Friday, March 5, 2010

State of Chaos . . . .

I'm renaming this quilt, right now I'm leaning towards State of Chaos instead of State of Grace, but it's still open to debate.

So as soon as I got some strips made I threw them up on the design wall. The pattern calls for a totally scrappy design. I immediately started having the same problems with this design that I did with Toulouse......I thought it looked messy, sloppy, not me. "No place for the eye to rest" someone said last time...so true!

If I could talk to a fabric designer, I would be curious to know if when they create these families of fabrics, do they really expect all the fabrics to be used in one project? Because if it were up to me, I would pick some of the fabrics for a top, but never all of them. In the past I just figured the designers had different color ways in the same pattern to please everyone, the browns for the fall folks, the reds for me, the blues and greens for the pastel folks. But all in one quilt, really, that's what they had in mind?



So this is what the design looks like all scrappy.....uhm I don't think so. This family of fabrics is heavy on the greens and light on the reds. So if I went with this design not only would it look messy, it would have a strong green presence.

At this point I still didn't have a design in my mind, but I did know that I wanted an equal number of reds, browns, greens, and blues. I like things even Steven, I'm a debits equals credits type of girl. This required more strips......this required me to raid my Shangri La purse!!

There it is, setting on my shelf, empty!! I think I'll make a round tuffet to put in there when I'm done with this project. Hopefully then the purse won't look as sad. But really, the fabric is too pretty to spend its life in a purse!


So here's the polar opposite of scrappy, each buzz saw block made up of like colors....... another no, I don't think so.

So then I decided to go half brown and half red in one buzz saw and half blue and half green in the other buzz saw, an improvement but I still think no.

This time I continued to separate the pastels from the bolds but I intermingled the red with the browns and the blues with the greens. This I liked.

So then I took it one step further. I mixed my mixes, a predominately red, brown, blue and green in every buzz saw. I think this pattern makes the buzz saws look like they are moving.
So a little mix on the left, a little more of a mix on the right. I couldn't decide which design I preferred, so I combined the above two,


into this. A pastel buzz saw, a mixed buzz saw, a bold buzz saw then another mixed buzz saw.

One thing I know for sure, the 6 inch blocks will be a mix of blue, green, blue, or red, brown, red, or green, blue, green or brown, red, brown. That I know I like, other than that I'm not so sure.

Ok, hit me with your best shot......what should it be:
Choice # 1, bold buzz saws and pastel buzz saws (second to last picture, square on the left).
Choice #2, one mixed block, of each color, in one buzz saw (second to last picture, square on the right)
Choice #3, last picture, combination of #1 and # 2.
Choice #4, can you come up with anything else?

THANKS!!


35 comments:

  1. I think that I like choice 2 the best. I think that it does the best job of presenting the "secondary" pattern of the white buzzsaw and pinwheel. Too many pastels around that white buzzsaw and you don't really see it. I always look for those secondary patterns, and this one is so unique, that I'd hate for it to go missing :)

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  2. I think the first layout in the second to the last picture, right now is my favorite. Then the very last picture on the right. Hope this helps.

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  3. I like choice #1 (separate bolds and pastels) and here's why: my eyes immediately draw to the bolds. If they're separated, then the pastels can stand on their own as a resting place. When they're mixed, all I see are the bolds. I love the Shangri-la line. Can't wait to see it completed!

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  4. I'm voting #2! Whew....I got a wee bit confused and you put so much work into this.

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  5. Thelma, I was so exhausted by the time I got to the bottom ;-) You did a great job eliminating the first few tries and came up with the best three choices. So, I say you can't go wrong with either of them. However, if I had to pick, I'd go with Choice #1. Those are pretty fabrics. My Shangri La is sitting amongst a bunch of other waiting to be cut into fabrics in my closet.

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  6. I think number 2. It shows off the pattern, is scrappy but not chaotic.

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  7. GASP!!!

    i ... can't ... even ... THINK ... about what i like best ... you USED the jelly roll ... and the purse is EMPTY?!?!?!

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  8. #2 - I love scrappy and this is a nice controlled scrappy!

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  9. Holy cow, you have a lot of options, they all look good haha. Okay, I'd choose the #4 version, it's mixed up a little, but still the darks/lights are seperated. I love this quilt,the fabrics are so pretty. I am making a quilt with Shangri La now too, I should post some pictures of it :)

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  10. Wow, you have really been working on this! I like #2. My eye rests on those cute red pinwheels and the fabrics from the jelly roll all play together in a nice mix. #1 is polar opposites to me and they don't look like they even belong together. And #3, the red's/browns are too predominant. I am sure whatever you decide though, will be beautiful and perfect for you. ;-)

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  11. Whew. I am so glad you didn't go totally random. I sort of liked the buzz saws each being their own color, but maybe you are right, that is too controlled. However, with that choice the secondary pattern doesn't show up. So, my vote is for choice #2. Each buzz saw a mix of darks and lights and a wonderful secondary pattern that pops. You sure are going through those jelly rolls!

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  12. Whoa. I am totally "buzzed" after looking at all those! :)

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  13. wow . . . you have done a ton of work . . . I really like Choice #2 . . . and I can't even say why . . . LOL . . . I just like it !!

    I have such a hard time doing scrappy . . . good for you !!

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  14. Let me throw a monkey wrench in...have you tried mixing a dark strip with a pastel in a block? Like brown/blue and red/green or brown/green,red/blue? Instead of all the darks in a block and pastels in another? Just wondering what that would look like. I'm like you and none of the options are jumping out at me as a favorite. And I normally like really scrappy...just not in this one. Oh, and Hershey's Kisses would look adorable in the purse!

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  15. Number 2 looks great. Scrappy, but not out of control. - Debbie

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  16. I had just been looking at this pattern again... I have been wanting to do it for so long! I love yours! It's coming out so cute with your ShangraLa fabrics.

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  17. #1 or #2 are my favorites. Whew! What a lot of work to go to and still only have samples to choose from. You are intrepid!

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  18. Wow Thelma! You are amazing! I'm voting for choice 2...not sure why...I just like it.

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  19. This was really fun and this is one of my favorite blocks...I've made 2 large quilts and 2 mini quilts using this block.
    I like choice #1 with the medium buzz saws in their own block and the darks in their own blocks.
    But I am tempted to change the red corners. I know you like red, but having the red in the blocks and as the corners is confusing to me. I would likely take one of the dark reds or browns out of the blocks and use that fabric only in the pinwheel corners.
    As for the empty purse, what about making a little mini quilt to go inside ?!?

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  20. I really like the reds and browns and the greens and blue version. You're like me - I need things harmonious, not scrappy. It seems to drive me nuts.

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  21. Okay, it appears most of the comments hit on what I was thinking. Choice #2 gives you the best of both worlds. I see what you are talking about with the full scrappy look. It just gets really busy and you lose the pattern in the fabric. Choice #2 still keeps a scrappy look but with the structure you need to keep the pattern the focus of the quilt. I think that if you use the one red/brown, one blue/green you move from light blocks to dark and those lights can get lost in the background making the pinwheel 'escape' through the hole the lights make. Do you get what I mean? Option #3 becomes too random and you lose some of the symmetry that I, personally, like in my pieces. Anyway, when you make your choice remember... It's your quilt and you do what makes you love it the most. Good Luck!!

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  22. I vote for #2. Valerie

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  23. I prefer #2 - my favorite controlled scrappy. And it helps the cream buzz saw with the red pinwheel stand as a distinct design element. Still, I like the new name, State of Chaos!

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  24. Definitely #1 for me. Love that one. Thanks for sharing all your auditions with us.

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  25. My vote is for choice #1 - very pretty!!!

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  26. Definitely #1 for me. All the other choices are too "chopped up" for my tastes. You might try walking away for a day and come in fresh the next day and see what you like.

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  27. IMHO, #2 has more definition of the pattern and it sounds like that is the look you are trying to achieve. It is hard to see the pattern in #1 and the ones before that. katquilter had a good idea, walk away and look at it fresh. You may see it more clearly that way.

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  28. Thelma,
    I like #2 ... but you will decide which one you like the best. I love the fabric!
    Blessings,
    Donna

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  29. Definitely choice #2. All the others still look messy.

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  30. Thelma, you have hit the nail on the head as to why I have difficulty working with fabric collections and why I generally go totally scrappy instead. I also thought that the different colorways were to please different people.

    So back to your quilt. I vote for Choice #1. The dark buzz saws really stand out and the pastel ones are there too, but give your eyes a place to rest. Just my opinion. As long as you are pleased in the end, that's all that matters.

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  31. I'm another one who votes for Choice #1. I like the contrast of the bold and pastel.

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  32. my vote is for choice #2.

    cindy b

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  33. I like choice 2 the best. The background is so well defined by the sharp little edges of color. Isn't it amazing what a difference placement makes? Are you the lucky owner of a fat quarter bundle of Glace on your shelf? Lucky you.

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  34. New thought this morning- Have you tried keeping each pinwheel set to two colors but mixing all the colors? Red/brown, Red/green, Red/blue, Blue/green, Blue/brown. I have no idea what it would look like.

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  35. I like the 2nd to last picture, the one on the right. Blended but not completely. But I think you will find a good compromise. It going to be beautiful!

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