Wednesday 1 May 2019

Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

As soon as I saw the theme for this quarter, the song came into my head. It wouldn't leave. I really wanted to divert myself from making a quilt based on the song. So I spent some time thinking about the phrase "raindrops keep falling on my head" and what that meant to me.

While processing that, I was thinking about the quilt and what I wanted it to look like. The final version I'm showing you today is about three versions beyond the original. I hope I'm not alone in doing that.

Just when I had settled on a design and had actually completed part of it, I happened to watch a series of classes by Joe Cunningham on Bluprint. In one class, he mentioned bias tape and how he used it, and a new, final, version of this quilt came to be.





The blues and gray bias tape represent raindrops. The direction the tape falls is supposed to mimic the way rain sometimes falls against windows - every which way.

As a kid, I used to love rain. I enjoyed being out in it and putting my face up to it, letting the drops fall on my head. As an adult and having more life experiences behind me, rain took on a new, less happy meaning. I realized during this process that with the rain in my life, there also is hope. So in my little quilt, the colored bias strips are there to remind me of hope.

The background fabric is a light gray Grunge. Some of the bias tape is made from solids or batiks. The quilt backing is a batik I had in my stash, and it just seemed perfect for this quilt.



This was a fun challenge; it definitely had me thinking!

Wendy

16 comments:

  1. Great interpretation of the theme. I love how everyone goes in a different direction and the window you have created with the falling streaks of rain. Very effective.

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    1. Thank you, Ruth. It was a fun challenge :-)

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  2. Wendy, I love your abstract interpretation! The bright er colors remind me of summer rains in the late afternoon when sunbeams can mix with the showers at the end of a rain storm. Super job!
    Smiles, Maureen

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    1. Thank you, Maureen! Honestly, I wasn't sure I was happy with it, but it's growing on me!

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  3. This is a lovely interpretation of the theme Wendy, I really like the little shots of hopeful colour against the grey rain.

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  4. I love that everyone has their own very different takes on the theme and your abstract piece is an interesting way of viewing it! - I like your choice of fabrics to convey the rain, and especially those optimistic pops of bright colour!

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    1. Thank you, Catherine. I agree with you -- I'm enjoying the various interpretations!

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  5. I love it -- it is like the rain on a window, you can look at it for a long time to trace each drop.
    I think you have balanced variety and unity so well, which is something I always have to work on.

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    1. Thank you. This piece makes me chuckle; it had so many versions before I got to this one!

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  6. What could be gloomy you have turned into happiness. I will have to learn the bias tape method.

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    1. Thank you. It's a great way to use up bias tape (or make more, whichever). I picked it up from Joe Cunningham's class on Bluprint. Basically I sewed bias tape in every which direction on the background fabric, then sliced it into blocks. Kinda fun, creative play.

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  7. This is a great interpretation and a lovey design. I like the way it suggests rain on a window and is also a metaphor for life with it's rainy times and also hope :)

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    1. Thanks, Janine, that's what I was trying to relay. :-)

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  8. A modern look at rain. The colors work well and the varying directions do illustrate various rainy events.

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    1. Thank you, Nancy. This was an interesting challenge. I've enjoyed seeing the various interpretations!

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