Obsessed

I just spent a week in marathon design mode. I came up with 7 different fabrics for Connecting Threads' contest and am not thrilled with most of them, as usual. It's so hard to not be overly critical of one's own work.

I've been trying to come up with something truly unique and innovative and just really cool to look at. Something that lots of people will look at and think, I need to buy that. For no particular reason or project, just because they think it's fantastic and must own a couple yards of it. Someday I'll come up with that fabric. I don't think any one of those seven is it, though.

Here's my favorite of them all, called "Road Trip". It's inspired by the old mid-century motel signs along Lincoln Ave. in Chicago's northwest side. I used to drive to work that way and thought someday when I had the time, money and a good camera, I wanted to come back and take pictures of the signs at twilight. Never did get around to it.

Twilight's the loveliest time in a city, in my opinion, because you get a wonderful combination of neon and streetlight combined with sunset glow reflecting off all the surfaces. It's hypnotic and melancholy all at the same time, and does a good job at camouflaging the stark and ugly that's so common in urban areas.