I like a bit of drama, so a storm seemed appropriate. I also like buildings and perspective and so the idea for my quilt began to ferment in my mind. I wanted some relevant text in the piece and so used the quote "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain". I know this has been used over and over, but it is still relevant and I like it.
The plan was to paint the background in murky, rainy colours - very muted. The sky was to be dark and stormy with a flash of light to show up the figures dancing in the rain. I also wanted to put in silhouettes of figures huddled against the weather - again to create a contrast with the (hopefully) exuberant dancing pair.
![Picture](/uploads/2/0/5/1/20517934/published/img-0719.jpg?1536679865)
I started with a rough drawing, marking in the perspective lines.
I wanted a large area of sky so I could emphasise the storm and create a bit of drama.
![Picture](/uploads/2/0/5/1/20517934/published/img-5406.jpg?1536678618)
Next I took a photo of my drawing and, using an upsizing app on the Mac, I scaled it to the size I wanted. (the finished quilt is 20" X 28")
I pinned this onto my design wall and started playing with positioning of the text and various anonymous figures.
Putting something weighty in the bottom of a piece helps with the perspective and anchors the picture.
![Picture](/uploads/2/0/5/1/20517934/published/img-5407.jpg?1536678953)
This doesn't look very impressive but is the beginning of getting the lines and some colour onto the cloth.
Below is the finished quilt.
I played around with some colour to represent reflections in the wet street and made sure I used the red and white spotty fabric. I had thought of using it for umbrellas, but that seemed just too obvious.
I quite like the little bit in the binding to balance the red in the quilt.