I've been thinking about quilting patterns a lot lately; not patchwork patterns, for the quilt top, but patterns for the actual lines of thread that hold the layers of the quilt together. I've decided that I really like the crinkly look that comes from lots of quilting, like in my
disappearing nine-patch, but I want to do something beyond the stippling I used on that quilt.
As a child, I used to make drawings by starting with a couple of long, swooping lines, and then turning them into an animal, or landscape, or just a geometrical design. Why not start a quilting pattern the same way? Like this:
So, I decided to move to the white board and play! (Please forgive the glare.)
After putting in a few big, broad lines, you could echo those lines to fill in the whole quilt.
Starting with a few simple lines would serve a double purpose, too; not only could you give the quilting pattern an outline, but it would be like basting the quilt, getting the layers connected broadly across the whole "quilt sandwich." Here's an example of starting with just two lines:
Or three:
The topmost line didn't work for me once I started filling in; I took it out, and ended up with this. You could give the quilt a lot of movement and directionality with the quilting pattern!
I decided to see what this sort of quilting pattern (shown in black) might look like when put on top of a simple, geometric quilt top, reminiscent of a simple strip-pieced rectangle-based patchwork pattern (shown in green).
You could make a very simple patchwork pattern incredibly dynamic! I like the contrast between the straight horizontal and vertical lines of the "quilt top" and the more fluid, organic lines of the "quilting."
I think I may have to try to put together some small, simple quilt tops this weekend so I have some canvasses to play with. Maybe I'll do some small baby or lap quilts using bold color combinations, about which I'm curious but haven't yet tried: yellow and blue, a watermelon pink-and-green, or simple black and white. So many ideas, so little time...
~Phosphorelated
Look at that amazing color gradation. I think even the little hint of blue from the cap of the tube I was using makes a nice accent. 
I may quilt to de-stress from what I do, but never let it be said that it doesn't inspire me, too. 
So, I decided to move to the white board and play! (Please forgive the glare.)
After putting in a few big, broad lines, you could echo those lines to fill in the whole quilt.
Starting with a few simple lines would serve a double purpose, too; not only could you give the quilting pattern an outline, but it would be like basting the quilt, getting the layers connected broadly across the whole "quilt sandwich." Here's an example of starting with just two lines:
Or three:
The topmost line didn't work for me once I started filling in; I took it out, and ended up with this. You could give the quilt a lot of movement and directionality with the quilting pattern!
I decided to see what this sort of quilting pattern (shown in black) might look like when put on top of a simple, geometric quilt top, reminiscent of a simple strip-pieced rectangle-based patchwork pattern (shown in green).
You could make a very simple patchwork pattern incredibly dynamic! I like the contrast between the straight horizontal and vertical lines of the "quilt top" and the more fluid, organic lines of the "quilting."
I think I may have to try to put together some small, simple quilt tops this weekend so I have some canvasses to play with. Maybe I'll do some small baby or lap quilts using bold color combinations, about which I'm curious but haven't yet tried: yellow and blue, a watermelon pink-and-green, or simple black and white. So many ideas, so little time...
I'm beginning to worry about my bathroom floor obsession. But this seems to be where all the cool old tiles got put and were left alone!
This ironwork (at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden) reminds me more of modern machine quilting patterns. 
Beautiful, isn't it?
One of the unexpected fringe benefits of teaching! Perhaps it will finds its way into a quilt or knitting project someday, and when it does, I will look at it and think fondly of this, my first class of students.
I confess that this is not, in fact, the first time I have taken pictures of strangers on the bus out of interest in their clothing or general color schemes. Let's get a closeup of the great pattern on that coat:
Yep. Perhaps one of these days I'll get around to posting some of the other "strangers on a bus" inspiration I have collected.
