Friday, December 21, 2012

December 21: in the style of...


my friend Suzanne L. Vinson. New scarf: a holiday gift to myself from Flytrap Studios 

Happy solstice.  Pray for peace.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

December 13: outtakes

We walked down to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Sunday to get some pictures of my quilts for the pattern covers.  I ended up with over 100 pictures.  We were almost done, when Selina happened to suggest this beautiful place in front one of the education buildings.  I probably took 20 pictures in front of this door, just this quilt.  My poor wife knelt and stood and knelt again, all on damp bricks (it was misty, to say the least).  The result?  Some of the best pictures I've ever taken, let alone the best pictures I've ever taken of a quilt.  Hopefully I can decide soon which pictures I want for the covers.  Until then, here are some of the "outtakes."

Monday, December 10, 2012

December 10: inspiration

A few weeks ago we watched my favorite Christmas special... How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  I was very surprised at how vibrant the colors were.  I remembered them being not quite so electric.  Towards the end, when the Grinch is riding back with the loot down Mt. Crumpit, towards Whoville, I was stuck by the colors of the snow, trees, and sky.  Here's the color palette I came up with from those colors:



The colors are as I remember them, so not necessarily exactly as seen in the movie.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it is definitely interesting.  Here are the colors (left to right):
Robert Kaufman Kona - Magenta
P&B Color Spectrum - 03BV
Moda Bella Solid - American Blue
Robert Kaufman Kona - Citrus
Robert Kaufman Kona - Wisteria
Michael Miller Cotton Couture - Starfruit
Art Gallery Pure Elements - Verve Violet
Art Gallery Pure Elements - Lemonade

I've also been looking for inspiration in lines.  Here are two somewhat unlikely sources:



The would both make really cool modern quilts.  You could take the basic shapes, draw it out and piece, especially with the grate.  They could also be used as quilting lines, especially the lines from the chocolate bar.  I'm actually kind of excited to start playing around with those lines - I'll post if I come up with anything.  Maybe the color palette above and the lines from below?

Friday, December 7, 2012