Design and Composition

Just starting art quilt

fishqueen — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:33:12 GMT

I am just getting set up to start a quilt. It will be a wall hanging, 2.5 ft by 5 ft. wide. I have the cotton batting, I am going to add silk I shibori to about two thirds of the bottom and lots of dyed fabrics to make a wetland scene. I'm not at all skilled at sewing and I just heard about interfacing, so could anyone suggest the weight or kind I would need to get, to be able to do hand sewing and machine sewing? I have a Jo Ann's store close to me. Since my piece is pretty big, I might need to use several pieces to back it, do I need to sew it to the batting? Would it be better to make the break running lengthwise or width wise? I've seen some suggestions to sew even if it says to iron. Also suggestions for sewing over silk or links for a novice.

Thanks,

fishqueen

Designing with colour

patriciafranks — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 15:40:06 GMT

Does anyone know where I can get a DMY colour wheel to help me in my use of colour in my designs? A UK source would be preferable, as that is where I am located. Hope someone can help. Thanks

getting permission to use a trademark in a quilt

lynn stangl — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:48:17 GMT

i got an idea from a tech toys magazine which showed an ipod with apps. is using apps in the public domain or do i have to ask permission from each company?

Lyrical Art Quilt

marlin2 — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:35:10 GMT

Hello Quilting Arts Members,

I have been researching the lyrics of some of my favorite songs to use in an art piece. I have not seen any pieces like what is in my head. Has anyone done an art piece based on a favorite song? If so, are there any copyright laws I should be aware of if I want to put the piece in a show?

Thanks and love reading all your posts! Have a great creative day!

Marlin Williams - Miami, FL

Favorite Design and Composition books?

Muppin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:36:53 GMT

I am not a "trained" artist in that I have never taken a formal art class. Sometimes I think it would benefit me to learn the basics of design and composition, but wondered if anyone out there can recommend any books on the subject?

Thanks!

Cheryl / Muppin

Quilted Papercut

zoe cro-z — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:23:40 GMT

I got interested on the art of Papercut and Hawaiian Quilts and I tried to use these two artistic inpirations on this wall quilt that I created. I'm using the photo of the quilt as my avatar here and I'm uploading the photo here so that it can be viewed fully.

Precut Quilt Fabrics

zoe cro-z — Sat, 15 May 2010 10:27:29 GMT

I'm discovering that using precut squares of fabrics add to my enjoyment of quilting. I wonder how many quilters are using precut fabrics in creating their quilts. What I like about buying precut fabrics is that I can get variety of colors without spending a lot of money and I save time by not having to cut the fabrics my self.... time that I can use in making and creating the quilt. I can still cut these small squares into specific shapes that I want without having to manage large fabric at any time.

My Blog: Quilt 4 Artsake

Hanging sleeve

mtnjohn — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:21:30 GMT

I have read about a half dozen articles related to hanging sleeves. Although there are multiple differences there appears to be 2 basic types.

One is to attach the sleeve with (at the same time as) the binding.

The other is to attach the sleeve to the back below the binding after the binding has been completed.

My question is twofold. Which type of hanging sleeve is preferred and why?

Thank you,

John

What method do you use to design a quilt?

arlijohn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:07:57 GMT

Just curious about how others work on design. I seem to have an idea come into my head and it just grows. Seems like I even dream the quilt , something pushes me to get started. I start putting fabrics on the design wall and slowly the design starts to develop. Does anybody else work this way?

A design improvement

reginabdunn — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:16:15 GMT

Hello Everyone,

I want to share with you a design flaw I had and how I improved on it. If you go to my name (spirit2sew) and look at my files, you'll see a quilt called "Three Bales". I had that quilt critiqued by Sandra Sider and she recommended 3 improvements. One was to remove the clouds. Another was to make the bales of hay larger. The last suggestion was to make the yellow foreground a little darker. I made the first two changes. To make the bales of hay larger I had to hand sew them over the old ones and over some of the beaded green area. The clouds were easy to remove so I did that. I'm not sure I'll make the foreground darker. Next time I go to the fabric store, I'll buy some dark yellow or very light brown tulle and put that over the foreground to see if I like it or not. But I definitely think she was right about the first two changes. From this experience, I'm coming away with the idea of being bolder in my work. In my files you'll see the new and improved photo of the quilt. But I'm not sure if from these to photos you can see well enough the differences. But in person the differences are very visible to me. Sandra runs a quilt critique business but I'm not telling you about this as an advertisement for her, I just thought it might be helpful to you to see a successful design change. I'll post a photo of the improved version in the photo gallery now.

creating a quilt from a photo

bridesmom — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:16:59 GMT

I have a head shot of my son's golden lab that I would love to do into a quilt for him as his dog has osteosarcoma and won't be around much longer. I haven't actually done any art quilting yet, though I have ideas galore and have my ideas in a journal, ready to start trying them out. I'm curious though, how would you go about breaking down the photo to create a quilt design? I'm thinking of more of an applique style with irregular pieces. Any help would be appreciated! Before I actually start working on this, I do have my fabrics all ready to go for a landscape quilt, so the dog photo won't be my first art quilt!

New designs

reginabdunn — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:58:03 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I'm very excited about heading in a new direction. I'm starting a backpacking trip through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia tomorrow. It is for 5 weeks. When my husband first proposed this I felt that 5 weeks was too long. I'll miss my cats, my fabrics, and my sewing machine. But then I realized that area is where much of the silks come from and there are some fantastic embroideries waiting for me to bring home. Also, I'm taking a sketchbook, watercolor pencils, and a point a shoot camera to get shots of foliage, temples, etc. I'm going to try to design abstracts with the themes of Asian culture and jungle fused together. This will be a big step for me since I can't really draw and it takes weeks for me design something. On this trip, I'm going to try to make many designs quickly and then I can modify and hone them when I get home. Do any of you have a process that you follow when you design from scratch?

Perspective, tricks or tips?

thegrita — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:08:22 GMT

I have been working on a piece that has a road in it and it is the first where I have had to work out pespective issues. This did not come naturual to me and I Ihave reworked that road now for the 10th time or so.

I was wondering if there was any tricks or tips any of you had that could be used in future works on getting or keeping perspective?

Rita Legere

www.gracefulspirit.blogspot.com

www.mooseandcrow.com

Focal Point and the Rule of Thirds

Lyric Kinard — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:24:48 GMT

So - I had a client coming over to look at my work and talk about a possible commission. I wrote about it on my blog. Anyway - the piece has me excited - which is always nice.

There was however a problem - the piece has no real focal point. It was nice and interesting to look at but felt like it was really missing something. It was an all-over surface designed cloth with multiple overlapping images but none of them were in a really good spot to become a focal point. You can see the fix I'm happy about on the blog.

Have you heard of the Rule of Thirds? Like and "rule" it can be successfully broken, but following it can often lead to greater success. Here it is, divide your composition into nine spaces, like a nine patch. The spot where the four intersections (where the horizontal and vertical seams) would cross make very good spots to place a focal point. So that's what I did with the piece, added an image with the greatest part of it's visual weight in the lower left focal point center.

So - here's a challenge. Go to the piece you are working on now and take a fresh look at it. Where is the very first place your eye stops? What spot draws your attention? That will be the focal point. Of course some artwork doesn't have a focal point, and there can certainly be more than one focal point - but think about where you have placed it.

Tell us about the focal point in your favorite piece of work - or ask a question about focal point. This forum has the potential to be a really wonderful place for working out design issues - but only if you all participate!

Can't wait to hear from you!

-Lyric

Good Design - the basis for all good ART!

Lyric Kinard — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:40:18 GMT

Whoopie!!!

I can't wait to see you all, meet you all, and have great discussions about the things that will help us all lift each other to the next level of fine art.

Thank you QA for giving us a place to grow!