Runway Lights at Night

Aviation is the theme for the current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower. I went in a very different direction (as usual), but created a print inspired by one of my favorite things: lights. For this contest, I researched airport runway lights and their colors and placement. Here is my contest entry, Runway Lights at Night:

Runway Lights at Night, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

The light placements and quantity are not exact, as I wanted the repeat to fit on a fat quarter of fabric. The taxiway lighting placements are stylized for the print, and are not true to how they are on runways. (I was going to do a taxiway placement similar to actual ones, but realized how large the repeat was going to be if I went that direction). The "lights" are not circles; they are star shapes based on how real lights photograph. (I did use circles in a different color to mimic the lighter part of the lights).

Detail of a section of the print.

 I like how the final print turned out, especially in yardage with the "lights" zoomed out. You can vote for your favorite Aviation themed fabrics here until Wednesday. There are many fantastic takes on the theme, with something for pilots as well as kids.

*Past Contest Results*
- Olympics Contest: Modern Labyrinth 58/127

It's Olympics (Fabric) Time!

I love watching the Olympics, especially the Winter Games. I look forward to the Games every two years, for the opening ceremony, the athletes' inspirational stories, and the idea of the Olympics. This week, Spoonflower chose to make the Olympics the theme of their Fabric of the Week contest.

My first idea was to do a sort of retro looking print using a stripe resembling a heartbeat line. Stars and circles were added to the stripe print, but I just didn't feel it for the contest. You can view that print here.

For my final contest entry, I went with a maze-like design. I used two basic blocks with lines and rectangles, and rotated them to create the print. Originally, I was going to have the background be a single color, but thought the checkerboard design was more dynamic. It also makes the print seem a bit smaller and adds optical illusion. Here is my entry, "Modern Labyrinth".

Modern Labyrinth, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

The design represents the twists, turns, and dead ends one meets before they reach their goal. I used colors similar to those of the Olympic rings and the checkerboard background to give it a sporty feel. But I think it is also appealing to non-athletes. I think it would be great for duffel bags, backpacks, tote bags, and similar items.

Voting for this contest ends Wednesday, and you can vote for your favorite fabrics here. This contest has a smaller number of entries than the past few contests, but there are still a lot of great fabrics that capture the Olympic spirit. Be sure to vote for your favorites, perhaps while watching the Olympics.

*Past Contest Results*
*Paper Collage Cakes: I Want Sprinkles Plaid Large 118/143
*Mid-Century Cocktail Dress: Click Clang Crash! Purple 127/367