Some times an experiment is.....

As quilters, we often want to stretch our creativity and go beyond the pattern, the traditional mix of colors, or 'expected' quilting patterns. And too often we hesitate because of so little time, the cost of materials, or just plain fear! I think we need to go ahead and stretch! Start on something small, that way if you hate it you haven't spent lots of time and money on the project. And keep in mind that the experiment may just give you an 'aha' moment even though the actual experiment is a 'oops'!

This is exactly what happened on this mini project. It was intended to be a mini whole cloth quilt for an auction. I had purchased the pre-printed mini and figured that using lots of different colors of thread would be enough. Once quilted (with a wool bat and SoFine #50 thread) I found it blah--and even my supportive husband agreed! So I pulled out the Derwent Inktense pencils which previously I've only used on a "paint by numbers" type Christmas fabric for stockings. I decided to color inside the quilting and then brush with water (Inktense are permanent once dry). While it helped (yes it really did look worse earlier!), I'd tried to do a Celtic logo in the center and other compass points--and it just blurred. Luckily, I'd just bought a quilting magazine that showed how to make flowers--unfortunately I really didn't have stash colors to match the now inked quilt, so I used batiks. Batiks are too deeply colored for this pastel mini.

So what did I learn by experimenting? I learned how to use those Derwent Inktense pencils better! The quilt journal cover in the picture is with a drier brush and using aloe gel as the wetting medium--it makes the colors more intense and also is a little easier to handle without running. I quilted the black outline of the flowers first. I really like those cute 3D flowers and will do again on a table topper, tote,or other fun item--maybe making the petals a bit bigger and certainly with more matching in the colors!

So go ahead--experiment! Even if the actual project is an 'oops', the learning process can help you really stretch your creativity on the next project.