Drama in B&W

I have often said that my artworks/jackets are inspired by my fabric stash.  This time it was a pile of black and white cottons collected over the years - when I was making more traditional quilts.  As usual, I had many small pieces of a wide variety of patterns.  I realized recently that they would be fun to use in pieced insets for jackets.  It would be a good way to use up a bunch of really disparate fabrics.

Cutting them in strips and sewing them together randomly was a good project for the busy days last week when I was feeling fragmented  due to the variety of other tasks I had besides sewing.  I could work on this in short spurts without losing my train of thought and still feel like I was moving my art ahead.

Here's the results of that first step.  At this stage the various patterns have started to blend together, but some are still jumping out at you.  They worked together well enough that I could tell that when they were cut into strips again, the results wouldn't be so jarring.

This is step two (and three).  I had a nice large piece of heavy black cotton with a woven pattern leftover from a previous jacket.  This large rectangle will comprise the body of the jacket.  The back of the jacket is at the bottom of the photo.  

I inset strips of the pieced black & whites in radiating lines.  Then, thinking it needed something a little more, I went through my stash of ribbons and yarns to see what I might add.  I found a thin black & white ribbon with a very interesting texture  that worked well with the insets so I laid those down with a zigzag stitch.

For the lining and collar I've got a dramatic black and white batik.  You'll have to wait to see that.

For a little entertainment while you're waiting, might I suggest listening to the podcast of my appearance on Liz Smith's Makers in Business.  I'd love to hear what you think.