need opinions, not flattery

Excellent limb, Sunny >g<

Such a good idea to evolve your own style in such company - at the beginning especially.

If you could put the head of a wolf coming up from the bottom right hand corner, that would reinforce the Red Riding Hood symbolism? Or would that not sit well with your ideas?; He could be reddish, all but his white teeth, as he could be in the glow of a red traffic light, which could be standing just in front of the girl? (on her right).

Just a thought for you to mull over! . In message , Sunny writes

I love your drawing and I love your fabrics! If you can pull this off, I think it would look great. When I look at it, though, it looks like something that would be way, way, way harder than my ability level! If you do it, I want to see pictures of it!!! Carole in Northwest GA - Retired and loving it! Homepage -

So why do you think you've "gone too far"?

I really want to know. From your post, I sense something is making you uncomfortable. Are you afraid your guild will laugh at you? (If they do, shame on them! Not only for laughing at anything that isn't intentionally funny, but for laughing at something that looks really good so far.) Are you afraid you'll do something really good and never be able to do something as good again? Are you afraid of exposing something of yourself in a piece of art?

So again, where is the discomfort coming from? What I see so far is excellent, but as long as you have that discomfort, you're not going to be happy with the result no matter how many of us tell you it's fabulous. (Yes, I've been down that road myself.)

Hi Sunny :)

I think that there is nothing wrong with your idea. But I would like to add that while I am not sure of what your skill level is, it looks like it might get awfully complicated awfully fast. Have you done this style before?

If you are unsure of what you can do, the best advice I can give would be to take another look at what it is you want and need to do...and what you might have done should the other quilters have been different people who don't sound so intimidating! Many may tremble, true, but you certainly will have an appreciative audience who enjoys what they and others do.

I don't think you would want any more frustration with this than these things already can be. This really could be a wonderful, rewarding experience for you. Lucky you :)

Let us know whatever you decide!

Regards,

Sunny: Tell me if I got this right. You need to make a 24" square piece that will become part of a round robin. You need to make it arty, and red. I like the fabric and I like your idea of RR in Big City.

The drawing you show is quite complicated to be rendered in applique of that size. I would suggest you try to simplify it ... make fewer details. Also, could Ms. RR somehow be a bit more

So, how many rounds will this one make? Be sure to include some of the fabric with your packet, for continuity.

PAT > Hi,

Think POSITIVE. If that is what you want it to turn out like THAT is what you should do. You CAN achieve what you set out to do if you think positive. Take it slowly and it will look fantastic, my first attempt at quilting was horendously difficult but even though it took 9 months to finish I DID finish it. As far as those fabrics in red goes, I AM Soooooo JEALOUS, not often you find free fabrics like that is it?

Thanks! These are the kinds of comments I need. No, I have no idea if I can pull this off. I figured I'd just paint the sky and then start cutting out applique pieces. LOL. Maybe more simple is a good idea. And yes, the wolf will be somewhere. Need to find one to fussy cut.

I love the idea of making her more modern. Maybe I need to revisit some ideas on the cape and what she's wearing.

The discomfort is just..... me. I wrote for a living. Bam, along comes this stupid disease that has left me with some issues that make it impossible to earn a living. Or even to write the way I used to. I took up quilting because I'd had a class and it let me have fabric. I'm really nervous about my skills and about my ideas.

As for the rounds, there aren't any. We each do our own quiltlet and they'll be connected for the quilt show in November with red tabs.

Anyhow, keep it coming, I love this and it's helpful Sunny

So maybe carrying an ipod or a cellphone instead of a basket? And I would certainly think about fusible applique instead of hand stitched applique ... there are lots of top name art quilters using fusible so that lets you get more complex without sitting around fretting about getting square corners turned under beautifully :-)

Also regarding fabrics -- I like your reds but I remind you that you can streeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch red back to orange and pinks and forward towards purple ..

I think if you have the sign saying grandma's house and you go towards contemporary instead of a wolf, then in the corner you could have another piece of writing (sign) that is a computer screen with match.com or e-harmony or one of those sites up on the screen :-)

Love the idea!

Ellen

I see RR in a bright red raincoat with a hood and long red boots. Maybe even net stockings quilted on LOL!

Wow - wouldn't vinyl be fabulous? But don't even try to applique that stuff. Got any satin scraps?

Leap forward. Be brave. It's meant to teach you something.

Skills? Those get improved by trying things just a bit beyond what you've done. If you talk to those Big Name Quilters in your group, I'll bet every single one has had a quilt where they either improved a skill along the way or a quilt where if they redid it now, it would be completely different because they've acquired more skills. Nothing to be nervous about there. I recently took a class where we had to make a list of the quilting skills we have down pat, the skills we're kind of okay at, and skills we're, um, well, "needs improvement". LOL Each list might have just one thing, lots of thing, or something in the middle -- it's all perfectly okay! The skills in the "down pat" list are your go-to skills -- the core that you can rely on, you know how things will turn out, you don't have to stress. The "kind of okay" list are things you can reach for when you need them, but you'll have to take a bit more time and care when used on an important project. The "needs improvement" list are the things you want to use in small practice quiltlets so they can move up to the other two lists. It was very enlightening to have these lists down in writing, and really helpful when I have five minutes where I want to practice something -- I pull out the "needs improvement" list and sew away on scraps.

I've gone down that same negative road on my ideas. "I can't make a profound quilt.", "So-and-so can express this idea so much better than I can, so why try.", "What do I have to say that the world wants to hear?" That last one probably surprises some of you, given how much I blab away here, but that's because I'm more comfortable expressing a "public" face with words -- fabric seems more raw and personal to me, so it's harder to put those fabric ideas out there for the world. But I've come to a few realizations. One is that not every quilt needs to be profound. Some can just be pretty. Or even just be. People will read into them things based on their experience, which may or not be what was in my head when I made the thing. Maybe they won't read anything into it at all, or maybe they will when the quilt isn't expressing an idea. It's all okay. Another is that if people like or don't like my art, it doesn't reflect on me as a person. And my ideas have value if only because they're a product of my unique experiences and personality. Maybe they won't set the world on fire, but that's not why I'm making art. (Some of these same things lead to my decision to blog.) Any one who criticizes or mocks the ideas in my art is only making a fool of themselves.

So, to sum things up, use the skills you're comfortable with and tell yourself every time you walk into your studio that your ideas just as great as any other ideas on the planet because they are unique to you. And remember to post more photos as you go along -- I'm dying to see how this quiltlet comes out!!!

I think what you're doing is great, Sunny! It's way out of my comfort zone, but that's not a criticism -- it's admiration. :) The only thing I'd add is that 24" x 24" is rather small, so adding a lot more detail might overwhelm the little quilt. Go for it! (And be sure to let us see the pics afterwards!)

Can I just put in a good word for 24" x 24" >ggg< . In message , Sandy Foster writes