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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Not quite right


Here’s a new piece I just finished. I needed a new sample to take to the class I’m teaching later this week for the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild in Marietta, Georgia (near Atlanta). So I was hurrying, hurrying, hurrying along, but I had a vague feeling that something was not quite right. Nothing I could quite put my finger on. But I was in a rush, so I ignored that nagging sensation and moved along. The minute I finished quilting. I knew what it was. Do you? Yep. The dragonfly’s wings are on upside down. Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Beyond the wing issue (I will never look at this piece without knowing it is WRONG!), there are some things I love about this piece, and somethings I'd do differently. I love the beautiful colors and texture in the wings. I love that hand-dyed background. I love the circle raindrops, where I did some thread sketching on the surface, and then some quilting to add dimension. But if I had to do it again, I'd do more dragonflies, probably three (the one looks kind of plunked there), or at least not center the one dragonfly so much on the piece. I could have added more movement to the piece if I had quilted it differently.

Regardless of the design flaws, and the wing malfunction, it is still a good sample to demonstrate the techniques I’ll be teaching. I’m going to teach my “Start With a Photo” workshop where we make my Round Red Barn design this Thursday, meet with some of the quilters that night, then do my presentation at the guild meeting on Friday, and teach a thread-sketching class (the dragonfly) on Saturday. I just love meeting and teaching other quilters! It is going to be fun.

What do you think I should name this piece?