Look at these colors and tell me you don’t have visions.
Kona cotton solids (mostly)
Okay, granted I picked these out so maybe you don’t have as many visions as I do. But still, the potential just boggles my mind. Even with all this I still went out and bought another orange, a blue, and a lighter pink. I am following Sherri Lynn Wood’s quilt along from her blog Dainty Time (although it is long done and over by now) for the Mod Mood quilt. I decided to do three colorways: blue, green and orange and even sketched a draft of my vision. The funny thing about her quilt along is, you are supposed to be driven by your mood. I don’t totally subscribe to this for two reasons. One, by the time I pick a colorway, cut it, sew it, a week has passed by and I have had dozens of moods throughout that process – so there is a separation from my mood and the “mood” of the quilt colors. Second, I just pick things I like. I know there are “passive” and “active” colors and all that. Wood describes in detail in her blog. Dang it though, I just don’t feel it and hope at least that it comes out looking like “me” and has my sense of style to it.
Two nights ago I started with the turquoise/blue pieces and afterwards I came to appreciate some comments discussed at our last EBMQG meeting. It just doesn’t sing to me. It’s fine but I’m not impressed as it shows so far. Forge ahead, I will, but it’s a little bit … boring?
Blue colorway wedges
It must be one of those moments we talked about where you just force yourself to continue on. The colors also seemed to be a bit too contrasting – what does that say about my mood? Bi-polar?
The good little quilter voice in the back of my head echoed to me… it’s improvisational…don’t think too much (I nearly always over-think these projects)… ahh, yes, that’s why I love improvisational quilts so MUCH, right?? Over-thinking rarely fosters progress, instead it keeps me running in circles. With that said: Cut without rulers, just sew one wedge to the next without thinking about it, enjoy the process and repeat…
Tonight begins a new colorway, how exciting!
east bay modern quilters 
I say, “carry on!” I think you might be looking at Sherri Lynn’s quilts and seeing that they’re a bit monochromatic (hence, the mood, at the time, right?). Perhaps your moods are contradictory, hence the contrasting colors?!! Look at the work of Rosie Lee Tompkins for some great contrasting colors in improvisational quilting….and have fun with it! Can’t wait to see the results.
Wow, her work is amazing, thanks for the inspiration :) Carry on, I have and finish, I will. It’s definitely a fun learning experience, in any case.
Keep going – this looks great so far!
This is the lesson you learn from improvisation – how to move forward, quiet the mind, and trust. My mind goes through the same kind of over thinking. Improvisational process is a form of mindfulness meditation.
Best of luck!
Thanks! It’s coming along better now, new photos up soon.
Looking forward to seeing it coming along! I often get to that point in my work where I don’t only not see its potential; I pretty much hate it. I’m afraid it’s dull or boring or not reaching for anything new.
Then I remember that Claudia (http://claudiacomay.wordpress.com) told me, “Every quilt hits that moment when it’s ugly and not coming together; you just have to push through.” That’s tough for me.
It’s nice to see you sharing the process of rethinking yourself into improvisation… as I always think of your sewing as very refined and well-thought out. Sort of delicate/flawless, which I’ve always admired. Interested in seeing the “loose” version!