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| Lola helps attach the sleeve to Picking Up the Pieces #4 |
A question commonly asked in the art quilting community is, "if you make art quilts does it matter what your backs look like?" The answer is often no, unless you plan to enter the work into a judged show. Ultimately, I think this is a matter of personal taste. However, I wonder how quilt art appraisers would view this question. Do they look only at the front of the work, the composition, materials, and technical skills? I have had my work appraised by several different appraisers over the years. None have mentioned the back of my work, BUT, although the work isn't judged for matching seams and mitered corners, my skill at executing the work is included.
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| Changing of the Guard - front |
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| Changing of the Guard - back |
My personal taste is pretty typical of my general "close enough" philosophy. I don't worry about the quilting thread not matching backing, or a tiny knot of thread showing. The fabric I select for my backs is frequently pieced for larger quilts, because I simply don't have fabric large enough for the back and very rarely buy fabric specifically for a back. I used to match my sleeve fabric to my backing fabric. No longer. I want a sleeve that I stands out against the backing. This way it is easy to spot. What is most important is there is no shadow through of backing fabric and or sleeve to the front of the quilt. This happens when the top is a lighter hued fabric than the back. The bigger the value gap, the more likely there is to be a problem.
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| Picking Up the Pieces #1 - back |
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| Picking Up the Pieces #1 - front |
I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.
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