Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Black Playtime!


I had about 30 minutes to sew the other night, so it seemed perfect for a little 15 Minutes Play...with black!

Here's what I came up with:
 (Measures 11" square)

Here's how I did it:

I pulled out a bunch of black and white prints and created some made fabric.

I was tempted to leave it like this--I really didn't want to cover up any of the piecing! But after a few gray, dreary days, I needed to inject some color, and this piece seemed like the place. So I pulled out my new Bigshot and some leftover Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar prints and started cutting petals.
 I hadn't ever considered the caterpillar fabric in a none-kid capacity before. I really like it. It looks all painterly, and a little like graffiti. 

I played around with petal placement and ultimately went with a whole flower, but positioned off to the side of the square.


  I used a cool zigzag-type stitch on my machine to applique the petals, which I really liked.

I had planned to do a frayed edge center, but it just got too fluorescent. So I stuck with the pieced black showing through. If I had to do it over again, I would have paid more attention to what fabric combination was sticking through the center hole. What's there is fine, but it would have been fun to pick purposely.

Oh, I forgot. Before I added the petals, I straight line machine quilted the background. Until I sit down and do some made fabric/random piecing, I always forget how much I love the look, especially with straight line quilting to finish it off. 

I had known from the beginning that I wanted to use the white/black ticking for the binding. But I thought I needed a little more color, so I added an orange flange. 
I am calling this my graffiti quilt.

I love how this turned out. I had a lot of fun playing with the blacks. I don't normally use a ton of black in my quilting, and certainly never all black, so it was interesting to do it purposefully. I really like how it created a textured background for the brighter  colors, and how the combination looks so artsy. 








15 comments:

Vicki B said...

I love it. How cute!

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

the fabrics you used on the flower petals is SOOO cool and stands out so great on the black! Gotta love that FAST satisfaction! great job!

Helen said...

I like this little quilt in each and every stage...with or without colors...petals scattered or arranged...but I especially like the final result!

Maree said...

Gorgeous - love anything with flowers.

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

This is so pretty! Love the petals against the black.

liniecat said...

Wouldnt have thought to use blacks but the un-flowered block looks so great!
Wouldnt have guessed it was caterpillar fabric that, what a clever use of it ~

Brenda said...

really great! Eric Carle used paint techniques to make the colours in his books, and your petals just remind me of his work, and not just the caterpillar book.

Deann said...

You are amazing love the color and pattern blend excellent work!

Beth in MN said...

What a fun project. Good play!!
Beth in MN

Ozstuff said...

I love how it turned out too! What an original idea - a graffiti quilt!! Superb.

Sewing In CT said...

It's a great project! I have a pile of black left from a 9 patch black and white with orange centers. I feel like I may be stuck with them forever but you've shown me they can still be exciting!

janie said...

I love the contrast of the black and white against the petals and the way you have off centred, makes it more interesting and pleasing to the eye as your focus is not just on the petals. Absolutely lovely.

sheila 77 said...

What an interesting post showing the making of this piece. It turned out so well with the black and white background and the flower. I agree with Janie's comment, the way you have placed the flower off-centre makes it look very arty.

Machelle said...

Lovr this!

Stella Nemeth said...

I am fascinated by what you did with this. I like the idea of making a fabric background, and have even tried it. But what hit me was that you made the background when you wanted to to improvisational piecing, and then let the background speak to you about what to put on top of it.

The whole thing makes me want to pull out a bunch of scraps and just play!