After a question and comment on my previous post, about the trapunto swirl around the star... I started brainstorming. The question was whether I wanted more of a military emphasis on the design, or maybe the better option was rays of sunlight. I started looking at images. Here are a few that caught my eye.
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I liked the pinwheel look and the softer curve.
I liked the flag behind the Eagle, but planned to do a monotone background. I could not see how to get the wiggle in the flag, or the colors to represent themselves, so that the motif would stand alone without explanation.
I liked the star burst effect and how the stars were randomly placed.
After the kids were in bed tonight, I went downstairs to the basement and started with completing the "Swirl around star" motif. I would either convince myself yeah/or nay with the final look. So here is the Glad press and seal in the "Swirl around star".
I took two pictures to get the detail to show better. You can see I did not have room for that same motif above the Eagles shoulders and head. So I made some softer curves - more like the pinwheels in the above brainstorming. I still didn't like the tight "swirl around star". The Eagle is supposed to be in flight, and that seemed like a lot of turbulence. And although this whole project has had turbulence - hence the status of UFO since 2004!, I didn't need to add that feeling into the final quilt. I did like the "stars with tails" at the top.
Wait, I liked something! This has been a week of wondering if the light bulb would go off and a smiley face emoticon would magically appear on my blog. :) HA! The wall of confusion has been demolished.
So I just spent the last hour tracing out "stars and tails" on Glad press and seal. Then I peeled off the swirls with a sigh of relief.
Here is my subliminal take on stars and stripes - my way....
A little bit of pinwheel swirl in the tails, stars and stripes are spaced throughout, and I like the movement it conveys.
Phew! What do you think? Which over the shoulder design do you like?
A. Top photo, tails are together, twisted up and twisted down
B. Bottom photo, tails follow stars from corners to center
Need to find water soluble thread, or order - ready to Trapunto!
Laura
I like your second choice. It is more suttle and lets the eagle have all the glory. I like your use of the Glad Press. Please help me find some solutions on my quilting.
ReplyDeleteOrdered my water soluble thread from Lead Days Free Motion Quilting online shop this morning! That will give me a couple of days to work on the other techniques I need to learn. Can't wait for the box with my name on it! Jeane - I'm heading to your blog right now! Thanks for the vote.
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura! I really like the left hand design. Not sure why. Maybe there's a bit more space between the stars? I really like how you've played with these designs until finding that light bulb moment. That is SO important. It's always a sign to me if I don't feel excited and happy with a design that I need to continue to work on it. Keep playing until you feel great about the entire design!
ReplyDeleteYep! The second one does it for me too! Way to get inspired!
ReplyDeleteI like the top star in the first picture; it almost brings to mind patriotic bunting. Plus, it puts a star in the upper corners as well as near the shoulders of the eagle. For below the eagle, I think you've come up with a great plan with the second design. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteI like the B bottom photo design better. As you said the A design seems turbulent, the B design flows.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your comments, and especially Leah - who mentioned on her post: http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2012/09/ufo-followup-3.html
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