Mod Seven

Mod Seven

The Black and White Challenge ....
....was put forth by Barb Forrister.  After discussing for a while, the group decided to add a pop of blue and a pop of lime green.  We were to make blocks, any size, quilt them, and then expect them to be cut up and arranged to make this quilt.  The only problem was that we had no idea of where we were headed when we started.  Sometimes it is like that.  You have to trust the process.  And so we all began experimenting and playing with black and white.  Here are my results.

I began with some shaving cream and black paint.  The blobs were so interesting!  Then I used a toothpick to pull the paint and Voila!  I had jellyfish!  The quilting enhanced their subtle forms.  Just LOVE these! Sadly, they did not make it into the quilt.  This block had been misplaced in my studio until just last week.  However, I am happy now that they have been found!

Next, I wanted to try some paper laminate.  I thought it would be perfect for this challenge if I used newspaper.  Here's a closeup. This one was not selected for the quilt.  It hangs in a happy spot in my studio, as I just love it too!

Next, since this one was so fun to make, I decided to try some other shapes.  I used a freezer paper cut out stencil to make these three blocks.  Only one of them is paper laminate.  It was also not selected for the group quilt.  You can see what became of it here.  I think only the center one was used in the group quilt.  As for it's negative (the bottom image), I don't really know where it is.

I also made this little sample.  It was cut up and used in a few spots in the quilt.  I had wanted to make some blocks with batik, because I just love batik.  Unfortunately, I have a hard time getting black to dye as rich as I would like.  So I took my favorite circle from batik and used it to stamp some paint on a piece of organza.  It left a ghost image on the fabric below, so I just shifted the two pieces to get this array of circles.  I then added some strips of blue and black, and last, some pieces of blue dyed batting for the circles on top.  The solid black circles on top are commercial cottons, all fused with my favorite Mistyfuse!

You can probably not believe how chaotic it is after we all bring our pieces together.  It is hard to commit to cutting into them.  It is hard to commit to a layout because there are so many fabulous ideas sprouting.  We picked a common color palette to make the pieces fit together, but we all have very different styles of working.  That is what I love about collaborative work with our group!  It is exciting!
Here's a photo of the very beginning when we started throwing our work up on the design wall and trying to decide what to do with it.

Wow!  And, as a wonderful honor to our hard work, we were delighted to have earned a Judge's Choice Award as the Austin Quilt Show this fall.  Thanks so much to our tireless project director, Barb Forrister!