threads are a distraction.
The completed quilt could have been displayed with any one of the four sides at the top. I chose to place the section with the most B&W prints at the top, and the ‘gift’ flower at the bottom.

My eye moves down the piece from flower to flower, resting on the most complex area last.
Artists generally have a powerful sense of the motion of the eye through the work. It is only recently that I have become aware of how I look at artwork. It seems that half a century of reading from left to right has predisposed my eyes to travel in that pattern.





This detail from a quilt I made in 2008 began as a sketch of five tall cylinders turned by Richard Raffan. The cylinders were turned from green wood, so they moved and twisted as they dried. I have enjoyed arranging them as an ensemble, and then drawing the results. One of my favorite drawings became the silk painting at the core of this quilt.



O
This insight provides guidelines for quilting, not only in terms of avoiding unnecessary precision, but for the basic process of constructing the quilt.

