Sorry, indoor photos only. It's been much too windy lately for outdoor photos, although I've tried several times.
This is the Flying Geese top I was working on at retreat in early April. It's now a finished top, 60" square.
There are similar Flying Geese quilts all over Pinterest, made with columns of geese flying north and south. Many use a bohemian mix of prints, often with low contrast.
I started with these fabrics. The multi-color floral drove the palette, although I avoided including the blue. The multi-color floral, orange stripe, and mint green solid were purchased together at one of the pop-up shops in Paducah last year. I thought I might be able to use them together in something. Then I pulled a few friends from stash.
I have trouble with contrast and I often err on the side of too much contrast, so this project was an exercise to push me to work with more subtle combos. I made Flying Geese units in combos of the fabrics above. But when I put them all together, to my eyes they just ran together in a mushy medium mess with only the occasional pop of darker orange. So I needed to add some contrast. Low volumes to the rescue. The white perked everything up, and the other low volumes helped add definition. Now there's enough contrast for interest combined with the more subtle units.
In the photo above, the orange and white units at the lower right are high contrast. The multi floral and orange geometric units in the top row and the green print units at the lower left are low contrast. Squint at the image and the difference in value disappears in those units. Everything is relative; in another project, that orange and white geometric would read as a "light" when combined with all medium and dark prints, and the orange stripe could be a medium.
I like that you were able to use so much of the inspiration print in the quilt top. Working with low contrast for a full project would be harder for me at this point, too. I think you created a nice balance that moves the eye around.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to make something that doesn't "look right" to you. Your finished version turned out beautifully. The important thing is you challenged yourself to try something new.
ReplyDeleteI think you got just the right amunt of contrast!! and I love the flying geese!!
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