Oct 08 08
Conundrums!
Sometimes, I can take something so simple and turn it into something very complicated! Periodically, I feel this need to piece something in fabric…not anything complicated or big deal, but just something I can mindlessly cut and piece. Anyway, I had this itch to piece a quilt about 5 weeks ago, and I was able to buy some pretty fabric for a really great price:
So, I buy this fabric right before I’m about to travel to NC and I’m figuring I’ll have some time available to whip up a nice quilt. Of course, I FORGET to pack said fabric for the trip, so I get down here and I’m trying to pick out other fabrics from my NC stash to go with it, but I don’t REALLY remember the colors very well, so I end up piecing MANY blocks like this:
I take them all back to OH to use with some blocks from my original fabric, but do they go together? I don’t think so…
Rats! So, even though this all started because I got such a great deal on that first fabric yardage, now I needed to go out and buy some new fabric to go with the original fabric! (This just kills me because I have an incredible stash and nothing seemed to go well with this!) Anyway, I get some new fabric and when we came back down to NC last week, I started making new blocks, but I just kept telling myself I had to find a way to work those different fabrics together:
That center section seemed to be just screaming at me, so I just used the newer fabric blocks:
(Ignore the bottom center blocks-I must have forgotten to remove them before I took the picture). This looked better but was kind of boring-like it went together TOO well. Next up, I swapped out the 4 corner blocks for a different blue, and that’s what I ended up going with:
Now all I need to do is come up with something for the border…
On a more upbeat note, today I was auditioning background fabric for a block on a new leaf quilt (for underneath the green fern on the right) and my heart skipped a beat when I unearthed this luscious variegated violet/magenta fabric:
And while I was there, I snapped this long range shot of part of my sewing room. It is cleaner right now than it has been in a couple of years (how long will it last like this?!)
Fabulous working room – I’m green with envy.
Isn’t it fun to get back to our “roots”, so to speak. Would the blue fabric you bought with the yellow/green fabric, work for your border? Or is that what you used in the corners? I look forward to seeing what you decide.
And your hand-dyes… are absolutely gorgeous, and the violet/magenta, is definitely a WOW!
-Alice
What a wonderful sewing room. I currently sew on my kitchen table. If I have the room you have, I think I would have fabric everywhere. Anyway, you do beautiful work.
I love the leaf blocks. Also especially love all the color in your studio!
Is that leaf block iron-on applique? I think it’s wonderful… would like to make a small wall hanging for Christmas presents.
Please offer the leaf block patterns for sale…they are awesome!!!