My most recent finish was the block of the month from Sew Incredibly Crazy and Friends... A Time For All Seasons.
I had a layout but I was in a quandary about how to finish it... sashing strips or not??? Seasonal fabrics? Just a neutral fabric? Checkerboard?
And then I was in the shower thinking of what I might do in the studio when I got out... and an idea hit me!
I had a batik charm pack and there was just enough to be able to make sashing strips and make it a gradual transition in colors to the next row...
You may notice that some how I managed to get a few out of order... Ooops!
The purple, orange and green on the left got mixed up, but I put them in their proper places before it was quilted.
Life (well, house projects actually) got busy and crazy with a need to (my husband's need) paint the master bedroom...
But in between needing my help, I did find some celebratory fabric (in my stash) that featured balloons. I thought it would great! Despite auditioning the fabric as a border... when I had a 4" border on the top, I hated it! **Ugh**
I did my "go-to, no-brainer" free-motion loops for the quilting and fell in love with it even more with every loop completed as I grew closer to it being completed.
I had thought (several months ago) "what fun to use seasonal fabrics as the binding." I pulled out scraps from the many seasonal scrub tops that I made my daughter and found all that I needed.
I had snow flakes, hearts, shamrocks and more!
And then I called one of my besties who has a skillful eye and a love for photography.
It was a COLD snow covered morning but we bravely headed to the public library and she snapped away!
Just look at some of the shots she captured!
This one is my absolute favorite 💓
We had such fun driving all over town looking for brightly colored/playful back drops... It was nearly as fun as all the random thoughts and memories I recalled when making the blocks!
Thoughts of conversation hearts for Valentines day, the shenanigans that my hubby and his brothers pull when together and topsy turvey Easter baskets when our girls were little... the poignant memories of pinwheels at the Alzheimer walks in honor of my Dad, fun in the sun as we camped at the Great Sand Dunes... and so many more!
Dave and I enjoyed a few nights of sleep under this beauty since we slept in the guest room while we had our room torn apart. She is well broken in and I can attest to her warmth and comfort. 😉
What do you do when you are less than thrilled with the look of a border that you think "would be perfect", but isn't?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear your tips and suggestions.
Quilt Happy!
Melva
Have you grabbed your copy of the first block in the Pieces From The Past sew along?
Linking with:Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework
Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy
UFO Busting at Tish’s Wonderland
BOMS Away at Katie Mae Quilts
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Creative Compulsions at Bijou Bead Boutique
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Creative Compulsions at Bijou Bead Boutique
I use the loopy quilting as my fallback pattern. It's my version of stippling as I don't care for the stipple pattern. I've used those loops on many charity quilts.
ReplyDeleteThe batik charm pack is the perfect choice. I love the way it frames the blocks. Love, love LOVE the pics, especially the one where the statue is wrapped in it, so fun. Congratulations on a lovely finish.
ReplyDeleteI like the batik sashing you used and the arrangement of graduating color. I have fabric of barns with the barn quilt blocks on them and between each block I made appropriate blocks; BUT it isn't blending the way I wanted it to. I think using the right color (a variety of colors) may just be the answer! Thanks. Linda Waldren
ReplyDeleteWhat a great finish! And a smart way to pull all those blocks into a cohesive quilt. Love the outtake shots!
ReplyDeleteLove the way you finished off this quilt - the charm pack was perfect and definitely pulled the whole quilt together!! On borders that don't look like the picture in my head...if they are better, they stay; if they make the quilt sad, off the go and back to the graph paper for me!! I won't leave a yucky border on a quilt just to have it done. I have way too much invested in the creation of a quilt to take the easy way out and make the whole thing look like crap.
ReplyDeleteHi Melva! I adore every single bit of this quilt. And oh what fun you two had taking photos - and photos of the photo taking. Great call cutting down the balloons and adding the pretty blue border. I am enjoying the quilting photo as well - I always take inspiration from how others chose to quilt their tops. Lovely finish. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteThe sashing strips were the perfect addition - great quilt!
ReplyDeleteLove this post; the quilt, the shower moment (can relate to that) and the photography session. Looks like so much fun, especially draping it on the statue. She looks like a hot water bottle might be in order also!
ReplyDeleteLove the finish for this! The graduated sashing is wonderful. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is beautiful and I love the photos. BTW, I have some of the best ideas in the shower, lol. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely quilt! Filled with so many memories and beautiful too! Your friend did an awesome job with the photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up to Creative Compulsions!
Michelle
http://mybijoulifeonline.com