Sunday, July 15, 2007

I need your help

Usually when I say " I need help" I'm being facetious about my ability to limit the size of the stash or one of the ever-burgeoning collections, but this time I would really like your design input. [ and no, not just the quilters ]
I stayed up till about 2 am last night working on another 'rock' piece based very, very loosely on the fractures in the exposed rock face out the back. When you're on a roll, y'know?


Back at it again today instead of doing the weekend housework [ what?? this SUPRISES you in some way? ] and I particularly like how the tiny strip pieced areas mimic the quartz / leader crystal seams.
No quandary so far.

I made the sections a bit over-long so that I could take umpteen photos with the various bits moved by a poopteenth of an inch to see what lined up [ or didn't ] with what, but I'm not going to inflict them all on you because on a screen this size I doubt that you would see much difference. It's enough that I do.
Yes I DO know that I'm more than a bit OCD when it comes to my quilts. Why do you ask? :]
Moving right along...
I've reached the stage where I can't see the wood for the trees to a certain extent and so I'd like your opinion as to whether this piece should be horizontal [ the way I created it ] or vertical. I'm going to use text from 'My Country' for the quilting again [ scroll down ] so I really need to make up my mind about the orientation.


The piece I showed you earlier in the week will remain in the collection of the Central Goldfields Gallery once the VicHealth project is over, but this one I'm working on now is separate to that.

So ... what do you think?




23 comments:

Nadie said...

while I think it would look nice as a wide piece, to me the thicker strips/ facet lines should be vertical and the finer lines horizontal if you want it to mimic your land.

catsmum said...

yeah well you just articulated the problem.
I designed it to be horizontal so that the seams of rock were angled the way they are in the real rock face but I DO find that I like the LOOK of the other way.
What I'm hoping for is that people will give me an answer based on the aesthetics of the piece not how well it approximates the original.

Leah said...

I like the horizontal one best :)

Sheepish Annie said...

My eyeballs seem to prefer it on the horizontal as opposed to the vertical. Either way is lovely, of course. But, when I look from picture to picture, my gaze keeps trying to return to the first.

I find that "instinct" seems to work better for me than "logic" when it comes to asthetics. Not good for this girl to overthink! Disaster generally follows...

Nadie said...

if you want me to go purely on aesthetics then the first one

Anonymous said...

I prefer V.2, with the thick strips vertical, thin ones horizontal. Love those colours.

Nadie said...

He what hasn't grown up around quilt design says he likes the top one

Anonymous said...

I like the top one too - for what it's worth :)

crazyhaberdasher said...

Me too, I like the first, it seems to be more "balanced"? ..and if you are going to put the poem on it - it would fit better on the first too! ...from another naive non-quilter!

crazyhaberdasher said...

Have you tried it upside-down?!!

Stitching with Schnauzer and Siamese said...

Prefer vertical...... , write the words of the poem vertically too, they will then become part of the texture.
Viewers can then "get up close and personal " to read the poem. Think about Fibonnacci Sequence as a design tool as well, 1,1,2,3,5,8 etc. If you get these proportions, the whole thing will work brilliantly whichever way up. Mmmmmm more I look at it ..... more I think vertical.

Most commentators who have posted seem to think horizontal. Which will YOU choose. Good luck
Best wishes

Maggie

Tanya Brown said...

I prefer the horizontal orientation. It "feels" better to me. For some reason, the vertical orientationis leaving me unsettled.

Amazing work, BTW.

Rose Red said...

It's pretty close between them, but I like the horizontal.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

I think it should be horizontal, myself ... just looks better to me !!
Absolutely beautiful piece, though ... gosh, I think I really need to learn and get into quilting.
Good luck.
Take care, Meow

Nadie said...

I'm still undecided, although leaning towards the first. I think I've pin pointed what it is about the top one that makes it harder to decide - overall I like it better, but the fine lines look closer to vertical than the others, I think they'd look better slightly more angled, any chance of tilting it just a tiny bit? Not much, because the thick lines are on a good angle

Anonymous said...

Hmm, the horizontal is more restful, but I like the dynamics of the vertical. It says "rock" to me more than the horizontal. The writing really could be either way.

Linda said...

Horizontal looks more natural and flows better for me, the vertical one looks harsh.

catsmum said...

Thanks for the input. I tried tilting it just a tiny bit more [ as per Nadie's suggestion ]- liked the result although the difference is incredibly subtle - and so it's going to be horizontal... but I may have to do another one that's kinda vertical. Maybe this is how "series" get started :]

Unknown said...

OK. I'm LATE. But I just found your blog (from rubyrose's Sunday's Child blog) and want to add my 2 cents in confirming your horizontal choice.
Ignoring your rock formation which is, I presume, exposed, the quilt in horizontal gives me the sense of being inside a cave.
Also, I like the upward angle to the right--uplifting. In the vertical, the "leaning back" angle almost gives me vertigo.
Am adding you to my blogroll--is that ok?

catsmum said...

Pleased to 'meet' you Kathryn and thankyou for linking to me :].

Laume said...

Looks like you've already made a decision but I'll add my two cents anyway - my tired but instinctive first reaction is that I like the horizontal one best, although both are nice. The best I can do late at night with an explanation of WHY is something about how my brain thinks there's more going on outside the image that I can't see but can imagine being there with it on the horizontal, where it's more self contained and therefore less interesting to me in the vertical position.

sarah said...

I'm late too. I prefer the horizontal. But I'm completely blown away by the beauty of this quilt in any orientation. It's fabulous!

SueJ said...

Going against the grain here I think, but considering the geological context I say vertical. Highly folded rock is more likely to be vertical & therefore to me the second one looks more 'natural'. Bothways are awesome anyway!