JOY

"I begin with an idea, then it becomes something else."  Pablo Picasso

I had an idea for a bright and cheery Christmas card....
and this was just going to be the background.

I used the Kawandi quilting concept overlapping squares of painted papers tacking them down with a spot of glue as I went along. I've done this before with paper....so it was familiar territory. But I will admit it seemed a little chaotic at this point.

I trimmed it up....and took it to the sewing machine.  Once it was stitched....I didn't think my original idea was going to work.....and I actually liked it just the way it was.....colorful, happy and simple.

The only thing I wish I would have done before I stitched was to add a very light whitewash to soften and unify it a bit.  That's a relatively new technique for me....so I don't often think of it in time.

 

My plan was to have a little JOY on the outside...thinking it might feel part of the quilt. But it ended up on the inside instead....and maybe that's even better.  

It's nice to be surprised by JOY!