Stuck in the blooming brambles

Bramble Blooms Pt 2

Since my last post, when I actually managed to prepare the centrepiece for the Quilty Folk QAL, I have been stuck, if not entangled, in what to do next.

Convinced that my lack of creativity for the blooms in the centre was because my centrepiece was boring, I made two more centrepieces and discarded both, as they still didn’t get the creative juices flowing.  

And, right from the start I have grappled with the title of Bramble Blooms, which to me conjures up an English country scene with thickets of brambles, blackberries, wildflowers, rabbits, blackbirds and the green green grass of home.  One idea was lilies on a lake - what the heck has that got to do with brambles I asked myself.  Another was to feature Australian inspired flowers - the warratah and banksia spring to mind, and are still lurking there.

Obviously I was taking the title too literally, because as a glance at the links for the QAL will show, other quilters are using their interpretation of bramble blooms to come up with some stupendous ideas, and I am in a sea of envy!  

Audrey said that this is a ‘nudge toward getting comfortable with improvised quilt-making.’  Why am I finding this so hard?  I admire her style of quilts - they are very different to the sort of quilts that I make and the whole point of joining the QAL is to at least go some way toward emulating the loose, free, squishy, cozy, familiar look that is so ‘quilty folk’ that I honestly feel that I could spot one of Audrey’s quilts in a mystery quilt line-up.  

To answer the question, it’s hard because it is outside my comfort zone - that’s why and that is just as it should be - otherwise, for me, why join the QAL at all?

Before visiting other links I spent days drawing and redrawing something equating to blooms (the end of this gut-wrenching post has a few pics). I watched videos on different methods for needleturn applique, gathered cushions, pictures and arty books from around my home to spark inspiration, and I even managed to cut out a couple of pieces of fabric that might resemble a bloom.

Nothing is working.  

I remembered a creative quilting class that I took many years ago where we each did a series of small wall hangings.  Some were given away, but I did keep one that was a garden scene with a bird bath, flowers, bird boxes and a very large Currawong.  All improv.  I thought it would be good inspiration, but do you think I can find it?  The good news is that after ransacking every cupboard in the house, I found all these other fabrics, so something good came out of the search.

I’m getting closer to the blooms I want.  It occurred to me this morning that I can always add to the elements I have in mind - in fact, Audrey often adds elements along the quilt journey and that too is how it should be -  so the centrepiece at this stage does not have to be static.  That was a light bulb moment.

This weekend I will nail the blooms and start sewing.

Wish me luck!