From – June 4, 2010
I had to choose fabric for a stash quilt for a get together tomorrow. What to choose? What to Choose?
I first pulled out the box with the musical instrument fabrics. This would work really well. Too well, I decided. I will put them back for an original pattern. Then my eye caught the drawer with the Route 66 and car fabrics. There were not enough different coordinating choices there. Too Bad!
Finally I lit upon my wine drawer. I have lots of wine fabrics and this would be a perfect choice. With theme and pattern in hand the job was half accomplished. I first picked out a background material and then combined the requisite number of coordinating darker fabrics, and then switched backgrounds and then switched again.
I think that choosing fabrics for a quilt is a wonderful way to play with colors and patterns and designs. And I absolutely love being surprised by the results. Sometime they don’t work out as well as I would like them to. Sometimes they blow me away. But always I walk away with the joy of having created.
The key is to not be afraid of experimenting with patterns and colors and stretching past what is conventional wisdom. When I was very young, before what my friend calls the colorblindness of the 70’s, my mother told me that pink and red should NEVER, NEVER go together. But I liked them in some things. The same was true of blue and green. She didn’t have the confidence to decide what she liked, she listened to others tell her what was proper. I guess I just don’t have it in me to conform.
So I play and there are few rules to guide me, just mistakes and successes. My mistakes have taught me more than my successes so I value them. Have a good contrast (I learned that). Don’t cut up more than you will be using (another learning experience).
So much of any art is play so go ahead. I saw a bumper sticker that said – Well behaved women rarely make history. I am giving you permission to break the rules and create. You too will be hooked.
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Karen Dennison
Learn, Grow, Share – And most of all – Create!
