Date: 21 Feb 93 04:13:17 GMT From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-ID: <18603@umd5.umd.edu> Organization: University of Maryland at College Park Subject: Re: kite decoration In article kml@rokkaku.atl.ga.us (Kevin Lahey) writes: >I have a really hard time coming up with designs for my kite skins. >I mean, after a few kites, the single color rokkaku or flow-form is >just a bit boring to make and to fly. You mention a Cody as being a simple kite to sepearate into several colors. I'd also say that a FlowForm is too. Different color front and back, ribs, keel, and sides. And that's without any panels or appliques! >I don't mind a little simple applique or piecing together several parts, >but I'm still careful to pick designs for which I can be a centimeter or >so off on all of the parts. Where can I find this sort of design? I, too am terrified of trying some of the cool quilt designs I've seen, though I'm completely fascinated by many of those I've seen. I don't trust myself to sew straight enough, or even to have the patience to cut out all the little bits and and get them lined up correctly. There _are_ ways to do paneled kites without worry about pieces being off by too much. You tend to waste a little fabric, but I tend not to worry about that too much--I can always use scraps for applique! What you might want to try is taking some basic pieces of fabric and sewing them together and _then_ tracing the pattern of the kite piece onto it. This way, you don't have to worry about being off by a centimeter when you sew the panels together--they're already sewn before you cut the final shape of the sail (or piece of sail). Something that ties into this, and can be used to make very effective kites, is what many folks call the "trashcan" look--which I usually prefer to refer as "calico." Basically, you take all those scraps that have been sitting around and just start sewing them together in a random, yet pleasing pattern. You can either do this in a flat fell seam or like an applique (overlay one piece on another, do a row or two of stitches, and cut off the excess on the back). When you've got pieces sewn together into a hunk of fabric big enough, just trace your kite pattern onto it and go from there. There can be an art to this, and I'd recommend sitting down with your pattern and your box of scraps, and fiddling around 'til you get something you like, rather than sitting at the sewing machine and reaching into the box like a scrabble bag. Getting a basic layout first will also allow you to confine the scraps you're sewing into the basic shape of the kite so as not to waste too much. >I realize that this is sort of a lame question, but it seems like I've spent >weeks trying to come up with a good design for a largish flow-form, and >the best I can do is a couple of stripes... Am I aestetically impaired, >or what? It's not a lame question, and I think it's something that plagues a fair number of kitemakers. "Okay, I've got the skills--now what do I do with them?" (I really feel like I'm being immodest and perhaps arrogant by typing this, and I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I really don't see myself as a wonderfully artistic kite maker. There are *so* many folks out there doing stuff that just blows me and my kites away!) One thing I'd suggest is to just look around you, look at the things that interest you. I've been dying to do a rokkaku with a simplified version of an album cover I really like. Computers can be your friends--this album cover I'm doing is a photograph of a complex painting. Thanks to scan of that pic, though, I've got a version of it that's been broken into 4 or 5 shades of grey. It still looks good at a distance, but this will make it possible to create an applique with the image. Another suggestion for use of the computer: I often work out geometric patterns on paper, and then do a quick-n-dirty mockup in a paint program. It doesn't need to be perfect. I can then experiment with different color schemes 'til I find one I like. I have a 16 panel Rev II, for which I spent an hour or two on the computer, just swapping colors and changing the order in which those colors appear. I love the end result! Keep your eyes open for relatively simple patterns, icons, or whatever, that stand out at a distance. I happened to notice the NeXT logo one day, and thought "That'd make a cool kite." The NeXTform was born--an 8 square-foot FlowForm with the NeXT logo, 2' square, appliqued on the surface. It was a Christmas present for a friend who's a NeXT fiend. He's waiting to develop and scan some pictures of it--I think he's going to mail one to Steve Jobs. ;-) Don't be afraid to experiment and push yourself. If you're doing an applique, try to do as much of it separate from the kite as possible--you can always alter the applique or pieces of it before it's attached to the kite. My latest kite was a 16 square foot FlowForm that my sister asked me to make. I considered doing an applique of an orchid on it, and I almost psyched myself out that it would be way too difficult, and put far too much strain on my limited artistic abilities. Finally I decided to give it a try. The final applique has something like 30 separate pieces of fabric, and far surpasses any expectations I had. It's not perfect--I have a lot to learn about designing graphics for view from a distance. Once in the air, the flower loses a fair amount of definition, though it still creates a colorful, pleasing sight. I've thought of ways I could have improved the graphic, but I'm not willing to take the kite apart to try to fix it. From up close, though, the flower *looks* like an orchid and is rather pretty. Despite my self-criticisms, I'm extremely happy with the kite and consider it a success (particularly since it's my first FlowForm in this size, and it flies! ;-) If folks are interested, I have some scans of some of my kites that I guess I could mail out. Or is there an FTP site somewhere that might be suitable? I currently don't have any of the NeXTform or the orchid kite flying, but those are on the way. I do have my 16 panel Rev, a dual line kite, and the NeXTform digitized whilst being held open in a computer lab. >kml@rokkaku.atl.ga.us Love your node name! Jeff -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | "Fairies are the perfect people to do this | |(suffering Bad Grammar) | sort of work. Biologically, their upper | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | bodies are strong enough to wield a pickaxe...." | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: 22 Feb 93 10:18:46 GMT From: pat@cs.strath.ac.uk (Patrick Prosser) Message-ID: <11663@baird.cs.strath.ac.uk> Organization: Comp. Sci. Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow, Scotland. Subject: Re: kite decoration I suppose I also have problems trying to find suitable designs for applique of kites. By problems, I mean that a design does not just jump out at me. This is what I do for inspiration: (1) keep my eyes open. In particular, look at modern sports clothes, kit bags, swimming suits, etc. These are now a good source of ideas, if only because of the variety of colours. These should open your eyes to colour! (2) Art galleries, and books on art. Look at some of the work done by the surrealists, etc. Again, great inspiration. My flowform has an applique based on a painting by Miro, called Blue II (mine is Green, therefore Green II) (3) Motor racing. Many of the F1 cars have fabulous colour schemes. I have a beautiful delta in the Minardi colour scheme. (4) Finally, and most obviously, I use a graphics terminal (SPARCstation IPC) and tgiff, and draw my kite and play with colour combinations and patterns. Generally, it can take me months to come up with an idea. When I build a larg(ish) kite, it will take maybe a month to plan it, before I actually cut cloth. Basically, keep your eyes open (I'm not being funny, or cheeky), and be patient with yourself. That is one of the nice things about building kites: it should open your eyes to colour. Patrick = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: 22 Feb 93 16:18:07 GMT From: irving@sys.toronto.edu (Irving Reid) Message-ID: <1993Feb22.111807.8957@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> Subject: Crazy-Quilt (scrap) patchwork (was Re: kite decoration) Just picking one tiny section out of - jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) writes: >Something that ties into this, and can be used to make very effective kites, >is what many folks call the "trashcan" look--which I usually prefer to >refer as "calico." Basically, you take all those scraps that have been >sitting around and just start sewing them together in a random, yet >pleasing pattern. You can either do this in a flat fell seam or like >an applique (overlay one piece on another, do a row or two of stitches, >and cut off the excess on the back). When you've got pieces sewn together >into a hunk of fabric big enough, just trace your kite pattern onto it >and go from there. I made a small parafoil this way, and it turned out pretty cool. I then met Bill Lockhart at the Long Beach festival, and he was flying a big crazy-quilt rokkakku. His system was much better than mine. His trick was to lay the pieces flat, good sides together, and then hot cut a straight line through both of them. This makes sure that the pieces are flat and the seam line is straight, and seals them together so they won't slip on you. Then sew a straight stitch parallel to the hot cut line, open the two pieces out flat, and run another straight (or zigzag) line to hold the seam part down flat (the flat fell seam Jeff mentions above). You have to watch that you don't create any inside corners with this, but otherwise it's pretty easy (and fast). - irving - = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1993 20:08:49 GMT From: andrew@tug.com (Andrew Beattie) Message-ID: Organization: Negligible. Subject: Re: Crazy-Quilt (scrap) patchwork (was Re: kite decoration) Strewth! Another posting about Peter Lynn! Peter Lynn had a serious problem with scrap. It had started to run to cubic meters of the stuff. He dispatched someone to the mind-numbing task of cutting out rectangles of a fixed width and sewing them into a long strip of random colours. When they have enough (something like 1.5 kilometres, if my memory is correct), they use it to make the 7m diameter blow-fish (fugi ?). Despite that it is made from scrap, the fish still costs serious money, because of the weeks of work that are required to manufacture it. Andrew -- andrew@tug.com