#19 Translucence

#19: Translucence
Finished: 5/12/12
Techniques: Creating a translucent effect using only fabric, satin stitching.
Size: 16" x 16"

Description: Wow! This looks even better as a picture than it does in real life! It really appears that the rectangles are made with sheer or translucent materials so the you can see the other rectangles underneath them. But no! It's all done with different colored fabrics instead! I have an abundance of solid fabrics of various colors. I mixed and matched to find the right combinations for overlapping rectangles. For instance, where the dark blue and pink rectangles intersect, I chose a purple fabric to simulate the translucence. Where the light blue and yellow rectangles intersect, I chose a light green. For the dark green and pink intersection, I chose a brown. Knowing a little about color theory helps. We all know that yellow and blue make green, and red and yellow make orange, but it's a little trickier with the secondary colors. I am very pleased with the effects overall.

After doing the piecing, I decided to help the effect a little by satin stitching around the rectangles to indicate which of them were laying "on top" of the others. No satin stitching on the underneath portions.

The inspiration for tackling this technique was a quilt I saw at the recent Denver National Quilt Festival, where one of the quilters used this translucent technique to good use.