Ring Toss : Elaine's Quilt

Ring Toss
17.5"x21.5"
hand dyed cottons, fused, hand and machine quilted.

I had such a wonderful experience doing this piece. Elaine gave me just enough parameters to make it a challenge and then left the rest to me. I had absolutely no plan, except to aim for her size 'suggestions' and her color choices. She specifically wanted some periwinkle blue and rust/cheddar orange with anything else you want which as you can see are a big part of this composition. And she asked for hand and machine quilting, which I was happy to include.
The hand quilting is more visible than the machine quilting, which is mostly outline of the main shapes.




Some one mentioned that they would like the idea of watching 'how my mind works' when I do a piece, so I took photos of the arrangements I tried with the rings as I decided what to put where. The pictures below show several trial examples, and then the final choice.







For the final composition, I started all over again, and removed all the rings and some of the straight lines in the upper left hand section and anchored them on the opposite side. Then I studied the space. Any of the previous arrangements might have worked, but I wanted a tad more organization and balance for the piece, and not to have so much busy, busy. There had to be open space for the hand quilting to fill.

Someone hoped to see my workspace, to see what kind of mess I make as I work. Being conscious of showing it all, kept me from going nuts and having huge piles of fabric all over the place. A good thing! And here's something else that was quite different for me.

I TOOK MY TIME making this piece.

Usually I work like there is a looming deadline and I push myself to finish no matter how exhausted I am. Not anymore. If I am to fill all these requests, I have to do it for the pleasure of the experience or drive myself crazy. So I worked a little and rearranged the lights, and worked some more and exchanged my boom box for my other stereo, and worked some more and then let it sit for a day while I met my friend Mary for lunch. The 'art' break did me good, and I returned to the loft studio refreshed.
The new smaller but better organized space is really working out well, and since I can find things quickly, much less frustrating than when I had stuff strewn everywhere.

And to anticipate questions from new readers: I use regular Wonder-Under and here's why
And I used the Escape Hatch Finish which you can read about here.
I get my extra large pressing sheets here.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.