Friday, April 27, 2018

You May Never Know

Where those tea-time conversations will lead you!

On one morning of October of 2017, over a cup of tea, my husband out of nowhere said, "You have never made a quilt from primary colors."
I looked at him in amusement because he rarely talks about colors. That one sentence made me think little hard. I almost never start a quilt with color scheme in mind. Most of the time it is the mood, some memory of the past triggers the start of a new quilt. 

He was right. I had never made a quilt with primary colors. That afternoon I decided to start a quilt just to honor our conversation. I looked in my stash that was available to use. Knowing it was his thought I was honoring, I wanted to work with solids and keep it clean. I had to look really hard for few scraps of these three colors. 


I found few shades of yellow to get started. Red was not a problem but I also wanted to use less red since t would be easy for reds to take over in my quilts. Blues were real issue since I don't work with that color much. I found one of his shirts he had put in a pile to discard. That made the cut. That old denim shirt was reversible.. I got to work with two shades of blue. I wasn't trying to create  a masterpiece but it still needed that jazz. Something was a miss.



In came the navy blue! I was happy. It now had the contrast I like and definition. 
 

I basted that quilt right away. I was headed to Houston for the IQA cruise to the Caribbean and needed a project to work on in my spare time.
 

And so it began. I thought I will hand quilt about an inch apart and turn it into a quick finish.  


It was interesting to find the colors of my quilt as we boarded on the ship.


 I got plenty of spare time on the cruise. Did you notice my idea of quilting lines an inch apart did not have a chance. I quickly realized that for a quilts made with just solids needed more texture to be interesting. So I went to my normal heavy stitching.


On the way back from the cruise, I couldn't help taking this shot.


During next few months, this quilt got lot of stitch love. I made sure to stitch on it the day son and daughter in law shared their good news.


It has come a long way. Slowly but steadily it is inching towards the edges.
 

Sometimes these stitches remind me of the sad in the Caribbean and oher times it reminds me of all the chain of events that happened in past few months.


I have overcome my fear of blues. No guarantee I will start using them more anytime soon though unless they are men's shirts.


 Uneven lines and stitches remain a reminder of constant change we go through, whether it is our creativity or life in general.


Hand quilting keeps me focused through it all and I wouldn't give it up unless I absolutely have to. 
 

Now I have two quilts with blues.. 
 

Some day when it is finished (hopefully soon), it will serve as a nice backdrop in our apartment in San Diego.
 

Happy Quilting!
Sujata

23 comments:

  1. I love this post for every single reason possible. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.

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  2. I really would like to get back to blogging and continue it as a journal. It has been hard to not only keep up but motivated in the first place. May be I get tired of social media aspect of this hobby/work or may be I feel I am doing too much of it in the first place. But I need to remember, this makes me happy.. to see it all in one place, to go back and read and reflect and it is kind of my own art gallery where I can display whatever I want.

    Thank you for your support Julie. It means a lot.

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  3. How beautifully this is turning out--I never use plain primaries either--but I love how your stitching brings them all together...wonderful piece hugs, Julierose

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    1. Thank you, my friend!

      I have made many quilts with solids but never with just three colors. This combination was last, actually is is best to say, never on my mind. It is funny how I am opening up to more possibilities with colors. I guess I must be tired of same old, same old.

      Hugs, Sujata

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  4. I am tired of social media as well. I need to step back and take a break sometimes...the need to keep up with everyone. I just cant do it all. This quilt is so peaceful I just love it. I adore your work. Glad to see blog posts again! :0)

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    1. Hi Denise, The reality is, blogging is also part of the social media and it is a different way of staying in touch with your friends around the world. I find IG and FB easier when I am constantly on the go, short of time but keep coming back to blogging for sharing more than just a picture or two. It is definitely hard to balance everything. The key might be in moderation, which, at times I forget.

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  5. I really love this quilt. The simplicity and yet, the genuine-ness of the hand stitching makes it just sing for me. It's a good reminder to shed some of the details in favor of 'less is more'.

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    1. Thank you so much Audrey,

      I do love simplicity as well as craziness in quilts but everything has its time and place. There is much to be said as far as improv quilting is concerned.

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  6. Love your primary colours quilt! Your hand stitching is exquisite and has created so much beautiful texture.

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    1. Thank you! I am enjoying the feel of this quit. It gets softer as it handled for so long.

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  7. Well, I am so glad to see the progress on this, one of my favourite of your quilts, Sujata.
    It is the dense hand stitching that makes this piece so very stunning. Wow and wow. Thank you for making a blog post about the beginnings of it and of the story of it as it went through your life and held the various memories. Really beautiful.

    That's what is so wonderful about blogging. There is enough space to explain our thoughts and show the development of our work. For me, I love that I can use the blog to give context to my work within the larger world of nature and other artists who I admire. I love instagram too because I can see such a wide variety of really and truly inspiring things every day - every day there are more and more.

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    1. Dear Judy, I couldn't agree with you more! It is a space to share our thoughts and process of the projects. This blog has always been the place for show and tell as we explore more of our creativity. Instagram is mini version of the same and I do enjoy both. I hope to be at both places, but lately this platform seems just the right place for staying in touch.

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  8. This quilt is so warm and lovely ! You have so many memories stitched into it already!

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    1. Thanks! Last bit of left and I can not wait to put a binding on it. It has given me quite the company through some very quiet days.

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  9. I love how once a person becomes ‘involved’ with something, that focus is related in so many other walks of life. Like seeing your primary solids from your plane window. In a related way, we were in a town in North Carolina that I had never heard of last week because friends were there. Wouldn’t you know, I started listening to a book today...and it was taking place in that town. Before this trip, I would have skipped right over that town’s name. Now it caught my attention.

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    1. That is so true, Christine. It is ironic that you would hear the name of the town you just visited. Our brain works in amazing way, compartmentalizing it all and bringing it out just at the right time. I have been noticing all the commercials for baby products now.. which was a thing in the past :)

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  10. nice post. I have not seen a post from you in awhile...Your hand stitching is lovely...it really does make a difference, doesn't it..

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    1. You are right.. Time gets out of my hands sometimes but I am going to try to be better at posting here. I love hand stitching as you can tell. I think the texture is different with hand stitching a quilt.

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  11. I love this quilt even more so for all your beautiful quilting. And in Perle thread? That's a lot of work.
    I find I am coming back to blogging. Love the circle of friends I have made here, i almost feel like I know them.
    Instagram feels a bit more transient though it is useful. I am really sick of the ads on Ig and the way the feed is not chronological. I keep missing things.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, a Perle thread. Although, lately I have been reconsidering it. I do love what it does to a quilt.
      I agree with you on two different social medias, both good it their place and friendships we made here are unique too.

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  12. Gorgeous quilt! I never use primary colors either. They always feel like a child’s colors but your quilt is fresh and modern. Not childish at all. Wow! You used more yellow than I have in my entire stash, whole house and wardrobe combined! So cheery and positive.

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    1. Okay, that last line made me laugh out loud! You have that huge Sunflower hanging in your dining room... Still my favorite sun shiny quilt of yours!

      I am thinking this is all for primary colors for me though. Fun as it is, there are too many ideas in my head to explore. :)

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  13. The process photos add so much to this post. The quilt really popped once you added the navy. And then... isn't it funny how we start seeing our color combination or layout everywhere else? I guess our minds are finally tuned in to the work. The dense quilting is really you so your husband will like the combination of his colors and your quilting style.

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