what if

what if #164: blurry dot sampler

i have decided to revisit a concept i call library quilts, something conceived to display collections of fabrics .  this time small quilts documenting specific experiments.  this one has evolved from the question... what if i paint dots ....mostly on wet fabric.  a blurry dot sampler.
related post

what if # 162: empty dot mask

i suppose i was continuing with this idea...when i asked myself ...and what if the cutout was a dot and what if the collage was just a machine free pieced striped base?   i sewed the stripes crazy style, every which way, and prepared the dot mask by tracing the bottom of a glass on a cotton linen solid and shading with a crayon for the shading.  i cut out the centers ( which i saved of course) and  ironed the crayon in and washed and ironed again.  now what if i stitch the layers together?

what if #149: shadow layers

...so it was really sheer fabric and right after i asked what if(?) i draw some more dots over the flocked dots i thought what if(?) i put another patterned fabric beneath the sheer before making it into a quilt block.

nothing new i guess, but i like the look of the stripes through the dots it and it gave the lightweight fabric more body to work with. 

what if #146: ninepatch with spectrum dot

 what if i use greens as a base?  and the dot could be stitched as a rainbow, a full spectrum of light. green, light, growth. i let the eyelet cut the edge of the green section. i like the interruption, the breaking through. i quilted after i asked what if ? i focus on both centers. the nine patch and the circle. some kind of quilt math has generated a mandala. some shifting chart.
cotton
1 1/34" squares
hand pieced
2 strands dmc floss, split stitch

what if #141: floating intersections

....to continue on the idea of dots and grids, i asked what if the grid itself is a dot?  intersecting woven lines pieced into a dotted sheer jacquard clip spot. all fabrics are sheer cotton. free machine pieced. seam pressed out flat.

what if # 139: sheer folded 9 patch

again i am using the term nine patch loosely, 9 squares of a yarn dyed windowpane.  i thought what if i use a sheer plaid? what if i draw circles in the squares since i've been focusing on dots?  and then what if i use the back side so the circles are more faded than the yarn dyed grid. just for some dimension. and what if i fold it over on itself, rematching the lines so the grid is intact but the circled overlap and show through? ....after folding i cut a nine square section and quilted it down to a linen backing. the fold line was blind stitched in place to stay put.
i like how the shadowed overlap looks like moon phases. the fabric is thin enough so the fold has no real bulk. about 4" square without border. cotton voile plaid on linen. laundry marker.

what if #139: crazy couched grid with dots

yay! i'm back.! what if the lines of a crazy quilt can be considered some kind of skewed grid? i thought i could emphasize this by laying a crazy grid over a regular one (playing with the ideas behind patchwork seams but not using seams)... and then i asked what if i cut reverse applique dots out over the intersections of the bottom grid to isolate one grid element (and expand on the idea of the dot as a point of intersection)?  the center block is 7" square and the crazy grid was drawn with laundry marker and stitched (using this method) to a sheer yarn dyed window pane cotton. 
dots were cut and turned, all stitched to a muslin backing using white embroidery floss in a combo of back stitch and running stitch following the gridded second layer which faintly showed through the top and served as a stitching guide. whew.

another example of marker couching

what if #133: dots and grids

 since i have decided this is the year of the dot, i am continuing with my nature of dots series over here at what if. and i suppose at first i was  asking myself what if a dot is just a point where things meet or intersect? 
 so i began marking the corners of a ninepatch which i arranged using woven stripes facing in different directions when i asked myself what if the intersections were also a change in direction?
then somewhere along the line i wandered into what if x marks the spot and what if patterns can be formed by a series of questions? which is a mighty big question i want to explore more.
this is also #2 in the bookmark/ question mark series. 3" x 14" not including fringe. linen cotton ans silk. hand stitched and pieced using english paperless piecing. 

what if #132: pattern play overlay

.....so i suppose i am revisiting this. and this time i am asking what if i play with 2 different patterns. and what if one is static and the other flowing. and what if i use dots as windows and use a spool to trace perfect circles....what if the circles don't need to be perfect? what if i use the cutouts as applique but what if i just darn them on with a quilting stitch, will they just melt into the web of the surface. what kinds of patterns can i create by tilting the pieces? what if i use the stripe as a stitching guide and play with the thread color a bit?
....well then... what if i write all my questions on the back as a document of process? cool...
now the last and craziest what if today.  what if....this could be a bookmark. a bit big you say? ( 4" x 12"). nah... a "book mat" perhaps? nah... i think it will work fine and i will call it a .....'question mark' !!!!!  a new series with a function. place keepers.  keepers of the evolution of creative thought. oh yeah. my new format for what-iffing 2009.

what if #89: soft edge diced dots

actually i am not sure what the question was, but i was inspired by some paint leftovers and i tried some softer edge discharge on indigo with soft scrub, continued from here but i used wet fabric and no stencil. and then i sliced and re-pieced, because i was thinking what if (?) i did that, probably left over from some other thought. at the same time i was wondering what if (?) i pressed the seams outward instead of to one side. i did that and now i am wondering if (?) this side wouldn't be interesting to work with.