Quick RR Tune Up and My Two Cents..

 

 Susan B. joined a "Butterflies & Dragonflies" RR and she came up with this innovative design for her block... a lace butterfly within a silk butterfly..
So obviously the block was to return encrusted with lots of butterflies and dragonflies... and it did.

We all like to add to our blocks when they come home so Susan and I were discussing what she could do to finish the block off... But at first glance I felt the metal dragonfly at the top must go... It just didn't fit with the rest of the needle work..

It is my personal policy that anything I remove from a block either goes somewhere else on the block OR goes into a special bag to be used on another block in the future.  I'm sure there will be the perfect place for that dragonfly...

Then I studied the block a bit before I touched what was missing...  The lace butterfly was well embellished and had a body.

But the large butterfly had lost its definition as a butterfly...  All butterflies need a body. This one needed a spectacular body to anchor the entire composition.

Susan's large butterfly has this  void in its center where a body should be.  And the two pink leaves were lost at the bottom of the wings.  I felt they needed to be integrated into the overall design somehow...

With all the lovely floral and ribbon work, what a perfect opportunity to give this butterfly a body worthy of a Paris fashion runway...

So by expanding and building on the existing work, a gorgeous body could be added with just adding a lot more pink floral and lace work..  I moved the two pieces of pink lace leaves and integrated them into the floral cluster.  At the same time I would use either pink cording or ribbon to add some swirls to echo the fancy antenna at the head...  Other than moving the two lace leaves, no one's needle work has been disturbed.

And that is my................

Embellishi​ng busy blocks

An email from Lauri Nuske this morning:

"Hi Gerry,
I participate in rr's and dyb's and have fun embellishing the different blocks. Most blocks I send out are solids or light patterned.  So when I get a block that is heavy patterned, like lots of flowers and calicos and dark prints, I get stumped as to what to add that won't get lost in the print.  Any suggestions?"

Well Laurie this is always a problem for me also...  We all want to do our best and have it show... but as you say it is difficult, if not impossible, on busy blocks...

First you have to be bold and willing to modify the block.. Consider using all-over stitching or  large clusters such as Cathy L. used here.  If it doesn't have a silkie, add a large one...  If it does have a silkie,  embellish a 2" frame around it to make it the focal point and draw attention away from busy prints. Look for laces to cover areas, large motifs, very wide ribbons and even patches of fabric. I covered an entire patch on a block last fall. Tulle or organza can soften difficult areas nicely.  

Sharon B. incorporates some large busy prints in her work but balances it with large dramatic buttons, dense floral clusters, and heavy and/or textured threads.

Everything you use or do will have to make a statement stronger than the prints.  The next time you get such a block send me a picture of it and I will see if I can give you some ideas...

But personally I find a whole block of busy prints extremely discouraging and it makes my work much less enjoyable..   Last spring I did two posts on this very subject and how Cathy K. and Janet P. handled busy blocks head on.

http://blocktalkwithgerry.blogspot.com/2011/06/whats-so-risky-about-bold-prints.html


http://blocktalkwithgerry.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-happened-across-work-janet-in.html

Note: My life is finally settling and in a week or two things should be back to normal...  I missed doing this blog and noticed several emails for it.  I will catch up as I can..  Stay tuned.

My Two Cents Worth for Angela.....

"Hi Gerry.

I look forward to each of your block talk posts and thought I'd take a shot to see if you might evaluate my block for your blog. I took part in Nicki Lee's HGTV CQ Challenge.I fell in love with the swirly focus fabric that was provided as well as the ribbons and charms we were given to use. I suspect that the floral spray in the upper right could use some more work.

I tried to extend the green to the left after taking a step back from it, but I'm going to dig through my stuff and see if I don't have any of the original green ribbon left, because I'm not sure the embroidery really worked. 

I'd love any feedback you have!"

Well I emailed Angela right away and told her that I also loved the swirly fabric and don't bother looking for the green ribbon as that part all contributed to the tropical theme of the block....Acapulco!!! 

The real problem in my opinion (and we know I have one..) is the whole patch upper left,..  With all the lines it has a very strong impact and since it occupies as much or more visual space than the lovely swirly fabric, it overpowers the block...  It doesn't relate to the tropics theme or to anything else on the block... 

Once you look at that patch your eye continually keeps going back to it... Can you see when it is blocked out how all of a sudden what is left is working... So it has to go and since Angela has lace lower right I   covered  upper left with lace with a little help from photoshop.

If even nothing else but the lace is added, the block is gorgeous.... But I wanted to go a step further..  I have to admit that I've never been to Acapulco so I went to good old Google and started looking at posters and pottery from Acapulco.

Of course I found a lot of palm trees but I immediately was drawn to the plate in the middle as the flowers looked like the flowers on Angela's block.  But I loved the little bird also and saw these blue stylized birds on lots of pottery plates and mugs.

So I added some palm trees to the upper left... bending in to bring the eye around... and a little blue bird of happiness at the bottom right... Remember when I said I loved the quiet space by the image in Wilma's block...?  Look here is one again next to the heart...  Need those quiet spots....  Now for a lounge chair and something fruity and frosty to drink... 











Sometime taking something OUT makes all the difference..... and that's

Wilma's up next!!!

I'm leaving in 2 more days and will not be back from the retreat until next Monday but what a treat I'll have for you for the next "2 cents worth" post.  Wilma in the Netherlands is reworking her block from Sharon's class and has made a lot of changes and a masterpiece is in the works....BUT of course as usual, I'll have a few suggestions so be sure so check back next week..

This is how roses should look on CQ

Well after I ranted on machine-made roses Cheryl posted this picture of a tone-on-tone RR block she just finished doing for Ritva on CQI.  This is how roses should be done on CQ  She lavished handmade roses on this block and it is absolutely stunning....   There's rolled ribbon roses, spider roses and all the tiny fargo  ones (sometimes called farago) at the top of the heart....

So sure you can now buy cheap ribbon roses to glue or tack  on, but nothing looks as good as the real thing. A genuine, handmade rose has far more detail and texture

I really like the textured effect she put under the key. The entire block is classy and elegant and I liked everything about this block except at first I was sorta on the fence about the daisies...  They grew on me...

Although the block looks just as great without them they do add a spark of light and life to the block.   But there is one thing I would recommend.... it's repetition in some way of the fan shape upper right... and if it were me I'd use it on a seam treatment lower right...

Cheryl did a little block modification with her larger clump of roses.. as you can see in the naked block it is covering some design in the fabric...

All in all this is a block well done and will surely be treasured by Ritva...

I'm having no trouble at all finding great work  for this blog but I am having trouble finding time to get them all posted...

Working on returned blocks....Part 2 -My Guidelines

Judging from the emails I received this is a topic of interest so I will proceed.  This is another block in the same Seams Only RR I showed yesterday and it is still just as it returned home... 

Sometimes it is what I (or you) have written in the booklet that is part of the problem...  In this case I specifically asked that seam thread colors match the colors in the block.... and they did just that but they just don't show up... my error.  So I have lots of room to improve on this block.

 And sometimes I've requested something that may be out of participant's comfort zone... I really try to avoid that now.  So do really give some thought to what you ask for....

But in any case I have developed certain guidelines for blocks that come home....

1. First I always wait a bit.. I pin the block up and look at it for some time ...  And occasionally it grows on me or I change an opinion...

2.  My first option is what can I add...?.  I think about this before I think about removing anything and sometimes I can solve problems that way... embellishing and modifying.

3.  Then if I do remove something I try to see if I can use it somewhere else on the same block...  If I can't, I save it (or parts) for use on another block in the future...  So a motif removed from one block may appear on another down the road... I have a bag  of such pieces I keep handy... Reusing them does make me feel better...

Now having said all that there are two exceptions.... I do not like plastic charms or "doodads".  I remove them and they are gone...

The other thing  that I especially dislike are the little machine-made roses sold in craft stores...   Beautiful handmade roses (either with thread or ribbon) are the hallmark of CQ.  Nestle's chocolate used to have a jingle...."Care enough to send the very best"...  Well when I see those machine-made roses I think "Someone cared so little they send the very worst."  So they are snipped off  and discarded with NO regrets!!!

Expanding what stitchers have done....

Since I had just posted about adding to blocks after they come home this fits right in... I use this technique often when I work on returned blocks that I would like more "encrusted" and don't want  to change the look of the block..  I try to expand what the stitchers have done...

This little 6" block was stitched for me by Cathy LaBath in a "Seams Only" RR last winter.. Cathy's seams sorta morphed into motifs..and I love them. By the very nature of the RR there were some open areas in the bottom patches....  I have something special planned for this piece and wanted those areas filled in with some surface texture... more encrusted...

I chose to use what Cathy had done and just add more of it to fill in...  I matched the thread the best I could and am happy with the result. 

What's so risky about bold prints!!!!!

(I was in error when I posted this not to mention it was constructed by Lorrie Ramsey) This is a gorgeous block...  The colors are all coordinated and the prints are all seem to fit a theme...  It is bold, brash, and bright... It is a block that says "I can stand alone" and "I can speak for myself." and therein lies the problem..  It would be stunning on a traditional quilt but  in my opinion it will be overpowering for CQ...

Remember the lovely sunflower work by Rita a couple posts ago?  The sunflowers and all her seams are swallowed up by this block.

 

The same happened with  Colleen's work on this same block.

Well I was rooming with Cathy K. in CT when she was working on her block in this series.  Cathy is a "master block modifier" and here is how she handled this block...  First she laid a piece of green lace over the print in the lower left corner which made it disappear...  Then she had to find something bolder than the block and found this crocheted red flower and with some leaves made the plaid area disappear....added the large sun to balance out the flower..both with button centers.  Now the block is a field of greens..

Her next area was the print where she used silk ribbons and beads to make it into a motif rather than a fabric print... Remember this technique as it can really be useful.... Here is a close up of it...

Cathy's work is not swallowed by the prints on the original but she had to do a lot of modifying to make it work....  Wouldn't it be easier (and kinder to the stitchers) to save those bold brash prints for traditional  quilts? 

There is just one thing on Cathy's work I would change.  I know she meant the buttons below the big bold red flower to be little flowers...  But I thought they looked liked buttons who ran away and got lost...  so I moved them back up with the other buttons and added a few beads.... 

So in closing I am going to repeat what I said about blocks you send out to stitchers in RRs

What you send is actually the canvas for their art, the stage for their creativity and the backdrop for all their time and effort...

You are certainly welcome to agree or disagree with me on this issue as I'm only voicing my opinion... If you are someone who likes working on bold bright prints now's your chance to speak up!

More block modification...

I discussed this block a little when I did it last year. It was Jeanne's block in a "seams only". I had three areas I wanted to change..

1. I wanted the orange patch to appear bigger and make the lavender patch beneath it a little more interesting shape. 

2. The teeny tiny corner patch upper right was just too small so I either had to make it appear larger or disappear.

3. The long narrow patch lower left just had to disappear..

First the orange patch.... I put a purple ribbon on a very wide orange ribbon and stitched it at the very lower edge of the orange patch making the orange patch look larger... By putting it at a slight angle it changed the shape of the lilac patch below it.. You don't have to ALWAYS follow the seam//

I used the same treatment to solve two different problems (#2 & #3)... an extra large bold seam.... 

and it made #2 (tiny triangle) seem larger by again putting it on the very edge of the patch. and #3 (long narrow strip) seem to disappear.

The bold seams are always an excellent way to draw OR focus attention on a block

Modifying a Block

I happened across the work Janet in Colorado did on this little block and I thought she did some clever things that I wanted to point out...

This is a very busy block and most any seam treatment you do on the lower left is going be overpowered by the prints.

Janet chose to solve that by simply covering the area with a lovely lace. Next to it she added a "path" of gimp which echos the curvy lines at the top right. The path soften the pansy patch but still lets a few pansies show... She added a pansy and more pink to the lace... then the soft ferny seam carries the eye right to the exquisite pink and white lacy seam which brings your eye back down and perfectly frames the lovely bird.

All in all the addition of the lace and the lacy seam treatment give the block a very romantic look... Nicely done Janet!!!

There are lots of ways of modifying blocks and I will add them as I run across them. Sometimes just placement of a motif or putting something strong next to something you want to be less important can make a great difference.

Although I greatly prefer what Janet has done, another option would have been to divide and conquer. You could run a wide ribbon (rick rack or braid) clear across the pansy patch and the curvy patch. The curvy patch is cut in two and looses some of it's impact.

By then embellishing the ribbon etc. it will become the strong focal point in that corner replacing the need for additional seam treatment on the busy patches.. There are many times that modifying a block is just exactly what it needs...