A Crowd-Sourced Decision and Small Batik Scrap Weavings - Hallelujah!

We have a winner! When last we met (last week) I was deciding whether and where to put two verticle magenta strips that punched up one of my weavings. Without the magenta strips, it looked like this: 

I decided to crowdsource the decision. Thanks to all who voted in the comments and via email!Most people liked the additional magenta strips - some suggested I add horizontals, too, maybe in a different color. Or shorter strips. Or converging strips. I tried it all! My dear quilt friend Lindi suggested I offset the strips - make one higher than the other. Lindi, you are the winner! Here's the final quilt, with the strips stitched down: 

I love the offset - I think it looks like you're on a path, approaching a giant rectangular spaceship? (One commenter said the woven unit looks like a temple -  even better!)

This and the other batik weavings I've done for the past two weeks (1, 2) wound up largish, each set on a yard or so of fabric. But they can also be much smaller (and faster). The next one is only 11" wide by 17" long (or 25" counting the danglies): 

There are just 10 pieces of fabric from my scrap stash (including the background). I stitched a wooden bell, and some coconut shell stuff on the bottom; they clatter nicely when shaken (or stirred). I think this would work well on a door. 

The edges of the strips that hang off the bottom are satin stitched, and the edges of the interior strips are finished with a medium-loose zig-zag.

Here's another smallish piece, 17" wide by 22" long (not counting extensions), for which I have big plans:  

I love that dramatic swipe of red/orange - it got me growling Leonard Cohen's Anthem: "There's a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." (Young persons, if you've never heard Leonard growl, you're in for a experience that, like magenta strips, you may love or loathe. His greatest growl: Hallelujah.) The stitching is also a loose zig-zag. 

Much embellishment is to come. 

Want to start improvisational weaving? The technique is easy! Find it in installment 1, here. More in part 2.