Boxed In(27)
“I want to stick as close to the colors in the panels as I can.” Alice pointed toward the middle of her design. “These triangles, as well as this center diamond, are indigo, and I’m thinking an indigo backing would provide contrast for the lighter colors of sage and gold while drawing out those pops of dark blue and also the red.” She glanced at Kate’s face, gauging her reaction.
“I absolutely agree with you there, Alice.” Kate ran her eyes over the bolts of fabric and then pulled one from the mix, turning it to unwrap a section. “How does this one feel to you?”
Alice rubbed the fabric between her thumb and index finger, and then spread the fabric over her hand. “I think this is it. Cut enough for twenty-four place mats.”
“You’re ambitious!” Kate exclaimed as she took the fabric over to the cutting table. She flipped the bolt until she had unwrapped the needed length and took up the large fabric sheers for the cutting.
“Or crazy,” said Alice. “But I have a lot of demonstrations during the month, and cross-stitching is how I relax after them. A cup of tea, a DVD or music, and cross-stitch.”
“Mary Beth will be very appreciative of the results of all your relaxation.” Kate smiled as she folded the cut fabric. “I can’t wait to see all the different contributions on display.”
“I know I’m looking forward to seeing your contribution,” said Alice. From behind a rack of pattern books Annie’s voice chimed. “I second that! What are you making, Kate?”
“You two really know how to stroke a woman’s ego. I’m making a shawl with a tree pattern that uses positive and negative space to create both the tree and a reflection. The color I’ll leave as a surprise.”
“Which means we can be sure it won’t be green,” guessed Alice.
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” Kate neatly folded the indigo fabric, printed out the yardage and per-unit price, and pinned it to the fabric. “You have plenty to keep you busy while you’re waiting to see it.”
“My inspiration now has a plan, thanks to you and Annie. Now it’s her turn, and I’ll go pick out my floss and aida cloth. I get the same rush pulling my colors that I do deciding on a flavor of ice cream at Tanner’s Dairy.” Alice rubbed her hands together like a child filled with anticipation.
“And you can pick as many as you want without worrying about their glycemic index,” said Kate.
“Their what?” Alice raised an eyebrow. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. I’m having too much fun, and color is calling.” She hurried over to the floss display and was soon deep in concentration.
“Annie, what ideas have you gathered so far?” Kate set Alice’s fabric on the counter next to the register.
“Well, I’m warning you, my inspiration is much less focused than Alice’s,” Annie confessed. “I’ve been a little preoccupied. At Abbe Museum, I tried to take in information for both the project and the mystery. The result is mishmash soup on the brain. But I’ve been thinking about using Tunisian crochet. It’s been a while since I used that method, and I enjoyed the process.”
“In the hands of someone with your experience, a Tunisian piece is sure to be an interesting addition to the project,” said Kate. “So are you thinking of doing a piece where the reversibility would be highlighted?”
“When Alice and I were talking about it over lunch, I was thinking of making table runners. It would be like the customer’s getting two for the price of one. But I’m not sure what kind of pattern to use for it that would be distinctively Maine American Indian style.”
“Were there any museum displays that caught your eye and could be worked in Tunisian?” asked Kate.
“What didn’t catch my eye,” Annie answered ruefully. “But I’m boggled as to how to recreate most of the patterns in Tunisian.” Annie fingered a soft skein of pink bamboo yarn as she thought. “Did you see the sea urchin baskets in the museum gift shop?”
“Yes! Very striking graphic and shape,” answered Kate.
“I think I could do that in Tunisian, and the reverse would be so interesting. But I doubt it will translate to a flat piece like a runner, now that I think about it more.”
Kate bent to pluck some renegade wool fuzz from a basket display of large knitting needles. “I see your point. The graphic would still be interesting, I think, but the inspiration could be obscured. Have you thought of doing round Tunisian crochet pillows? That might translate better than a totally flat piece.”