The Wallflower

 

This is the Wallflower. We who were wallflowers know exactly why I named her so. We all have a set of rules we carry around in our heads that we use when we make quilts. Sometimes we are aware of them, sometimes not. 

I've been making birds for a long time. I always take advantage of the prints and try to make the wings look "wing-y." When I started teaching birds I tried to explain this to my students. Fortunately for me (and them) they ignored me. So now I tell students, "Do whatever you want with the wing, because it will probably turn out fine." I have learned that stripes work well, and in any direction. (I'm telling you! ANY direction.) I've seen plaids and all kinds of stuff. It's been a real education (for me.)

So with this bird, I wanted to try NOT to make the wing so blatantly wing-y. For this bird, I really wanted to avoid the large white flowers that dotted the fabric. 

Big reason why: If you have a motif (a shape of something, a flower, for example) that is the same color as your background, your eye will connect it to your background and your "thing" (in this case, the bird's wing) will "read" to the viewer as having a hole in it.

This was not as successful as I had hoped. There is too much blah, and not enough of something interesting to hold the viewer's attention. It's okay. (Now I hear The Selvage Fairy telling me once: "It's interesting to me that for you the worst something can be is 'nice.'")

But I also have to remember that we do things (we follow those "rules") because they reflect ourselves.  I love the prints and patterns in the fabric I use. I like to use them to move your eye around. Yes, I am manipulating you. But I also just happen to really like birds with really "wing-y" wings.

And then there's the fabric that screams BUY ME! USE ME! I'M WING-Y!!!!

Yes dear.

(And did I fussy cut that wing so I would have every bit of those leaves in there? Damn right I did.)

If you want to make birds, you can get my tutorial here.)