Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Whimsy

This might seem like a strange thing for a history major to say, but my favorite class in college was floral arrangement. That class was just the "doing" break I needed from thinking and studying. The professor would lecture on principles of art, show us pictures of inspirational floral arrangements and then turn us loose to create our own designs. This quilt is based on one of those design principles called the Hogarth Curve.

Whimsy

The culmination of this year long course was a difficult project. We were asked to go to the museum on campus, choose a work of art and design a companion floral arrangement for it. After we sketched out a proposal, we could turn in a request for the flowers and the university would purchase them. In the turmoil of the end of the semester, I missed the deadline. I wasn't too nervous about my mistake until I actually went to the museum to choose my inspiration piece. There was a lot of contemporary, black and white stuff that I just wasn't feeling. In another wing of the museum, I found a piece that I really connected with. It was an oil painting by a Mexican-American artist depicting two children playing on a beach. The colors were vibrant and saturated and it was painted with simple lines. The older boy, wearing a fuschia shirt and lapis pants, was standing. His younger brother, wearing a purple shirt and lapis pants was bending over, playing in the sand.

Whimsy

 To compound my good fortune, a way out of my flower mess appeared on the walk back to the main part of campus. A much appreciated landscape artist had planted masses of fuschia and purple tulips that were just coming into bloom. I came back later with a smile and a Swiss army knife. I pooled my meager resources together and bought two 6-packs of bluish violets, a shallow wicker bowl and some floral medium and drove home to my mom's house to put it all together. My plan was working out brilliantly.....until I ran out of flowers. I was out of money and literally out of time. In frustration and desperation, I walked out onto the porch to clear my head. There I saw the cheerful dandelions peeking out (sorry Mom) from the lawn and ran back in for the knife, the whole time telling myself that the heresy I was about to commit would work because: a.) sand is yellow and b.) the theme of the painting was youthful exuberance. The dandelions would be fine, perfect, in fact. Right. Right?!?!

Whimsy

In the end, I discovered that if you prepped a tiny hole in the floral medium, and impaled the dandelion with a toothpick to stabilize it, everything would work out fine. My tall fuschia tulips swirled down to the purple tulips down to the sweet violets and it all ended in a puddle of happy yellow dandelions. I was satisfied and pleased with my creativity.....until I walked into the museum and saw that nearly every one of my classmates had chosen the contemporary black and white pieces. There are several arrangements that I can recall through the horror. The one with 5 dozen red roses, a gilded Phantom of the Opera Mask, rolled up scores of music and artfully arranged feathers comes to mind. As does the arrangement with red birds of paradise that suspended a gracefully turning mobile with origami cranes on thin monofilament wire. I wanted to throw up. I set my arrangement next to the playing boys, silently apologized to them, and walked out of the museum mentally rehearsing how to break it to my mother that I had managed to fail a flower arranging class.

Whimsy

Our class was scheduled to meet the next day. I walked in to see a crowd of my classmates excitedly chatting around our teaching assistant. The teaching assistant who was holding a stack of sealed envelopes. Any sense of peace I had come to overnight fled as I waited for her to call my name and seal my fate. When it came, I took my envelope quickly and headed for the door, ready to escape and be done. "Wait," she said, halting my flight. "Aren't you the one who used dandelions?" I turned, and tried very hard to give an attempt at a confident nod, acutely aware all conversation had ceased and that everyone was unabashedly eavesdropping. She smiled. "He liked the whimsy," she said. With shaking hands, I ripped open my envelope just outside the door.

A-.

Whimsy

 A-!!! How I love that man. How much? Enough to remember this lesson 15 years later. Enough to make a quilt that has flowers with dandelion-yellow centers dancing down a Hogarth Curve. It's okay to be different...to do it differently...to see it differently.

Whimsy

Although I've had this design in my head for awhile, the colors were chosen with the Pantone Color of the Year Quilt Challenge in mind. If you haven't heard yet, the color this year is Marsala. I would describe Marsala as the love child of raspberry and brown. The background fabric for this quilt is one that I picked up at my local quilt shop. It is a Marcus Brothers shot cotton. It felt pretty close to Marsala since the two colors that make up the weave are brown and maroon. For the flowers, I used other shot cottons, a peach chambray and a few solids from my stash. To make the flowers, I read through the free-pieced flower tutorial from House of Krom to help me visualize the process. The flowers I made finish in the range of 4" to 8." Even though it really stinks and feels boring and purposeless, I highly recommend pressing all of the seams open. My Strip Stick was my best friend for this project, and I really patted myself on the back for pressing them open when it came time to quilt it.

Whimsy

I quilted this with a 50 wt. Aurifil thread in #2230. I used Leah Day's Wiggle-Wiggle Spiral. I thought the spirals would be fun for the large open spaces and the "wiggle-wiggle" would save me when it came time to go around the flower petals. My children were excellent practice subjects and didn't mind at all when their backs were rubbed in this pattern for a solid week before I started quilting. The quilt finished at 44" x 58."

Special thanks to the family who gave me permission to take pictures on their farm. I am glad that I live within walking distance (I didn't walk though...WAY too cold) of an Iowa farm and gladder still for the Iowa people who give you permission to wander around with a camera and quilt and don't think you are the tiniest bit strange for asking.

2015 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Marsala



40 comments:

  1. Once again both your quilt and the story behind it are awesome, Jill. What a lovely professor to appreciate the whimsy of dandelions! I appreciate the whimsy of your quilt with the barn and the Chevy sign - I love that photograph! I think your interpretation of Marsala as the love child of raspberry and brown is so spot on and I laughed out loud here in the airport...

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    1. Thanks, as always! Make sure to have twice as much fun for me. Can you believe that I hesitated before pinning the quilt up under the Chevy sign?! That was my favorite picture too.

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  2. Marsala is just one of those colours you have no idea what people are going to do with and in this works really well! Love the pop of bright in the flowers and the wiggle spiral was a great choice!

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    1. I know exactly what you mean, Ruth. This is definitely a "heavy" color to work with. After I quilted it, I had to take a break and baste a quilt with a lot of bright citron. My eyes needed it!

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  3. Bravo! This is such a stunning quilt. Love the design and those pretty flowers. The different sizes and colours add interest and that Hogarth must have been brilliant! The photos are fabulous and so is this quilt. Nice work, Jill!

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    1. I probably should know more about that Hogarth guy. After 15 years all I remembered was his name and "lazy S." :-) Ha!

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  4. This is really very nice and so different from other quilts. You really captured movement in this, which is amazing, it's like the flowers are swirling...it matches your quilting. Beautiful!

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    1. This is such a kind comment that I really don't know what to say other than thank you. I appreciate it.

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  5. I love the story of your flower arrangement as much as I love the quilt! I would have awarded extra points for creativity; anyone can do black an white. It takes a good eye to see possibilities in fuschia and lapis! Love the design of the flowers on the quilt, as well as the colors.

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    1. Black and white have an affinity for red roses and I just really, really, really dislike them. (But that's another story) I love using fuschia/raspberry and lapis/indigo in most quilts that I make.

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  6. Aha! So that is the secret of free motion quilting! Just rub my son and daughter's backs more! :-) Now to start dreaming of what to quilt! Love your quilt and your story. So wonderful! Thanks- K-

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    1. It might be! :-) I also drew the pattern on the wall of the shower, the air and on a pad of paper if that helps! Ha!

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  7. Great quilt, great story! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I love the quilt and the story is delightful.

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  9. I love the story of your flower arrangement class, I suspect yours must have been a welcome relief from the black and white!! And that quilt is just gorgeous - a lovely way to remember a happy memory!

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    1. Thank you! Well, I never say never but.....a black, white and red quilt would be unlikely for me. I have heard it said that you quilt with what you wear and there is nothing quite that dramatic in my closet!

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  10. Your flower arrangement class story is so well written! I found myself cheering you on at every moment you questioned yourself! It is a great reminder for all of us to just keep moving through those voices in our heads that are trying to slow us down. This quilt is stunning! And the texture the quilting gives is absolutely fabulous!! :)

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    1. I heard Will Smith say once that everyone should take up running, just so they could get practice in ignoring that voice in your head that tells you to stop. I don't run (ha), but I think those of us that quilt have a similar voice to combat. And thank you for your kind words about the quilting, it means a lot coming from you!

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  11. This quilt is fabulous!! and I LOVE the story! Thank you so much for taking the time to type it up! (Now I have to go off and google 'Hogarth Curve')

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    1. It's there! Ha ha ha. (I had to make sure my memory was correct after all that time). I didn't want to be the idiot who used dandelions AND didn't do her homework. I am glad you liked the story!

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  12. Enjoyed reading your story about your addition of a dandelion to a flower arrangement. I love the fact that you chose to be different. Your quilt is beautiful, as well as the photos. A+

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  13. I agree - the quilt is inspiring - but the story is even more magnificent :)

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  14. Du hast einen wünschen schönen quilt genäht.
    Das hast du mit viel Liebe genäht,das sieht man .
    Lg Karo

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    1. Danke, Karo. Ich habe viel Liebe in meinem Herzen.

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  15. Fantastic story! I thoroughly enjoyed reading every word... And your quilt is beautiful! :)

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    1. Thank you, Cynthia. My blog seems to be a journal and a sketchbook for me. I am glad I wrote this one down. I am sure that my children will get a kick out of it someday!

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  16. Wow - thanks for sharing the story behind your quilt. I already knew it was beautiful from seeing it on instagram but getting all the background really added to my appreciation. Great work, it's a lovely piece.

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    1. Thank you, Adrianne! I appreciate your efforts in administering the challenge. This is my second year doing it because I had so much fun last year. It's good to try new things.

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  17. Wow! Beautiful quilt design. The flowers spacing gives your quilt "lift" - like a magic carpet ready to float at any given moment! The quilting is magical. Beautiful!

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    1. Thank you, Pamela! I am glad that you think the quilting was successful. I sweat bullets about it and had to give myself a few pep talks before I could even start!

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  18. Wow! Beautiful quilt design. The flowers spacing gives your quilt "lift" - like a magic carpet ready to float at any given moment! The quilting is magical. Beautiful!

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  19. Wow, what a beautiful story to go with a beautiful quilt! Although I found myself really wishing you had a picture of your final project for your flower arrangement class, it sounds beautiful and whimsical! I'm always excited to see ideas from one art form expressed in another, so I really enjoyed that aspect of your design.

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    1. I really wish I had a picture to share too! I think our neighbor got a picture, but who knows where that would be...I did some yard work yesterday and thought of this story. I have purple tulips and dandelions covered, but this fall I will definitely have to plant some fuschia tulip bulbs!

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  20. Also, I am new to your blog, but you definitely have a new follower!

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    1. Thanks Jennie! Quilts are just another way to enjoy a good story. Thanks for your comment.

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