Thursday, January 31, 2008

Credit where credit is due



I really can't take credit for this and I don't want to blame Mel for it either. In the bag-o-scraps I got, so generously, from her were a few components already fused together so several of the things in here are pieces and parts taken from those. I kept having frady-scared thoughts and walking past the envelope without attempting even the slightest thing. This morning I decided to just go ahead and play. I'm not trying to be Mel and so I keep thinking that it's just a bad to wind up with blatant imitaion but then what else can one do to begin and get over being afraid of the whole fusing thing?

I had a few fabrics I had purchased last year from her collection that had never been used. I just began to lay things out early this morning. It is now noon and I haven't done a thing but brush my teeth and comb my hair. This is where the guilt comes in. Threw a load of stuff in the washer and went back to look again. I must resist the urge to use EVERYTHING just because it's there. Melody has a good entry in answer to a readers question regarding inspiration(strange question though). I don't need inspritation-I need the room to play with this stuff without having to bag it all up at the end. There is another idea that's in the works but I don't want to show it yet-in the meantime this reminds me a little of playing with Legos. It's addictive and you have to smack yourself on the hand to stop re-arranging things over and over. It would be a good thing to have a space large enough to be working on a couple of pieces at a time. Spreading out the wealth as it were. It's a lot of fun and I see now where the "doing it" engenders bravery. You just have to jump in with two feet. I plan to do a bunch of stitching on this when I can and maybe it will look better. One of my original ideas was I wanted to make a piece that was an interpretation of the outdoor markets in so many foreign places. Spice markets, flower markets, fruit & veg, well it didn't wind up that way but for a first effort I don't hate it. It need embellishment-lots of embellishment. I must now catch up with other things. See you later.
Addendum
The stacks are stacking up! Can't stop....must do important work around house.....

8 comments:

Dorothy said...

The thing about inspiration is that it's a jumping off point. Often you land so far from where you started, you don't recognize a thing. And that's fine. You have to start somewhere, and a foreign spice market (I can see it, by the way) isn't such a bad place. You know?

Darcie said...

Gorgeous stuff like that just has to be illegal...doesn't it?!?! Yum-o!!!

Enjoy. Let your hair down, Mz. Dee! Rock 'n' roll. Just do it.

Rian said...

OOOH! (squeal) How delightful! Nothing like having a perfect example so you can jump in and explore! Ms Mel does delicious things with color. I tried some stacks but they looked blah, blah, blah. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

PS Screw the other things.

Debra Dixon said...

One way to make your piece not a "Mrs. Mel" lookalike would be to hand embroidery all that blank space! Nice start. What do they say, "The journey is nothing compared to the first step" or something like that.

Cindra said...

Tell me why you took the time to comb your hair?

I love the purple and gold.

Jen said...

These look great, and who cares about the rest? Jen

Gerrie said...

THIS is the most exciting post you have ever done - at least for me. You are coming over to the bright, wonky side of quilting and I LOVE IT. Keep it up. I have a huge bag of Mrs Mel scraps that I still love to play with when I make postcards.

Vivian Love said...

I love this! They look great!