"Apple and Oranges"

"Opposites!"

How many opposites can you find in this quilt?

For answers continue to read the rest of this post!

I started choosing fabrics and sewing at eight a.m.

The Art Quilt Blog offered up a new challenge for the month of February called "Opposites". The first thing that came to mind when I started thinking of opposites was "Apples and Oranges". Thus the title of my made in one long day quilt.

But I wanted to use other opposites in the quilt besides the obvious apples and oranges, which I cut out early Friday morning from sheets of wool I bought new at the quilt shop recently. (I rarely rarely almost never use new materials in my art). I felted them down to a flat of felt (from a roll I got at the thrift store) using my Baby Lock embellisher machine. (new and old materials are also opposites!)

I thought about lining them up across from each other on "opposite sides" of the quilt in more traditional like squares, but decided instead to toss them up in the air and let them land where they may...I liked the helter skelter look better. I then free motion sewed them down again with a spiral design in the apples and a circular design in the oranges.

I like the way the back of the embellished piece looks

I had a lot of orange and green, which reminded me of time in my childhood when I had dressed myself in green shorts and an orange blouse and my mother made me go change after telling me orange and green did not go together. I found contrasting colored embroidery floss, which I used next to outline the fruit to show it off better. All the while wondering about what else I could do to show opposites. I went on line and checked the color wheel, for although I have a masters degree in psychology I do not have an education in art. I learned that orange and green are secondary colors and thus lay opposite each other. I was so glad to learn this!!! I then added some contrasting orange netting to the oranges and topped it with tiny orange beads and one gold bead each. I decided to dig into my button stash and used orange buttons in opposite corners one large and one small; and green in the alternate opposite corners again one large and one small. Opposite places and opposite sizes.

I used variegated orange/yellow embroidery thread and made a blanket stitch border all around. If you look closely there are some opposites in color across the quilt in those stitches.

I then went quite crazy beading large green then smaller orange and white beads following the pattern of free motion sewing I'd done earlier in the day around the apples and oranges. Some same matching colors and some contrasting colors opposite each other across rows. Some gold beads were added for extra sparkle. And each apple got one green bead to make it pop a little bit more.

I started this quilt in the morning of my day off around 8 a.m. and ended at night around 8 p.m. Opposite ends of the day! And I think I finally got out of my system my thoughts about orange and green not going together! On my quilt they go together quite well in an

apples and oranges

sort of way!