Friday, February 26, 2010

February Interpret This


Indigestion  
31" x 32"

It was a rocky road this month.  It never occurred to me to be thematic, I think because I've done Chinese before, so I tried to keep a visual relationship to the original photo (which you can see here).  Since I don't draw, and prefer to work with shapes, this was difficult.  I could only see the circle and the diagonal.  You can read more about my struggles on the Interpret This blog.  Be sure to look at all the other interpretations too--two already posted and more to come today through Sunday.  There's a fascinating range of approaches.

Some technical points that might be interesting:  1.  Quilting with a walking foot at an angle that's not a straight bias is difficult.  The quilt tries to move back to the straight and narrow, producing lines that are wonky in a different way than intended.  It also distorts the quilt a great deal.  2.  Twelve weight thread and batiks are not a good match, at least on my Janome.  Even with a #14 topstitch needle I had problems with skipped stitches and thread breakage.  I've ordered some #16/100 needles for next time.  3.  I was using a scrap of Quilters' Dream Poly batting which has been recommended as good for wall quilts. Having used it twice now, I don't think I'd agree.  Its denseness compounded the stitching problem, and being polyester, it didn't help in blocking the quilt back into shape.  Now that it's gone, I won't buy more.

I have this piece hanging in my studio, and I like it more all the time.  Odd how your feelings about things change.

11 comments:

dee said...

wonderful Kay. I commented on the IT site but I wanted to say how great I think this is. Soothing. Of course, my favorite food is Chinese so that may have something to do with my view.

*karendianne. said...

Gosh this is so amazing. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. Doesn't take the place of the Elephant (in my brain) but it's right up there. Wow! I just realized that, too. Can you believe that? ...and you had to go and name it Indigestion ha? So now I can think my top favorites are the Elephant, the white and black renditions you did recently from your latest book and Indigestion. Plus the Red Stars. But really! Indigestion. hee! Well, I can't help my favorites and you can't help your creativity!!!

jenclair said...

Great job, Kay! Such a funny interpretation and a wonderful piece!

Rian said...

You are a star. A rock star.

Rachel said...

It's certainly true that something you hate at one time you can love a little later (usually when you have forgotten the trials of making it...!).
I think it has come out really well, and you've clearly learnt a lot from doing it.

Kim said...

Yep, wonderful job! I love the lower left plate.

Debra Dixon said...

I think you were a bit hard on yourself! You worked a very cool composition that reflects directly back to the photo--nice work, gal!

Nellie's Needles said...

This is an inspired interpretation!

Glad to hear I'm not alone in the struggle to interpret that photo.

Joyce said...

I really like this one. I like that each block is slightly different but still similar enough to work well together.

Barbara C said...

I like your quilt too. I like the overall composition, and the variation from plate to plate. I think that part is very whimsical.

Liz in Kansas said...

This piece turned out great! I wondered what you would come up with, since I agreed with you about the inspiration picture. I know I could not have done anything half as well as this. Naming it Indigestion is genius!