I'm in the process of designing another improvisational quilt. It's sitting on my design wall and I keep adding to it a little at a time. It's one of those pieces that I can't work on too much at once because after a while I lose my concentration. I need to be sharp and focused as I design it. And it's not something I can rush through.
Right now, it probably measures 16" wide by 20" long. This is mostly unpieced, so it will shrink up a bit as I work on it. Some subunits are pieced, but there are a lot of seams yet to be sewn.
This is about the size I normally work at--a small wallhanging. It's a manageable size. You can see it all in a glance. And it's not too challenging to quilt.
But this piece is talking to me. And it wants to be larger. It wants to be a long horizontal, so that your eyes have to sweep across it. I want to look at it and have to step back to take it all in. (I love that feeling at art museums, as you are walking along the gallery, taking in piece after piece, and then you come across one that makes you say "Woah" and step back.)
This is a bit challenging to me because I don't usually work large. And what I've done so far has taken a number of days. But I have a vision and so I'm going to try to go for it. If I were to finish it at this size , I would feel disappointed, like I gave up on it to soon. So I'll take the time it needs to become what it wants to be.
In this case, size does matter.
