Orange Pop

I’ve never been one for orange, but now I understand the appeal. It has impact. I had an image in my head of rows of black and white lines in the middle of an orange field. I’m not sure where that came from, perhaps from Halloween colors everywhere in the fall. I’d started thinking about what appeals to me visually and made a list of favorite things, and organic line was on that list. I’ve taken many pictures of sidewalk cracks, and finally figured out that it’s the random lines I love. I’m sure this influenced my thinking.

I knew I wanted this piece to have quilting texture, but wondered if I could extend the texture to the piecing. What if it looked like an old, worn rug, fraying at the edges? That’s the idea for adding orange “holes” as if the rug was worn through in places. “One Hot Mess” is the beginning of this idea. Next time I will add more holes.

Scraps from the first piece led to “Vegetable Soup”. Sometimes scraps are my favorite way to start. I like puzzling about how to make something from what I have. The blues and greens came from the sewing room floor, leftovers from a quilt I made for my niece. I find the sewing room floor a great resource, and a good argument for not cleaning up too quickly! If I have to clean up, I bag my leftovers and keep them for improv fun later on. I do like seeing the edge of the bowl and the vegetables swimming in orange broth.

I’m dyeing orange fabric this summer. I can’t go back to life without orange.