Thursday, September 1, 2011

Orange Lilies

As I began to think about what I might do for the orange challenge, my front garden was beginning to bloom with a riot of color. Prominent in the mix were orange lilies and they called to me. As I had considered what color or colors I would propose for my challenge, my first thought was cobalt blue. The more I thought about it the more it seemed that we had used blues in several challenges already, so I switched my attention to orange. Still, I had that blue in my mind and it seemed to sing with the orange.

I wanted to use some bolder printed fabrics and among my stash I found what I felt would help portray the energy of my wild and untamed garden.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Breathtaking!!

Françoise said...

Gorgeous!
How did you do those little orange spots that seem to be floating on your quilt? Pieces of fabric?
I agree that this blue fabric is the perfect background for your beautiful lilies.

dutchcomfort said...

Like Kirsty says... breathtaking!

Karen said...

This is wonderful Terry, and I love those little orange dots too

Lisa Flowers Ross said...

There is lots of energy in this. My play-along piece is also blue and orange and is posted on my blog.
http://lisasartmusings.blogspot.com

Vicki Miller said...

I love the art deco sort of feel to this piece. As the others said, it takes my breath away. the sky is gorgeous. The cobalt is perfect and the painted quilting? is so graceful. congrats

Terri Stegmiller said...

What a fabulous wild and untamed garden it is! They are the best, in my mind. Love your use of prints in this and I'm glad you used the blue with it.

What Comes Next? said...

gorgeous! the cobalt blue sky is just stunning, and sets your lilies off to perfection. I love the way you've quilted this.

Gerrie said...

This is stunning, Terry. I think it is the first time I have not seen your piece before it was posted. I can't wait to see it in person. I am so in love with that blue fabric!

Diane Perin said...

Ooh. The oranges just sing in front of these deep greens and blues. The loose flowy shapes of the leaves and your stitching (and those swirls!) add so much life to these lilies. It all works together with a sense of movement that is wonderful.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how you've added the swirly texture/pattern on the upper right. Is that overlaid fabric? Or stitched and colored in? However you did it, it's wonderfully effective.

Kristin L said...

Yes! Keep digging out those bold patterns! While you work with tiny prints and subtle colors so well, you can obviously incorporate more unexpected elements too. This has a great energy to it and an exuberant use of fabrics while still remaining true to you and your work. I hope to see more along these lines!

Unknown said...

This reminds me of an ornate William Morris type tile that I might expect to see at the V&A. It is the top right corner that makes it for me.

Brenda said...

I have happy associations with orange day lilies. There was a corner in the garden where they always bloomed. Once picked, they never lasted long but they could always be relied upon to produce more flowers for a endless summer of colour. I am struck by how well the diagonal composition works in this piece. Off the top of my head, i can't recall any other Twelve by Twelve pieces with diagonal compositions and I want to go and try it out for myself! The blue detail in the top left corner perfectly complements the energy of the liles.

Terry Grant said...

The little orange dots are, indeed, dots of fabric. The fabric in the upper right corner is a printed fabric. So gorgeous on its own! I couldn't resist it.