Feeling Judged

This is one of those posts where I feel like I need to re-introduce myself….it has been far too long since I have posted anything.

There are several reasons for my absence including being super busy at work and preparing for my guild’s quilt show.  We are also struggling with some family health issues at the moment.  My husband has been diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma which has included two surgeries in the last two months and now we are waiting to hear results of a Lymph node test to determine if additional surgeries will be required.   News like that really manages to slow life down to a crawl!!

There have been some fun times in the past two months, including our guild quilt show.  The quality of work in our show was wonderful and it was so inspiring to spend 3 days looking at these examples of fine quilting.  I will post photos from the show in the next week….I promise!!!

I was interested in the Judge’s comments about my entries…..

I was surprised that this piece received a 2nd place ribbon in the “Wall Quilt – Applique” division…..

I am NOT known for my hand work so was excited that this was received well.  The Judge felt that the small yellow border did a good job of suggesting a light source and the shadows on the table encourage that idea.   I REALLY wish that I had done it for that reason, but sometimes serendipity knows better!!!   She did comment that the points of my petals could be more precise and I totally agree with that comment.

The other quilt that received an award was my pineapple quilt….an Honorable Mention in “Bed Quilt – Pieced”…..

She liked the color flow and the use of the yellow in the pineapple corners but felt that the yellow border was too intense.   I hadn’t really thought about it, but now that I look at the quilt further, I can see what she means!! 

For this quilt…..

….she liked the lettering, the reduced Chroma in the photo and the focal point of the quilt, but noted that the photo could have been sharper.   I agree with this assessment but had just used the photo that had been given to me.  Next time I need to play with it more and see if I can use Photoshop to sharpen it up!!

She didn’t like much about this quilt…..

….saying that the fused edges were too frayed and that it was hard to read the landscape with the similar values.   I sort of agree with the value comment but I also like that it is a nighttime scene with the light seemingly coming from the buds on the tree. 

I fully agreed with one of the comments about this quilt…..

One of her first comments was that the perspective wasn’t quite right.  I felt this as well, wishing that I had made the windmill shorter and wider.  BUT, the exciting thing for me about this quilt was that I did almost all of it freehand and without a pattern and am just happy that it didn’t turn out looking like a Picasso!!!    She also felt like the eye was drawn too much to the flowers.   I dont know if I agree with that but am actually quite happy if your eyes go there first!!

Probably my biggest disappointment were the comments on the Himalayan quilt….

….but after I thought about them more, I can actually agree. She commented that the top part of the quilt was more effective than the lower part because of the value differences in the mountains.   She liked the flags, but didn’t like the lack of value contrast between the monument and the grass, and this is what I agree with.   I remember when I placed the monument on the finished background that I was concerned about this.  However, in my rush to finish the quilt, I didn’t listen to that niggily voice telling me to FIX IT!!!

So now I am trying to decide if I want to try to fix it or leave it the way it is.   I know that I could use some paint to darken the monument but I am afraid that I will have to get it REALLY dark to have enough contrast from the grass.  So instead, I am trying to think of a way to lighten the grass….maybe sponge a creamy, yellowy brown paint over the green fabric, especially directly around the monument.   I am also sure that I want to add some shading to the “steeple” and also to the inside side of the monument.

Now I just have to work up my courage and tackle it with a sponge and some paint….maybe I will wait for a while!!!

It was interesting to hear people’s comments about the quilt at the show.  Many had no idea what it was and couldn’t figure out why there was “washing hanging on the line” or “flowers inside the brick oven”!!!

I did buy an interesting book…..

She starts with plain white fabric, adds layers of textured fabrics, paints those fabrics to create a background and then thread paints over them.  I LOVE the texture and am anxious to try this technique!!!

One of our vendors presented an interesting method of using Derwent Paint Sticks…..

He would shave the sticks into a small jar, add some Aloe vera gel….

and mix it to form a paint consistency.   He said that using the gel helped to control the bleeding of the paint that you often get when you add water to it.   Again, I am looking forward to playing with this!!!

OK….I have done my duty and caught you up for now.   Hopefully there will be more to come soon!!!