Saturday, March 14, 2009

Learning...

Well, I've had an interesting time of it. And, yes, before you say anything, I must admit...I succumbed to the temptation of working on a project BEFORE I had my mess all sorted out and put away. I am ashamed of myself. Well, I'm not really. Sounded good, though...hey?

So. YES! I started working on my Crazy Nine Patch quilt. Remind me later to show you where I got the pattern from. I started with 9 colors...complements and neutrals. Blue/orange, red/green, purple/gold, a poison green and a batik and then the tan/white neutral. I put the blocks all together...here's one for you to see. (Remember the pincushion? It was made with 2 leftover blocks)


Not real thrilled with how the middle row looks, but not gonna worry about it. I'm making this (remember?) for the practice and relaxation and just for me. Probably the dogs will lay on it on the sofa. Because of the way they're put together, no two blocks are alike. That made it challenging to place them, for sure. And, also, because of the way they're made up, matching seams was not gonna happen.

I had intended on using white for the sashing and inner border...saw some white with gray and thought that might work. So, I sewed columns of blocks/sashing and added one long sash between two columns. I stood back and looked at it and said, "huh." Didn't do anything for me.

How about you?

I couldn't figure out why it didn't look good to me...my mind said it should. Remember...I really am not good with colors. But, something was not making me smile. I left it overnight and when I looked at it in the morning...I thought..."hmmmm. It looks cold."

After work yesterday, I covered up the white with the brown I had originally planned to use (yes, I know. The design is not all right side up...I was just going for the color...will sew it all on correctly).

And then...I SMILED!

I ripped out all the seams last night. I am ready to sew the brown sashing on...will show photos later today. It's all a learning process for me. I'm hoping that I'll develop a color sense as I go along.

Have a great weekend!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, Now it looks great. Too much contrast with the white. Have fun learning! How big is it?
Love, Julie

Joanne said...

Jacque - you are doing a great job - just relax with it and go with your instincts on color - Love the crazy 9 patch - Can't wait to see more - me thinks you are going to produce some wonderful quilts!

WoolenSails said...

I agree, the white was too stark. I tend to use blacks and dark browns for sashing and borders. I love darker background against the colors. I love wonky quilts, they are fun to make and goof proof;)

Debbie

jane augenstein said...

I too like the darker; it looks good!!! :-)

Jacque. said...

Thanks, girls!! I appreciate your comments...especially when you like what I've done! HA!

I have no idea how big I'll make this...probably crib size. That size makes a good lap quilt (and that's the size batting I have). The blocks are 8" and the sashing 2"...there'll be 3 blocks across and 4 down. So, I guess it really depends on how big I make the border...right?

Anonymous said...

Oh my, the white did NOTHING for me either and immediately upon seeing the brown, I relaxed, was much easier to look at, easier on the eyes.
Great job there kiddo. Can't wait to see the finished product.
Joyce