Art Quilts · Beading · Color · Designing Quilts · Quilting · Weekly Special

Disappointment…

quirksltd

Couldn’t wait to get those cute little red flower beads on the circle piece.

Beads for circles

And I was totally disappointed in how they didn’t show up as a focal feature on the piece.

WS circles bad beads

Even when I got in closer, they weren’t strong enough to stand up to the graphics of the rest of the piece.

WS circles bad beads 2

So I decided to go a different direction and played with adding more circles.

WS circles more circles

I moved them around a bit and added a couple more…I like it better, but I love those beads sooooooo much!

WS circles more circles 2

I may add some black and white beads and some stitching, but now I’m on a mission to find the right spot for those flower beads!

Perhaps something like this.

WS flower beads 1

Or maybe just the black–

WS flower beads 2

And I haven’t even looked at any reds…

This is the other side of the coin of disappointment…playing some more with design possibilities!

16 thoughts on “Disappointment…”

    1. It’s frustrating when the picture in your head doesn’t match the reality! Once the disappointment passes, though, it means the excitement of planning a new project!

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  2. they are so stinkin’ cute however they totally repeat the circle line so they blend in. They need a showcase of their own… hand dyes or near solids so they are the circles. The piece behind them is fab
    LeeAnna

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  3. I made oddles of circles for a modern challenge. Absolutely no inspiration from them. Made a fiddle sticks kind of design with my own boarder . Won best use of color! My circles will wait for me when inspiration strikes!

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    1. It seems everyone uses circles with ease, but at least twice recently I’ve had issues with making them live happily together. Not much success, but of course we keep trying!

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  4. I love that you added more circles, but it seems (to me) that adding just good deep red (tending toward orange) beads on top of the circles would probably be closer to what you are working for. Additionally, since all your circles are bordered with black stitching, what about using those wonderful beads you wanted to work with as a further border on the outside of the circles, but similarly to what Gayle said, I think I’d try embroidering (or machine stitching) a little black circle AROUND each of those beads – which will then make them stand out. Perhaps? Just my thoughts.

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    1. There are certainly a lot of new directions this piece could take and I have a myriad of beads from which to choose. If I had more of every component in it, I would make it a series and explore all those ideas. Since I don’t…I have to play a bit and actually make a decision! That’s the hardest part.

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      1. Another idea occurred to me – once I had to embroider grape clusters on something. I cut the circles out (larger than needed), did a running stick around each “grape”, put a penny and some stuffing inside as I drew up the stitching to make a puffed out grape. Then sprayed with some starch, let cool, then opened to pull out the penny and stitched it closed. IF you were to use either solid black or a nice reddish-orange fabric to make little “grape” – like circles to then attach your selected beads to, it would not only showcase them, but lift them off the surface just a tad. Just another pondering…

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          1. My favorite part of the beads is the deep orange center on the tops. I’m wondering about using a solid or batik circle appliqued down UNDER each bead, would work? It would certainly highlight the adorable beads, but also keep within the colors of the entire piece. I find it fun to just think up stuff like this.
            Maybe I could put some of THAT energy into my own work. Uh……naw.
            Seriously, these circles do inspire me!

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          2. I have abandoned those beads for this piece. I will make something specifically to highlight the beads…as soon as I think it up. All of your suggestions are under consideration!!! Thanks.

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  5. Try putting the beads on something with a bit of subtle texture or tone on tone in red/rust or darker green. Otherwise those wonderful beads get swallowed up by their surroundings. I dislike when this kind of thing happens, even though it seems to happen to me a great deal. Be thankful that you are working small! I heard Alex Anderson speak at a quilt show once and she addressed this very thing. She mentioned that through the years she has purchased several pieces of fabric that she just loved. None of them has made it into an actual quilt but all of them have been inspiration for several different quilts. She still has them all because she still loves them and she thinks that maybe someday they will find their place. In the mean time they are doing a great job for inspiration. Hopefully these beads lead to several more great ideas before they find their resting place!

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  6. Adding more circles certainly added depth to your design. I think it will just be trial and error when it comes to the another layer and where it will work. But once you find the right combination, it will all come together.

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