Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Take An Element "Fly Away With Me" to Mary Jo's

I stopped by Mary Jo's Cloth World in Gastonia NC  on my from my son's place to my daughter's.  My sister had alerted me to this wonderful place.  If you like to actually see and feel your fabric before you buy and want a HUGE selection of options, this is your place,  Be prepared to be overwhelmed.  I would have something specific in mind before your go.  I was shopping for fabric for the Marg Sampson-George pattern TAKE AN ELEMENT "Fly Away With Me".  I first saw this quilt in Quilt Mania and really liked it.  I am using the border idea in my rendition of Aunt Millie, currently a UFO.  I found an Australian Etsy shop that carried the pattern.  Woot!  Woot!  I shy away from pinks and yellows when selecting fabric because I have trouble making them work well in my quilts.  I know you are not supposed to hate a color but I have had bad quilting experiences with them.  This primary palette of this quilt is pink, yellow and turquoise.  Uh oh!...I could switch the palette but I have found that if I like a particular pattern, it is often the color palette as much as the pattern that I desire,  What better time to get the courage to use colors that challenge me.  Maybe I'll learn something in the process.

Meanwhile, back at Mary Jo's........I decided to shop for the backgound fabrics.  The backgrounds are black spots on white,  In the original the center looks darker than the black and white in the border,  Hmmm,  If you look closely at the center blocks you notice the unmatched edges.  I don't think I like that.  I thought about using a Fatback  and appliqueing the center on one piece rather than blocks.  I did not find what I wanted.  Here is what I purchased at Mary Jo's........
This Kim Schaefer fabric I may use in the border.  I had thought briefly about using it in the center, but I thought that the bird cage block would not show well on this fabric at all.    


I've thought about using these two fabrics in the center blocks like a giant Nine Patch so I would not have to concern myself with pattern matching the edges.  Five blocks of the left fabric and four of the right.  The black on the right fabric is actually little squares which mimics the grouping of four little black squares on the right fabric.  I quite like that.  

The combo would look something like above.  This combination would have a light center and darker border.  So I may use this black and white for my center background.  I do like how the darker background focuses the attention on the center applique.



Here is the alternate combo.  I quite like this as well.  Hmmm.  Any thoughts??  I do like how one can use a camera to help make fabric choices,  I seem to being doing more and more of that.  


Saturday, March 26, 2016

Musings

I was reading a book about mythology this morning.  The chapter was discussing the difference between myth and religion and the impact they have on our lives.  My mind veered off course to contemplate important facets of my life.  Quilting is one of them.  Yes, it is a pastime, but it is more.  I went to college and declared government my major for I dreamed of going to law school.  This never happened. Lack of funds, marriage, children, family responsibilities led my life in a different direction.  Decades later I now have the luxury to spend much of my time as I choose sans obligations.   Much of that time is spent in quilting pursuits.  It allows me to be creative and gives my life a purpose and structure.  I have heard of people who have retired and gone back to work because they are bored.  If I get a job in the future it will be because I need the money, not because I am bored.  I am a quilter now.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

March OMG

Blooms for Julie to be continued.

I will be out and about a bunch this month so I have to pick something portable.  I decided my March OMG had to be an applique project.  I thought about selecting a wool project, but my wool projects would be new projects and I committed to working through my UFO's for the OMG.  I am working on the BOM from The Quilt Show called Blooms for Julie.  I have completed the center of the quilt.  I need to work on the applique border.  It would be nice to think I could finish this quilt this month, but my goal is to complete applique border strips.