Texture two

The smooth surface of the solids and the hills and shadows from the quilting on the whole cloth quilts. The light bouncing of the smooth shiny satin keeps us bemused and enchanted as we reach out to stroke the surface. Texture doesn't stand alone.

There has to be the interplay of design elements. I am particularly thinking about contrast. I tend towards a preference for low contrast but puffy quilted feathers on florals is texture on texture that is so low contrast as to be negligible as far as impact goes. But I'm also not quite ready for Sashiko! It is a learning curve.

This Magic Tiles quilt, made a good number of years ago, is all about texture. It is also about MQing. I controlled the fabrics with a colour palette of browns and greys. I relied on texture to make the fabrics stand out but still be relatively low in contrast. Then to push my machine quilting skills I determined to do each little patch with a different free motion design. My skills were developing so I wanted them to hide in all the texture as I practiced.

Now I am experimenting with a new medium. The Technique of the Month TOM over at Three Creative Studios is about painting quilt batting. I have 3 examples. The first and second is too smooth; just done with wide foam brush strokes. I want more texture. The third is a dabbed surface and I like it much better. Now to finish them up I am thinking contrast. I'll add texture to the relatively smooth surface with some Shapes. Then the 3rd is already textured so I'm thinking I'll add some of the first design element Line. This is starting to get kinda exciting as I place parameters around my projects so I can focus and have the freedom to fiddle within the boundaries.