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Insalata, in progress, or where I’ve been

So I’ve been seriously AWOL (Absent With Out Leave), busy with summer, son, spouse, other son, life, garden, art classes, and (drum roll) art quilting!   I want to have a quilt to enter in an upcoming SAQA exhibit and have had this idea of an oversized tomatoes quilt as the final one (I hope) in my tomatoes series.  (Who ME?  A series?)  The top is about 48 inches square, each tomato the size of a beachball.  As usual, I created the imagery then decide on what background will suit it best.  I had planned to include a big ball of mozzarella, but it looked so blah and blank that I omitted it.   Then I needed to audition backgrounds:

I had this gorgeous hand-dyed fabric from years ago, done by Judy Robertson (whose fabric inspired me to learn to dye fabric!).  THought it would look good:  lush and dark and inviting.  Hmm.  Not so much.  The ochre is good, but the rest of it, nyah.

I had this gorgeous hand-dyed fabric from years ago, done by Judy Robertson (whose fabric inspired me to learn to dye fabric!) in the middle–see the next photo for the entire piece. Thought it would look good: lush and dark and inviting. Hmm. Not so much. The ochre is good, but the rest of it, nyah.

And with Judy's fabric only.  Love the fabric, but not the blues with this piece.  The darks pop the tomatoes, but I want the overall feel of the piece to be lighter, more summery.  And by the way, it is tomatoes, avocadoes, shallots, and generic green on the bottom.

And with Judy’s fabric only. Love the fabric, but not the blues with this piece. The darks pop the tomatoes, but I want the overall feel of the piece to be lighter, more summery. And by the way, it is tomatoes, avocadoes, shallots, and generic green on the bottom.

So I pulled out my ochre batiks and hand-dyes.

In progress:  Ochre option 1.  Closer but not quite.

In progress: Ochre option 1. Closer but not quite. The color on the left is best, but don’t have enough to do the entire background.  The other two, nope.

Insalata, in progress.  Have enough of this one, but the sunflower repeat in this batik is too regular.  Nope.

Insalata, in progress. Have enough of this one, but the sunflower repeat in this batik is too regular. Nope.

One of my hand-dyes.  If it had EITHER the light spots or the dark spots, this could work, but not this piece.

One of my hand-dyes. If it had EITHER the light spots or the dark spots, this could work, but not this piece.

So what about other color options:

This green batik is nice and summery, but the blue-lilac portions aren't quite cutting it for me.

This green batik is nice and summery, but the blue-lilac portions aren’t quite cutting it for me.

So then I tried greens.  Maybe.

So then I tried greens. Maybe.

And finally one more of Judy's fabrics, rust and green.  Looks OK, but not enough contrast with the edges of the tomatoes and not summery enough.

And finally one more of Judy’s fabrics, rust and green. Looks OK, but not enough contrast with the edges of the tomatoes and not summery enough.

Stay tuned:  I decided to dye fabric!

4 Responses to “Insalata, in progress, or where I’ve been”

  1. Beth-near Washington DC! Says:

    Standing by with fork in hand!!!! Dyeing is on my list of things to do when there is a better space!!!

  2. Jenny K. Lyon Says:

    I actually like the first photo: two pieces on the left give me the impression that there is solid object of some sort (striped fabric) and a surface (the middle hand dye). I see in the second photo that the hand dye has a lot of blue, but the portion that is primarily ochre looks great against the tomatoes and avocado.

  3. Donalee Kennedy Says:

    Looking forward to seeing your final choice. I like reading and seeing your thought process… thanks! I do like the color contrast of left side of photo three. I’m sure you will come up with the perfect one!

  4. Maree Says:

    I agree with Donalee – that piece on the left in photo 3 was the one that caught my eye.