{*~Patchwork Palette: Iceland~*}

in ,

 

Karyn & I are back at it! This time it was Karyn's turn to a pick a photo. And oh boy...she CHALLENGED me. In fact...she challenged me so well I missed the deadline big time, changed my block twice and completely did something different than I'd planned.

And I'm SO thankful she kept me at it!

This is the photo she picked:

(originally from krisatomic)

It's a great landscape of Iceland and you can see her notes on what she liked. Aqua, white, shades of grey, black and bits of pink!

 

When I looked at the photo I saw green, black, bright white and pops of skin tones. Lots & lots of March Green. Here in California right now everything is this lush green. I call it March Green.

I decided to improv piece my block which was a challenge for me. I consider myself a traditional quilter, I love traditional, precise blocks. But I'm always drawn to contemporary quilts & their unique rhythm. They are the kind of quilts that I love to look at, but am to intimidated to try. But the whole point of this project is to interpret and try new things!

So I slowly built this. Bit by bit. Color by color. Something about this felt like I was actually BUILDING a block. Not really sewing a block, but BUILDING IT. There are lots of tiny little pieces, this block is only about 10x6 and it made me SO excited to see that Karyn used tiny little bits within hers too. I wonder if it's the way the people swim within the landscape that made us do that? They look so small compared to the mountains and clouds. I found myself curious how small I could piece, I think it was my way of indulging in some traditional precision.

Her block is very light and air-y, the dark bit is eye catching and I LOVE that. I could only focus on the darks and it seems like she was drawn to the lights, she captured them beautifully! I love that she really BUILT a block too. It's like a log cabin only better! Very structural. One thing I've always admired about Karyn is her ability to choose fabrics. She always seems to make a certain fabric shine, one that I would totally overlook in a shop, she's a pro at finding hidden gems. Check out her usage of the metallics within her block. That's so awesome. But from far away, you can't really tell that they are there. It's a hidden detail that is a complete surprise!

I hope you liked looking at our blocks!!!! I'm so excited to start working on the next one!!!! Thanks Karyn for picking such a fun photo! <3