Wednesday, December 22, 2010

It's the Eve of the Eve of Christmas Eve!!!


Hey, I know it's the holidays, and you folks are busy with your own lives, but I can't believe one person couldn't take the time to explain to me the consequences of having delicious, light, buttery cookies sitting on the counter..........



They call your name, and you think, "hmmmm those cookies sure look good", I think I'll have just one"...... The next thing you know, there's nothing but crumbs on your cookie plate. I have 8 cookies left and I'm hiding those, in a container that is not clear glass, until my daughter gets home for Christmas. She can have two, I'll have two, my husband can have two, and that leaves 2 for Santa. I'm hoping that if those cookies start calling my name before Christmas Eve, I won't hear them!!

Looking for a last minute gift idea? How about fresh flowers? We received this beautiful holiday flower arrangement a few days ago. Fresh flowers don't immediately come to my mind when decorating for Christmas, but I just love having something beautiful and blooming, it adds such a nice touch to my regular decorations.


Where we live, there's nothing blooming outside, and the only green, the evergreens, covered with snow, so having something blooming inside is wonderful change of pace.

Are you in the mood for a Root Beer Float update.....

Well, I liked the the star blocks so much I decided to go with 4 rows of 4 blocks instead of the 3 by 3 that was my original plan.

And I kept a few red stars in the mix,

and tried to put them in the quilt in a random manner...yes that's my best random effort, I'm not really a random person, then I hit on this...

And said, "Hallelujah" (maybe I need to scale back on the Christmas music). So I sewed those blocks together before I could change my mind.

There was nothing but smiles all around my house, I was loving that center, all I needed to do was add my containment border and outer border, and I would have one more quilt on my Lifetime Quilt List and one less on my To Do List. What a way to wrap up the year.

This was the fabric I bought for the border, it's beautiful fabric, and when I cut it just right, it forms it's own containment border.

It looked so good in my head, but I think it overpowers the center, I think the black is too stark, too bold, too something not quite right......

That fabric also comes in red, which is even lovelier,



but not a good fit with what I've already done.

I could go with one of these,


The green is pretty but adds nothing to the overall look, the black could work, it's less bold than the other black but I don't think it adds anything either.....

I think I may be done....


I'm thinking this may be Lifetime Quilt Number 65, just like this.....

What do you think, does this quilt look done to you?

32 comments:

  1. I am no help with the cookies...if I can see them, I'm eating them...LOL! Just a thought, what about a small red inner border, that may make the red stars and the red in the post blocks really pop and then a very plain green or black outer border? I can see it in my head, but just not sure. It's a very pretty quilt!

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  2. I think you should put a jelly roll in your pretty glass container!

    I like Carol's idea of a small red inner border - maybe 1" and then a plain green border. I like it the way it is too!

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  3. I have the same problem with cookies...or cake...or choclate ...!

    Love the sashing you have put between the star blocks. Might I echo the thin red border that Carol suggested?

    Merry Christmas
    Chris x

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  4. I agree with the other comments if you're binding in green. Or I'd leave it the way it is with red binding. It really came out beautiful!

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  5. I think it's done. I like the idea of a jelly roll in your jar too. I love that little jar. Looked it up on PB, but decided it isn't mine this year.

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  6. My thoughts: I like it the way it is - finish with a striking binding; I also like the idea of a small inner red border; an outer border that's not as busy a print?; when you're auditioning your border, remember once it goes all the way around it looks different (may not be as overpowering). I know you'll come up with the perfect solution!! Merry Christmas!

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  7. Yes, I think the quilt looks done! And fabulous as usual. I love the layout you chose.

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  8. I think it's lovely just as it is. Sometimes borders just detract from the quilt. It looks perfect now.

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  9. A very beautiful done!! Make more cookies, enjoy the holidays then banish the cookies until next year!

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  10. I love the quilt just like it is! I think the red stars really add punch to this quilt. It's gorgeous.

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  11. I like it just as it is, too (assuming it is big enough for your purpose). The sashing and cornerstone fabric was an inspired choice and it really doesn't need more from a design standpoint.

    Merry Christmas!

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  12. I think that it looks fabulous as is. I agree...the other borders are a bit busy...and with the fabulous fussy cutting that you've done for the cornerstones and sashing...you want that to shine.

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  13. Oh, it is definitely done! Perfect with no borders!

    Go ahead and send all your border rejects my way; I'll put them to good use!

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  14. I like the green--maybe with a narrow (1/2-1") red border (or perhaps no narrow border) and perhaps a black binding (I'd have to see it). I would walk away from it for a couple weeks (to clear your mind of the colors) then look again. And I would think about the size I want/need it to be. I hope your cookies are properly muffled--I would hear them call my name..no matter where they're hidden (either that or I'd forget where I put them!) Merry Christmas!

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  15. The quilt looks fabulous! I like it as is. And I'd love to see some red binding on it. Quilts don't always need two borders, that's just a modern myth! Merry Christmas Eve!

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  16. Yummy buttery cookies GONE! I'm stunned!!! LOL
    They would be ALL gone in my house. :-)

    I think your beautiful quilt is DONE! Binding in red would be a real popper so if you want to keep it subtle then a binding in green is a good idea.

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  17. Your quilt is beautiful. It looks done to me, too. Sorry I didn't warn you about cookies left out. I had to hide all mine in the freezer in the garage or my jar would be empty, too.

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  18. I'm trying not to read all the previous comments. It is beautiful as is...and we are looking from a photo so not the same view that you have...but I would preview a few more options. I wonder about a small inner border of red with your green or black fabrics and red binding.

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  19. I like your quilt as it is. The borders seem to take away from it. You might try using stripe cut on the bias for the binding.
    The quilt is beautiful by the way. Love the white presents with the red and white striped ribbons!

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  20. Now I actually liked the black border but I also like everyone's suggestion to add a small red border around first and then could see adding either the black or the green outer border.

    But I will also agree that what looks good in a picture might not have the same impact in person so we leave it up to you to choose what makes you happy!

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  21. I'd say go with a skinny red border no more than 1" or 1-1/2" inner border than try the black or the green.

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  22. I love the black for the border! Your arrangment of the red blocks is perfect! I took that same approach with my blue blocks in the Mocha Trails quilt. Monique's fabric is so gorgeous. I love the print that surrounds each block. So creative.

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  23. Personally, I prefer the first border you chose.

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  24. Thelma, I agree that the beautiful border fabrics you tried all pull the eye away from the center of the quilt, which they are supposed to showcase. I'm not great at this stuff but I think a small, soft border or just a lovely binding will do the 'showcasing' of your star blocks beautifully. I wouldn't use anything that stole their thunder either. They are just too darned pretty to not be the focus of the quilt. I did a BOM 2 years ago, it was a sampler done in purples, greens, yellows and whites and the blocks were beautiful. A dozen 12 1/2" blocks a few made with 60 pieces the rest, all between 80 and 100 pieces and they really are lovely blocks. I added the sashings and BOOM...they looked terrific. Then I chose a flowery border containing all the colors used in the quilt. I knew it was just 'off' somehow but being a new quilter, just a little over a year at it, I couldn't figure it out and of course the long arm quilter I took it too told me not to worry, nothing was wrong with it so I listened to her and let her go ahead and quilt it. BIG mistake. I finally sent a photo tomy sis in law who is a prize winning long arm quilter in Oregon. I told her to be brutally honest and she was...in a very kind way. She told me that instead of showcasing the beautiful blocks, the border fabric pulled all your attention away from them. I honestly considered unpicking all the expensive quilting I had paid for and redoing the borders but decided to chalk it up to lessons learned. A small soft tone on tone or even solid border would have done the job in a wonderful way. You know...that begs the question, why can't people be honest with us when we really want an honest opinion before things are quilted. It would have been so easy to pull the border off and redo it. Now I send my sis in law photos of everything before I finish them and get her opinion if I'm not feeling good about it. Hugs...

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  25. That's a very pretty quilt, but I think it needs a small, simple border(maybe the same width as the sashing or just a little wider?) with the green tone on tone that you show as a containment border in two of the photos. It compliments but does not take away from the pieced blocks. The others seem too busy and I think there is enough red to add sparkle to the quilt already. For binding, the same green or maybe the black in the star points would be nice. Not the popular opinion, but my honest opinion, for whatever that's worth!

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  26. My thought is that it looks quite finished with no border, but I am of the school of thought that quilts don't have to have borders. The green print made the overall look too "cool", and the red was just ok for me. I agree that the black overpowered the center. Now you just have to find something else to make to use those great fabrics in!

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  27. yes ... yes, it does

    and now i'm gonna go eat a cookie

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  28. I like the second to last picture. The one with the small green tone-on-tone inner border and then the black and white scrolly/viney for the outer border.

    As for the cookies....now I want to make some myself. Tonight we're making fudge and those pretzel/M&M/Hershey Kiss things. I have no idea what they're called, but we love them. Maybe tomorrow I'll make some cookies. Just because.

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  29. I think the border print in the first picture would work if you first added a small border of either the red from the blocks or the green shown in the second and third photos, or another option would be to add a small border of the black print in the star points and then a larger border of the green and white floral/scroll print shown in the third picture. I agree that you could also just leave it the way it is too. I will be anxious to see what you decide.

    valekort@yahoo.com

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  30. I actually like the red border fabric; it ties in those red stars.

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  31. What a beautiful quilt. I think the red stars are just the right touch!!! I have not quilted in a few years but maybe this year I will Thanks so much for sharing your pictures. Dianntha Merry Christmas.

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  32. Thelma, what a beautiful quilt. I love how you've done the sashing and cornerstone pieces. No matter what you decide it will be wonderful. You can't ruin this quilt its too pretty! You've got me hooked on this fabric line. Just trying to find the perfect fit for it! Can't wait to see what you decide.

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