breaking free
Here’s a quick little Fast Friday Fabric Challenge quilt I made just this week, “Breaking Free” (18″ x14″). You can read the “Making Of” story here.
Letting the quilt take me where it wanted to go was like a breath of fresh air. It was relaxing to just let go of that controlling urge for a few days and enjoy making a quilt that I had only the vaguest sense of where it was headed and what it might look like in the end. Summer quilting at its best, just as captivating as a good novel and no seam rippers allowed.
Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a good technical challenge. I completely understand the drive to be precise, after all I studied graphic design back in the dark ages when “cut and paste” was not cute little icons on your computer screen, but an actual X-Acto blade and wax stick. Then there are the rulers: my most precise quilter’s ruler measures to the 16th inch. In graphic design we measured by 1/72 inch. In varying degrees I carry this obsession with me into my quilter’s studio.
Now my challenge is to find a balance between instinct & freedom on one hand and precision & planning on the other. And maybe its not one perfect ratio to fit all, but knowing how much of each element is best for each individual quilt.
I saw your link on Twitter and am glad that I did. I love the art quilt as well as the jewelry in the prior post!
Aw, the happy balance–if you figure that one out, let me know!
I hear you! I am in love with precision piecing — there’s something so satisfying about having all those little pieces come together perfectly, especially in complicated, intertwining patterns. But I am passionate about free piecing and patternless playing — though at some level it scares me to death. At the moment my precarious balance seems to come from running as quickly as possible from one extreme to the other.
I think that the balance is found by doing both precision and freedom–but not in the same quilt.
This piece is lovely. I like the colors and the free, curved edge.
Very pretty quilt, get what you mean i have a really bad obbsession with colour combos and pattern. i like things to be symmetrical and sometimes it takes control!