Jellyfish Gestation

Last week I began working on an idea for a quilt about jellyfish. My first attempt flopped before too long. A second try suffered the same fate. The problem was the organza that I wanted to incorporate into the design. This sheer fabric has a luxurious glow and airiness that makes it the ideal candidate for any textile rendering of jellyfish. But its silky texture also makes it tricky to handle. The week ended with me thinking that I should simply give up on that jellyfish quilt for now and attempt it some other time.

Friday afternoon found me waiting for two-hours at the doctor's office. Fortunately I'd brought with me Creative Quilting: The Journal Quilt Project ("a compendium of more than 400 quilts, each 8 1/2" x 11", culled from the nearly 6,000 Quilt Pages made by 918 artists who participated in The Journal Quilt Project over five years"). So busy was I feasting my eyes on these wonderful quilts that I didn't notice the lengthy wait. By the time I left the doctor's office I had some thoughts brewing on how to rescue my jellyfish quilt.

I returned to the studio today after a five-day absence. I hadn't given the jellyfish ideas much thought during the weekend but they popped right back into my head as soon as I put my focus on the quilt. I was thrilled to see that my time away was not wasted. All those random ideas had a few days to simmer and today they coalesced into a quick, easy and coherent approach for my quilt. I had to tear myself away from the studio this evening, and I can't wait to return in the morning to finish this project. I'm bringing my camera tomorrow so that I can take a picture. Stay tuned...