Here we go! I am beginning the design work on a new quilt in my Canterbury series. This one will center around the knight from the Knight’s Tale. It will have a pictorial central section about the same size as on Canterbury Silk and a border inspired by, or even downright copied from, an 11th–12th Century illuminate manuscript.
I have multiple considerations as I work on this central design.
- Can I accomplish what I design?
- Does it match the overall theme of the series?
- Since I am working in a theme from centuries ago, how can I make it appeal to today’s quilt audience?
- How should I colorize this central part?
- Should the knight look something like the knight from “Equipped to Stand” (shown below) that I made in 2012 or like the ancient illustration (shown at the top of this blog, an illustration from The Ellesmere Manuscript, one of the oldest surviving illuminated Canterbury Tales.). I really don’t like the way the knight’s head looks on the ancient illustration but I can fix that I think. I really like the Equipped to Stand knight, but he may be too modern, and I would change his and his horse’s dress, or maybe have his head facing front. 🙂
- What should the background look like for him? It needs more than just the knight for balance.
- Should the central theme be silk or can that be cotton and the border made from cotton/silk Kaufman Radiance, like I did for Canterbury Silk?
I really hope to make this a beautiful and exciting quilt that also goes well with Canterbury Silk. I plan on making a total of three Canterbury quilts that more or less match in size and character.
Sew send some good wishes my way as I work through this design and subsequent making of the quilt. I plan on sharing this quilt journey with you and will discuss my techniques along the way. I hope to post a blog on this at least once a week, and occassionally more often.
Sew happy everyone!