Leaving My Options Open.....Aura I Complete

I made up my mind, table runner it is.....or so I thought. 

 

 

That lasted all of one day....
Table runners get all sorts of things put on them...making me just a little extremely nervous!!
 

I put binding on the other panel and was planning to hang it in the hallway....the perfect spot, which turned out to be not so perfect. So, just what is my problem, anyway? When hung, these pieces need to be viewed from a distance, for the most impact and the hallway just wasn't doing it.

 

My other problem...they are more dynamic together, than they are individually. You might have noticed, I'm just a wee bit fussy, okay a lot fussy....I admit it.

 

So from table runner to diptych....... or triptych perhaps. I really do intend to make more of these. If I make enough of them, surely one will end up, as a table runner, spills and all (I'm just not quite there yet).

 

I think, I might just have the perfect spot to hang these back in Alberta....but then again, you've heard me say that before. 

 

Well, if that doesn't work...I still have the table runner plan.

What Angle are You Coming From?

Once again, I have completely underestimated the visual impact of this piece.

The angles and mostly solid colours are producing a stronger piece than I expected.

This morning I was just playing with some different layouts...

Layout #1

Layout # 2

 

Layout # 3

 

Layout # 4

Now see what happens when I rotate the photos....everything looks totally different to me. Just hanging a piece in a different direction changes your perspective on it.

I'm not sure where this is taking me....ah, the joys of improv!!

 

When the Quilt Starts Talking to You.....

 At a certain point, I find the quilt starts taking on a life of its own...

Not only that, it starts talking to me. 

Step by step it starts to unfold....... 

Stitch by stitch it starts to come alive.....

Quilt As You Go (QAYG) allows me to create large while working small. Quilting these angles is a easy when working in small sections.

I like getting complex designs with simple techniques

Just a few more Aura Pics....I coudn't stop

I must say, the migraine I had before starting this project was well worth it. I'm so excited by these angles, especially now that I've joined one row and squared it up.

 I laid it on the table to give you a bit of an idea of the scale of this piece so far......It would make a pretty cool table runner, if I don't say so my self. 

 

 

 

 

 

There will definitely be more "Aura Action" in my studio!!

Let the Joining Begin

 

 

 

 

Before making any more of these angular shapes, I thought it would be best to actually join a few and see what happens. I just might be on to something.

Just think, My aging brain might actually be getting more CREATIVE!! Imagine that......a most interesting read for those of us hitting some of those rather big birthdays.

I'll take some more pictures tomorrow, in daylight and when my creative brain can figure out why my computer is acting like it's ready for the retirement home.

What's My Angle?

So, what's up with all these QAYG angular shapes?? Well, in my experience triangles and any other odd angled piecing can be tricky!! Matching those little points, which naturally never quite match up and let's not mention those crazy bias edges!! And if that's not enough, how do you get that nice angular quilting?  Doing it this way bypasses so many of those problems.

As my husband is off for another week of sailing....yes another whole week, no wonder I feel no guilt when I find my self wandering off to the nearest quilt shop.....I'm playing with some very sail like shapes myself.

I'm experimenting with angular shaped pieces of batting rather than my regular square ones, which will be joined together after being quilted. Is there any advantage to that, you might ask?? I hope so....the emphasis being on the word experimenting.

As you can see, there is definitely an advantage when it comes to quilting the straight line angles that I so love. If I was quilting with a long arm, ruler work would most likely be required. Or, if I was quilting the whole pieced top at once I would have to wrestle and turn that quilt under the machine multiple times.....not my idea of a good time!!

 

 

 

 

All the different angles are leading to a few unexpected surprises as well.

My motto is....... let the unexpected take you, where perhaps your imagination would not have.

Just What I Need.....More Fabric!!!!

I started this project using mostly Kona Cottons........ but I always find them so very solid. I had some of those jelly rolls....I believe that's what they're called, shows you how I often I use pre-cuts. I had them in three different colour ways and yet I found myself hunting for more fabric.

Something with a bit more texture usually calls my name...plus that black and white print by Marcia Derse (from my stash) and I think I might be on my way. I also nixed the woven stripes by Kaffe Fasset for this particular project....I'm not sure why, they just didn't feel right. 

 

 

 

See all those lovely fabrics at the bottom of the page......

Color Weave by P&B Textiles, not on sale by the way, but I couldn't help myself. 

In my experience, I find it easier working with woven look fabrics or shot cottons rather than the pure solid cottons because they seem to flow together more easily and have a bit of a painterly quality, which I love.

Since most of my shot cottons are back in Alberta I had no choice but to go shopping...right??? Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!

Aura I.....Underway

Not sure what way...but started nevertheless. 

 

 

 

I so appreciate so many of you commenting on my Let's Talk Quilting post. Hearing about your quilting experiences is of great interest to me. It was my own struggle with machine quilting large projects that had me researching various Quilt As You Go methods. Finding a method that I enjoyed and actually finished projects with was my goal. QAYG was my ticket.

 Regardless of the fact that I have a longarm, my love affair with QAYG is far from over......it is after all, my first quilting love.

Aura I is about pushing QAYG into more angular or should I say Aura like directions. Let's see where it takes me....