Thursday 20 August 2015

Rainbow House - A Work in Progress

If you follow me on Instagram (@quiltmatters), you've probably seen my photos from our workshop with Lizzy House. I'll admit that I wasn't so keen on the Meadow Quilt pattern at first, but I love Lizzy's fabric. Don't get me wrong, her Meadow quilt is gorgeous, but it's not really my style.

I wanted to meet her and take a workshop with her though so when the Ottawa Modern Quilt Guild (thank you, Laura!) brought her in to teach her Meadow quilt workshop, I signed up right away. Boy was it worth it! I learned a couple of new things and I've started what I think will end up being one of my favourite quilts.

Look! Me and Lizzy and her beautiful Meadow quilt. :D

Great class with Lizzy House today! 😃 Thanks @Lizzyhouse! #meadowquiltworkshop #ottmqg #meadowquilt

A couple of nights before the workshop, I did a fabric pull. Prints! Think there's enough Lizzy House fabric in here to earn me teacher's pet status or kickass?

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My idea was to invert the design and see what it would look like if I made the stars/flowers with prints and do the background in greys. And I wanted to try playing with the values of the greys. Lizzy was very supportive of my plan and thankfully talked me out of one of my crazier ideas. :)

This is the fabric pull I settled on in the workshop.

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Lizzy's Meadow quilt is a 4 x 5 block arrangement. Well, I had a hard time culling my fabric pull down to less than 28 so I decided to do a 5 x 6 arrangement. 

Going 5 x 6 rainbow for my #meadowquilt #ottmqg 🌈

She's a smart one, that Lizzy. She had us do a sample block to test out the technique. Oh gosh, look at that, more Lizzy House fabric. ;)

Test block. Destined to be a pillow for son#1. He's going to flip when he sees the jewels. #ottmqg #meadowquilt

My oldest son is a big fan of rocks and gemstones so this will become a cushion for him. 

Playing with the values of grey in the background (sideways iPod shot).

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Now to check colour and value placement. 

Option 1: 


Option 2: 


The cool purples in the upper right are bothering me. Replace one of them?


Nah.

Option 3: 


Option 4: 


Now to decide on the background: 

Option A: Having the greys in a value progression from darkest on the outside to lightest on the inside. 


Option B: Have the values interspersed more randomly.




Going into this, I had thought I was set on Option A. Now, I'm not so sure. 

Thoughts? Feeling a little decision fatigue here. 

15 comments:

  1. I like your version of this quilt. I'm leaning towards random but I think you should sleep on it and look at it again in the morning.

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  2. I once did a quilt with yellow friendship stars scattered over a starry blue background. I arranged the various starry blue prints from a light center to dark borders. It was not successful. The center simply looked faded. Good for you for trying your options on a design wall. Keep on quiltin'. Cwoosley12@yahoo.com

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  3. I like your final option the best--there is a nice contrast between the orderliness of the color arrangement of the stars (the foreground) and the randomness of the background. It creates a more interesting tension than when both are proceeding in a predictable way, I think.

    By the way--hooray for you, for thinking of switching it up in the first place. It looks great!

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  4. I like option B; it's more dynamic and the circles formed by the stars/flowers jump out and swirl together. I have to keep looking!

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  5. I can't say!! I looked at too many...but love this quilt!

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  6. This is going to go down as one of the best Meadow Quilts in history! I am useless on helping with the colours, but I like the mixed up greys... whatever you end up doing will look amazing!

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  7. I'm taking her workshop this weekend and doing my fabric pull today! It's so hard to decide because I also want to do something a little different. I personally love your last option.

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  8. Oh, lucky you to attend this workshop! I am head over heels with the last photo - it looks the most like rocks & gems t me!
    Um, fabric envy goin on here, haha!

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  9. Wow, these options are fabulous. I like option 3 with option B for the background. I'm sure whatever you decide it will be stunning.

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  10. I think you have worked through the process and I vote for your last arrangement. And I might as well admit I have never heard of Lizzy House until now, but I like that your quilt will have your own flavour of her great design.

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  11. I think I like the last photo best. I love it when quilters think outside the box and switch things up with a pattern.

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  12. I think with the diagonal lean of the rainbow, the last (random greys) arrangement works the best. However with the initial gradation (dark to light greys), I would have used a vertical rainbow transition (top to bottom, with each row the same colour), because somehow there is a clash between the gradation and the rainbow the way you have done it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I wonder what it would look like if you mirrored your photo...

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  13. The last version gives a lot of movement to the design!

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  14. I much prefer option B. I have always loved the way you change this just a bit to make it stunning.

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  15. I love all the options, ha ha. You know rainbow and grey, combination I can not resist :)

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