I've got to decide on the base now

I need a base on which to put a background first, then the triskele.
I've got Peltex, which is really firm, but I only bought enough to make the finished square 30".
Oooohhh....another decision made: it will be a square!
I would prefer a circle, but a circle is too difficult to hang well.
If the base is 30", the triskele has to be about 25" across. I've printed the tiled design out 3 times now!!!
But: if I don't use the Peltex, but a normal quilt sandwich, I have no restriction on the size.

The background

The base is the structure, the background is what you see behind the triskele, it is placed on top of the base.
I want it to look as if I had glued music fabrics on it, put white paint over it, then wiped the paint off, exposing the fabric in messy streaks.

 

These are the music fabrics. I am thinking....bleaching....covering with sheer fabrics.....fraying......

Triskele

Designing a colour scheme or palette isn't something I can do in an abstract way.
And even if I could, I wouldn't necessarily have fabrics in those colours. While a design such as Fandance needs to be worked out exactly, works such as this one can be created intuitively.
Remember how my patchwork fabrics are organised in boxes by colour?
Well, those are the cottons. I also have a couple of huge boxes with satins, laces, velvets, silks etc.
There was no other way to do this: all the fabric had to be pulled out of the boxes and I separated those colours and shades I thought would work. I had already decided to use soft colours to represent the dreamy quality of the piece.

 

The fabrics on the left have a gold cast, but are in fact a true grey.

The one in the left bottom corner is what is left of a fabulous beaded evening jacket I bought in an op shop for less than $15! I am so hoping I have enough to use that for the spiral that will become the focal point.

Close up: 

 This was the first Triskele (triple spiral) I considered. I printed it out tiled over 12 sheets of paper and stuck them together.

 

This one is simpler, but has as much or more impact. It will be placed on top of the background and then the other elements will be placed over that in such a way, that the triskele will still not only be visible, but pull everything together.

I decided to make it 30" and at this stage, I don't know yet what the base/background will be, but probably it won't be canvas.

What I like about the Triskele is that this design has been used throughout the history of mankind, with lots of meanings at different times and different civilizations.

I love to use symbols.

Get a move on.....

The Musical Gems exhibition will be at the end of March, I need to get a move on.
First: what colour scheme, colour palette will I use?

 

OK....look at a heap of luscious fabrics....mmmm....nothing there.

http://www.colourlovers.com/

This site has thousands if not millions of ready made palettes. So where to start.
Entered " mind" Remember, the project is Windmills of your mind. A few nice colour schemes, nothing that is very inspiring, but I'll keep looking.

Next, or rather, at the same time, I have to make decisions:

• Make this project like a quilt: the background is a firm quilt sandwich, the final work will be hung from a rod or some other hanging thingy.
• Put the fabric elements on canvas. Nice and firm, easy to hang.
• Make the work to be displayed behind glass: extra cost, extra weight, can't be photographed well once it is framed. But...the work will be protected and framing gives the work more presence.

This brings me to another decision: the size. Oh no...two decisions: square or portrait or landscape?
Aaahhhhh....this is just so hard....I wish I could actually start cutting and sewing and designing the elements....

Hey....my work is here!

If you go to the very first post of this blog, you'll see my entry to the Cyber Fyber project.
To see all postcards as well as the ATC*s, go to:

http://www.cyberfybervideos.blogspot.com/

*Artist Trading Cards: 2.5" x 3.5"

Fandance/Windmills of your mind

Fandance is coming along very nicely. I am surprised how quickly the hand sewing progresses!
Once the 5 blades are machine stitched together, it only takes a good half hour to hand stitch the blades and the centre to the background.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy fondling fabric! I cannot quite see me fondling pencils, paper and tubes of paint!

I am committed to do a piece for our local "Musical Gems" exhibition in March, which is to be textile based mixed media. I will probably do "Windmills of you mind" did I mention that before?
I wonder if I could do a large spiral as a base to attach the other elements too. Not a spiral stitched to a background, but a spiral being the background, in other words, what you see when it hangs,  is the wall behind it. Nice if the wall is smooth, not so nice with the tongue-and-groove at the exhibition venue. :(
Fabric Spiral attached to canvas?
By the time I decide I'll have to work full time on it to get it finished before the deadline!

Quick and easy pointed fan blade

Here is a quick and easy way to make the points for the blades.
Blade template has to have a straight top.
Fold in half lengthwise, right sides together. Press.
Stitch the top as per sample.
Turn right side out. Push the point out. Use the pressed centre line to make sure the points is in the centre.
Press.

You can now stitch blades together. I don't know about you, I avoid needle turn applique like the plague, but this type of applique I can handle!

What is this?

When you use Fan blocks that you intend to rotate,the blades of one block can meet the quarter circle seam.

I made a trial block and found that didn't happen, it was maybe 1/8"  out.

That, to me, is a problem, because as the blocks were joined, they would look like I was a sloppy quilter who just couldn't be bothered to have those points meet.

The solution is to redesign the block so that the points are offset, rather than meeting. 

Here is how that would look.

I've taught classes where this "not meeting" really bothered some of the students and of course, if that's you, this method wouldn't suit you. However, I like the fact that I don't have so many points to meet when joining the blocks. 

Revision of quilt and centres

This is Fandance2. Keep in mind this will be a scrap quilt, so the fabrics used aren't final. Size 86" x 98"

Centre has  10 x 12 blocks. I have cut the 600 fan blades, I've cut 114/120 backgrounds, I'll finish them today.

I also developed a better way to do the centres, which are going to be larger than on the quilt.

I made a 4.5" plastic template, marked and cut the fabric. I ran a small running stitch along the edge, left thread ends long enough to pull up.
Placed fabric right side down on the  4" cardboard template. Pulled the stitching tight. Pressed carefully, using a bit of spray starch, let cool and cut into 4 pieces. Voila!
At this stage, I am concentrating on the centre 10x12 blocks only. Who knows how the rest of the quilt will develop!!

Still more about EQ6 and wondering about the centre of the block

This morning I opened EQ6. Nothing in the Fandance project. NOTHING!!
How could that have happened?? I knew I had saved, saved, saved.
Rather than bothering Penny again, I went online to the FAQ and there was the answer:

I named a project, added things to my Sketchbook, and exited. But when I opened the project again it was empty. Why?
You may have over-written your full project with an empty project of the same name. So be sure, when you want to open a project you have saved, that you click the "Open an Existing Project" tab, and choose your project from the list, rather than typing a name in the "Name a New Project" tab.

If you type the name of a project, and already have a project with this same name, your new project (empty), will replace your existing project (full).

OK.....
Lucky I had saved the image of the quilt as a gif file and didn't really need anything else.

I've made a few fan blocks and have started adding the quarter circle. Tried a few different sizes and also considered how best to get the smooth curved applique.
When I do a full circle, I make 2 templates. A plastic template of the circle plus the seam allowance. I used that to mark and cut the patches.
Then I have a  cardboard template of the circle's finished size. I stitch a running stitch along the edge of the circle, place the cardboard in the centre on the wrong side of the fabric, pull the stitching tight over the carboard template and press. After it cools off, I take the cardboard out and give the circle another good press. Voila, nice, neat easy circle.
That doesn't work so well with a quarter circle.
What is working reasonably well is this:
Make 2 templates: one of the quarter circle plus seam allowances, another on where the seam allowance is cut off the curved edge.
I cut 2 patches from the big template: one of the fabric, one of some fine white lawn.
With the smaller template, I mark the sewing line of the curved edge only on one of the 2 fabrics.
I stitch the 2 fabrics together with a very small running stitch.
Turn the fabrics, cut some of the excess white lawn off and applique stitch the curved edge over the fan blades.
The straight edges are lined up with the raw edges of the block and I baste them together.
This really seems to take longer to write it all down than it is to stitch.

Here is Fandance!

OK, this is a VERY ambitious project, because it has 14 x 14 blocks and is 100"x 100"
I may well still make changes because if I make it as a large quilt for my own bed, it needs to be rectangular rather than square.
Anyway, I got fantastic support from Penny at EQ6, especially when you consider this was in the silly season, between Christmas and NewYear.
The problem lies with a another program interfering with EQ6 and one day, when I need a challenge, I'll sort it out. Meanwhile, I can use it the way it is and of course, I mustn't forget to SAVE!
So far I cut about 100 6.5" background blocks for the centre and hundreds of fan blades.
I don't care how long this takes. It is like a hexagon quilt, once everything is cut, I'll just work on it when I feel like it.