You would think, wouldn't you, that if I was setting a task for other people it might be one I found straightforward myself. But no; this is causing me all sorts of headaches, though I'm not disputing that it may be good for me.
I've gone through countless iterations so far. Some I like, some I don't. I've added circles, taken them away, added them again, taken them away again. I've made some coin strips but don't know if they get to stay either. Since there's no rhyme or reason to all this yet I will punctuate the rest of this post with photos, but without commenting on them.
What I have been musing on though, as I crawled around the floor shuffling things about were some more general issues.
The first thought that has occurred to me is that size really does matter. I like the idea of circles, didn't mind making them, but was distinctly underwhelmed when I added them in. Now that I've tried this repeatedly I have come to the conclusion that they are the wrong size rather than the wrong shape. I think if they were just a tad bigger I would like them better. Can't do that, though - nowhere near enough fabric. Or maybe if they were small, but that would be extremely fiddly and is therefore most unlikely to happen!
Then I moved on to thinking about negative space. I know it's got its uses and that every quilt needs little places for the eye to rest, but even when I can see it might be a good idea I just don't have it in me to leave well alone. So this leads me to look for alternative ways of achieving this; the circles might have been one, now I am trying to mix in a few more triangles that are a single fabric rather than pieced. More black would be another thing to try, I think.
I wonder whether negative space is better suited to modern trends in machine quilting? I know people do/have always done wonderful whole cloth work by hand but most negative space I see is taken up by machining. I can't quite imagine those very precise, clear lines on top of my wonky piecing rather than the more organic feel of hand quilting but have started to wonder about ways I would fill big areas of space if I had them. For now though, I guess I'll just keep adding stuff in.
(I wrote this post on Monday. Last night Mr Sew Slowly felt the need to get up and make toast in the middle of the night. This is not on the whole a habit to be encouraged, but as I lay there trying to get back to sleep I had a bright idea about my circles - maybe there's something I can do here).
I'm looking forward to seeing how other people have approached this, but of course you are welcome to link up any project you are working on.
(I wrote this post on Monday. Last night Mr Sew Slowly felt the need to get up and make toast in the middle of the night. This is not on the whole a habit to be encouraged, but as I lay there trying to get back to sleep I had a bright idea about my circles - maybe there's something I can do here).
I'm looking forward to seeing how other people have approached this, but of course you are welcome to link up any project you are working on.