Unravelling the Lace

Come along on a design journey with me!
A glimpse into my creative process for my Arts and Old Lace Challenge...

Once the challenge was issued at the Power Suit Reveal, I started humming or outright singing "Chantilly Lace", by the Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson, I thought it was too silly a song to be an inspiration. I pondered and sketched out a closeup of a rose; roses go with both Arts and Old Lace. But the song kept playing and I decided I better give in to this inspiration,

you just can't always pick what inspires you.  

Images such as the one on http://www.officialbigbopper.com/ 

show a guitar (a great circle, some nice curves and straight lines)

behold my design inspiration.

...by the way, the lace I used is not "chantilly lace", chantilly lace is actually a very delicate fine lace, whereas this lace is quite thick and may be chemical lace.  Check out http://lace.lacefairy.com/Lace/ID/laceID.htm 

what do you think?

I was lucky enough to spend Memorial Day weekend at a good friend's house.  I packed up all my possible supplies for this project  - in fact this first image shows where I started the weekend..  I made this handdyed, by mixing green and blue; I added a circle for the sound chamber with one of the laces in my kit, and used a nice blue Ultrasuede for the pick guard.  Music give us wings so I added a bird.

 

But the bird didn't add to the overall feel I wanted- so bye bye birdie!

I like the curve of the double pico trim - it's kinda rockabilly...

 

So I say let's go crazy with the rockabilly.... and I added the words "chantilly lace", just in case, and a pony tail hanging down, oh baby you know what I like.  This project has me breaking into song way too much.  I blame (or credit)  Judy Gula and Cyndi Souder for this frivolity, that I am so enjoying!

I love all Ultrasuede but uh-oh noticed this cream Ultrasuede was starting to unravel with a light touch and this quilt needs to travel . 

So I somehow need to cover it...

let me try this sheer blue ribbon...

  

Okay, that was too crazy, even for me!  I lost the feeling of the guitar, but love the loops of rick rack (save idea for future fun)  

The blue ribbon adds a line that is ok, but not great.  

Let's take some more stuff off and add some buttons

  

Hmm, better, but what's up with the double pico trim ? looks weird...

Added strings - maybe to couch down - plus used the frog as the "bridge" 

I'm learning guitar terminology!

 

Those strings don't add to the guitar as much as an over all outline of the guitar would do... My friend had left overs of brown and blues of a mosaic project so I used those for the outline and background - plus I put a cream colored tulle over the whole thing - it tones down the blue pick guard and keeps the words from unraveling. 

I fused down the outline shape mosaics - I'm committing to it!

Next, I laid out some funky rectangle buttons to "tone down" the "brown" (hope my rhymes don't make you frown!)  

Used 4 buttons to represent the tuning pegs.

 

 Tried the curve of buttons along bottom again... and the strings...

  

 I think it needs to be simpler...

  

Tested out the rectangle buttons as if the pickguard got the measles - interesting, but not adding to the feel of a rockabilly guitar

 

Nah that's doesn't add to the guitarousity of it... 

Those buttons need to be on the brown squares, both to tone down the brown and add a little sparkly shape element

Trying the curve of buttons again on the pick guard....

 

Nope, I like the right side of the blue to be a clean stark edge.  

I love the frog trim, I want to use it.

 

The frog cannot stay there, moved it below.

Added the 4 buttons in the top spot.

  

Hmm, don't know why, but I must kiss this frog goodbye...

  

Voila,that's how I came up with this design.

FYI, I used a facing edge - my favorite edge, I hand stitched the buttons after the facing edge was complete.  I also tacked down the floral trim with a few hand stitches, since the quilt (I'm hoping!) will be on tour for quite a while!  The only elements that are "above the tulle" are the floral trim on the pickguard and all the buttons.

I really enjoyed the process of this design, 

thanks for coming along on this journey with me. 

Design Tool -  the digital camera.

I find the camera on the iphone to be very helpful in the design process.  Any digital camera will let you audition and flip between options. Most of the conversation here was played out as I would keep looking back at the phone and analysing the photos.

Bonus Two-fer -

The camera is also a great Memory Tool - capturing inspiring images, great ideas, someone's contact info (snap a photo of the business card, I can type it into a digital phone book later), take a photo a fully used white board so I don't lose the info, but can erase and have a nice blank space to scribble again, photos of steps in a complicated process (that I might not remember in 2 months), or  the cover of a book I want to order.  In fact I even use my phone camera to remember where I parked my car in a parking garage.  True story - when my sis was in the hospital (I was exhausted, I worked a full day- then was heading to the hospital to relieve my mom and be the overnight shift).  I knew the next morning I would have no clue where I parked, so I stood in front of the elevator (turned around so I would have the same view as when I emerge the next day) and just pointed the camera in direction of my car, typically there are numbers/letters or colors on poles/posts/walls and those will show up on your photo - remember, the cars are likely to change, but the building will still be the same!