Looking back is definitely not a good thing this week. I got thru lots (as in I don't know the number) of blocks on the quilt for my grandson's High School graduation. At that point I was half excited, half worried about what it would look on the design wall.
This is what it looked like.
I put the blocks on the design wall but stopped because it didn't look so good. My husband's much better at color than I am and helps me out a lot on designing my quilts. The next day when he got home from work I asked him to come take a look at it. He walked in the room, glanced at it and said, "It's awful."
"That's what I thought," I said glumly.
It's true. I looked at the original pattern and it worked because it was all shades of one color. Mine had three main colors.
Doomed! Doomed I was! Right from the beginning!
After I went to my bedroom and cried a little, and stared out the window a little, I decided to get on with my life.
The dreadful story is here, here and here.
I've switched to a pattern that I've made twice before. I know it's easy to cut out and easy to make, and quick too. This is a good thing since I've already wasted over a month on the other quilt. The good news is that I can combine the "little" bird pieces from the other one and arrange them into a large hexie. I figure I'll just applique them on some fabric and voila!
The new quilt is this:
The pattern is Gumballs by Debbie Luttrell, who owns Stitcin' Heaven. It calls for 10 different batiks in 1-5/8 yd cuts. The secret to this is to get them all in one color family. I made this one for my TGS. I loved it so much I made one for me too!
Firstest's favorite color is orange, and has been since he was knee high to a grasshopper. So, orange it is!
Okay, doke:
Looking Forward
Firstest's Graduation Quilt:
I had a heck of a time finding 10 different orange batik fabrics. I went to every quilt store in the county, except for Joanns. I ended up with six cuts. I found large orange batik scraps and some yardage and added it in. When it came time to assemble blocks, there just wasn't enough variety. I went ahead and bought some from Etsy and some from Ebay. Now the fabric may not be here until next week, so I don't know when I can work on the quilt.
1. My conservative goal is to get the yardage package(s) out of the mailbox, open them up and iron the fabric.
Chip's One-Year Birthday Quilt
2. I have the fabric ready and already have the pattern. Since I'll be free most of the next week, my goal will be to cut out the pieces.
That's it for me. I'm a little relieved because I have made the patterns for both Chip and his older brother, Firstest. I think it will be fun from here on out!
Nyd din dag! (Danish for "See You Later!")
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Picture of train wreck attribution: http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/
Oh, I feel for you! Sometimes best-laid plans go awry. I made Gumballs with a combo of orange-to-yellow batiks and it worked pretty well. Can't go wrong with block placement on that one!
ReplyDeleteAs quilters I think we all have had a train wreck of a project. I look forward to see the orange version.
ReplyDeleteI love the new pattern. Looks great in blues... I love orange, so I'll bet it looks great in orange, too.
ReplyDeleteHugs
I looked back at your previous posts for Looking Back and I really liked it. But I understand that what looks good in a small piece can change when it gets bigger. I like the new one too. Good luck finding all your oranges. I've never really looked for orange batiks, but orange in general is a little hard to find. There are some quilt stores around here that specialize in batiks. Maybe you can find a store like that around you.
ReplyDeleteSuch a bummer when a quilt doesn't go the way we expect. And we've spent so much time on it. My advice - let it go, and move on.
ReplyDeleteAah, the train wreck project...I know I've had one or two of those! :) I'm glad you found a pattern you like and will enjoy making again. Those blues are pretty, and I think it will be gorgeous in orange!
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you. :( hate it when a plan doesn't come together.
ReplyDeleteThose blues! Beautiful quilt! Train wrecks are inevitable when it comes to quilts! It just happens. You did the right thing and moved on to something that works for you and looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd pop over and see what was going on on your blog. A train wreck, huh?! Well, as Jayne said, it's best to just cut bait and move on. You wouldn't be happy giving it to him - it would bother you forever. Now I can see that quilt in all different shades of orange! That will be so beautiful - the blue one sure is. Thank you again for your sweet offer. That is so kind of you. ~smile~ Roseanne
I have train wrecks too, and a friend bought me a tool that really helped me. If you google "color evaluator" you can read about them. Two sheets of plastic - one red and one green. If you put an assortment of fabrics under one of the plastic pieces, it reveals the "value".....lightness or darkness of the fabric - irregardless of the color of the fabric. It has helped me choose fabrics that contrast in the way I want them to. Thanks for linking with Design Wall Mondays, I enjoy your posts, Judy
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