Sunday, August 07, 2011

Dancing Diamonds III

Dancing Diamonds #3
Hand dyed and commercial cottons,
machine pieced and machine quilted, 32x28", $350 Email me

Now that my studio is all rearranged (still waiting for my new sewing table to arrive for the second time) and my new design walls are up, it is so neat and clean that I couldn't do anything but admire it, for about a day. Then I decided, "I'll just make something small, to start".
Hmm, where to begin? Pull fabric (trying to limit my colorway, again, to no avail) and just start cutting and see what happens.
I put two or four pieces on the wall and then couldn't wait to sew them instead of making a bunch and then designing from there. Is that going to be how I will work as a piecer? I guess I am still thinking like a fuser, where parts are fused and examined and more are added where necessary.


Dancing Diamonds #1Hand dyed cottons, machine pieced and machine quilted. 23x22" $250
I can't remember how I made and pieced this one, which wasn't all that long ago. When you're in the zone, details like how you did it don't seem to get saved by the memory bank.

Dancing Diamonds #2 Hand dyed silks and cottons, fused, machine quilted. 26x27" SOLD
On the other hand I do remember making this one. I cut out a ton of triangles and then took two at a time and made diamonds and then found ones that I could connect. Later, after they were all strung, I added diamonds of silk between them in the empty spaces. There must be an easier way. O, and then that center part got placed on background strips going around the perimeter. Then came the dots.

Diamond Blocks
Hand dyed cottons, fused, machine quilted. 26x27" $250
When I made this one, several years ago back in IL, I know I had just dyed the pastels and was so in love that I cut small strips from each of the fabrics and made HST's which then evolved into diamonds. Then I knew more contrast was needed so I split up the light parts and inserted the brights.
Looks like diamonds are really this girl's best friend.


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11 comments:

  1. Awesome quilts!

    hugz
    Pam

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  2. Looks fantastic...I like to work that way too...I'm pretty impatient and just have to start sewing and quilting right away.

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  3. Your diamonds dance and sparkle and make me happy. Love how your studio is looking.

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  4. Just beautiful, Melody!! I took a class from you when I lived in Jacksonville, FL. You were great!!!! I'm new to blogland and just found you.!! Yeah!! I love your work. I put you on my blog roll. I'm a happy camper!! In the class you said your retiring. I'm glad you are still creating. --hugs --Sandie

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  5. Know whacha mean about recalling how you did it before. I get in
    the zone and just do it. Combining the best of both worlds can work, obviously. Looks terrif

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  6. Well, I am new to blogland and just found your blog very easily and I like your idea too much. It looks fantastic. Your diamonds dance and sparkle makes me very big smile on my face.

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  7. both quilts are beautiful!
    just wondering what kind of thread you use to quilt?
    all your quilts are so colorful, do you just use cream
    do you ever use variegated?

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  8. Dancing Diamonds 2 is the one that I love - sadly sold :(. It is terrific, Melody. Difficult to say why as these things are so subjective, aren't they, but the piecing of the diamonds has wonky curves and the quilting is also curvaceous (rather than a grid) and I think perhaps it is these two things that make them dance and sparkle. It is a reminder to me of how the quilting needs as much consideration as the rest of the construction. I am terrible for short-cutting that step and it totally changes the finished effect sometimes and in my case, not for the better!

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  9. Zieknits9:43 AM

    They're all beautiful.

    Fwiw, I like the movement in the quilting of DD2 exponentially more than the straight vertical or square quilting of the others.

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  10. Wonderful work you done with the triangle and S shape, It is totally different, my favorite is that first one. I saw that same Diamond Blocks work in one of the shopping market.

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  11. Doing fabric work without measurement is fantastic. Once I started on same work but never finished it. The moment of working on fabric and card work make my mood so fresh.

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Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com