Not Quite There . . . .

I'm constantly amazed how fabric laying on a shelf looks one way, then when you cut it up, and sew it back together, it looks totally different! And for some reason, I just don't have the gift of looking at it in it's uncut state, and correctly visualizing what it will look like pieced!

So here's the good news, I love this Root Beer Float block, and it fits together perfectly. I was a little worried about that outer sashing lining up correctly around the black star points, but it does, with no fussing or fudging, what a relief!

And, I think I've come up with the perfect combination for my green block.

But the red block, now that's another matter entirely...

This is what I originally thought I wanted.....but it's just too bold for me, and I like red, I can't image what someone who doesn't like red thinks when they see this block.

After playing with the different pieces I hit on this combination.

The only red fabric that I kept was the center star. All the other combinations looked too bold and overwhelmed the pretty green star block. Which has got me to thinking, maybe I'll just make all the blocks green, maybe this quilt was meant to be green....but you know me and red, I'm not sure I can stick with 9 green star blocks....maybe just one red one, in the middle.

Luckily, I don't have to decide right away, I can just make all the green blocks and go from there, something I'll be working on this weekend.

We're in for a weekend of freezing rain, snow and frigid temperatures, more like February weather than early December weather for these parts, but perfect weather for making a big pot of beef stew, drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace, and sewing.....as long as we don't lose power!! Here's to hoping I have a design wall full of pretty Root Beer Float blocks come Monday morning!

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Lesson Learned . . . .

This is Eventide, a pattern designed by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. The fabric is Luna Notte by 3 Sisters for Moda.

While attending my classes with Carrie this fall, this was one of the many quilts Carrie brought with her, and let me tell you, this is one lovely quilt and a pattern that is on my continually growing To Do list.

What I find most interesting about this pattern, is the red squares set on point and running down each side. I think they add great interest to the quilt, but don't overpower or distract from the small star blocks or secondary pattern of the large stars. Carrie told us that when she was working on this pattern, those red squares were just that, red squares, but she felt the red was too strong, so to tone the color down, she made those squares using plain red fabric and a red print fabric. I thought that was very clever. I would have never thought of using two fabrics, I probably would have just kept looking for that perfect color from one fabric. Luckily for me, now that Carrie has shared this little secret, I don't have to be clever, I just have to remember to give it a try.

And this weekend I did, but not on a quilt.....

This is my snowman Christmas tree, only snowman ornaments or snowman parts (snowflakes and snowballs) adorn this tree. I've been collecting snowman ornaments for at least 14 years, I started with a very small table top tree and look how it's grown. It's a fun tree to decorate and I just love it. Most of the ornaments are gifts from friends and family.

What I didn't love was nothing tying the whole tree together, it was just ornaments hanging on a tree.

This year I bought this snowball garland for the tree, thinking the snowballs would tie the whole concept together,

but the snowballs were distracting, you looked at the garland instead of the ornaments. Remembering how Carrie toned down her red, I toned down my snowballs by mixing in a second garland of smaller snowballs.

And I think that's just what this tree needed! I'm not sure what amazes me more, that I like the looks of two different styles of garland on one tree, or that I actually remembered something from a class that was over 2 months ago!

So is this a lesson that less is more, or more is more, I'm not sure . . . how about a lesson in keep trying until you like what you see.....which is the perfect segue for this....

Here's my Root Beer Float trial block,

the cream fabric on the left was my first choice and did not suit me, the size of and distance between the motifs was too large for the small areas in the block so I'm now thinking about using the fabric on the right. I don't think this is the perfect combination, but I do think I'm getting there.

I do love the star pattern and still think it's a good fit for this fabric, Olde World Style fabric by Monique Dillard for Maywood.

Stay tuned, I'm sure I'm on the brink of something wonderfully lovely, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

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Three Updates . . . .

I'm up to 451 half square triangle units for my Belle Meade project....woo hoo...I'll spare you the basket picture, but with 200 to go, I can already tell I won't be filling that basket. That basket is more like a 1200 hst basket, next time I'll go with a smaller basket, so it feels like I'm making progress, but the numbers don't lie, I am over 3/4th's the way to my goal.

I did my normal end of project sewing room clean-up this weekend and still had a little spare time to finish this.......

my Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery Block of the Month block. I'm just one block behind now. But I was sort of glad I was behind on this project, it was nice to have a little something to work on and with so much going on right now, it's really nice to say I finished something.

Since I'm omitting the blue fabric from this project, I thought my blocks seemed a little heavy on the green. This pattern called for a green tree but I swapped it for the poinsettia print and think it's a good fit for what I've got going.

See what I mean about the green......

My next project is Root Beer Float, I'm hoping to actually make a block or two this week, instead of thinking about making a block or two.....

The pattern is by Hyacinth Quilt Designs.

I'm thinking of going with this size, 3 blocks by 3 blocks.

And I think I've even decided on my fabric combination....

Red stars for the blocks in the corners and center, using this combination of fabric.....

and green stars for the other 4 blocks......

and this fabric for the sashing, And for the cornerstones, definitely 4 patches in some red and green combination. The fabric is Olde World Style fabric by Monique Dillard for Maywood Studio.

So that's what I'm thinking, stay tuned for updates!

Thank you so much for your comments regarding my Mocha Trail flimsy, I like it better already. There's nothing like wrapping up a project, then hearing folks tell you how much they like it, to put it all in perspective! I think you're right, that quilt is a great size, and once it's quilted, it will look great on my red couch.

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Finally Off that Mocha Trail . . . .

It sure feels good to have this project move from my To Do list to my Lifetime Quilt list.

The pattern is Mocha Trail, A Graceful Stitch Quilt Design by Denise Sheehan.

The fabric, all Maison de Garance by French General for Moda.

It took me longer to finish this project than it should have. I like to work on projects that make me want to spend every spare minute in my sewing room. A project that makes me fly through my daily To Do list so I can sew guilt free the rest of the day. If Nicole and I hadn't set a reveal deadline of today, I suspect those borders would not have made it on this quilt today.

Now that it's all done, I am happier with the overall look, but not as happy as I was expecting to be. But that's OK, not every quilt is going to be my favorite quilt.

Before I started this project,

I ordered extra yardage for this border. The dark brown and bright red really appealed to me. But once I started making the star blocks, I realized I needed a different border. One that would work with the light tans.

So I switched to this border.

I get asked about fabric requirements quite a bit, so I'm starting to provide a little fabric information when I wrap up a project.

I started with a fat quarter bundle that had 38 pieces of fabric and the corresponding wovens, I think there were 12 of them. I also added an extra yard of the red floral and dark brown for the 9 patches block, another yard for the containment border and the outer border fabric.

I have a good quantity of fabric left over, 22 fat quarters weren't used at all, and of the ones that were used, there was a good quantity of fabric remaining. I like this fabric so I'm happy I have enough "scraps" to make another project. Looking back on it, using a fat quarter bundle for this project was probably a waste. If you were thinking of making this pattern, you would probably be better off selecting your border fabric first, then just picking out a dozen or so fat quarters that go with the border, and some yardage for the 9 patches block.

Nicole, over at Sister's Choice is the reason I made this quilt. She started on her Mocha Trail sometime last year, but finished it up while I was working on mine. Nicole is revealing her finished Mocha Trail today, go check it out, I'm in love with her choice of fabrics. (click here)

Nancy, Near Philadelphia just finished this pattern also, click here to see her version, another interesting take on this pattern.

This is Lifetime Quilt number 63, finished at 76" x 76", and has approximately 1261 pieces.

So I'm going to do my usual after project sewing room clean-up, pack up my scraps, and then start seriously thinking about my plan of attack for Root Beer Float. I have decided on the fabric, Olde World Style fabric by Monique Dillard for Maywood Studio, but I've yet to come up with the perfect combination of fabrics for those star blocks, something to think about this weekend as I continue to decorate.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, it's such a busy time of year, I hope you're able to take a little bit of time to do what you want to do, instead of a weekend full of nothing but what you have to do.

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Another Quilt Is Home . . . .

As I struggle to finish Mocha Trail, it sure feels good to blog about one of my all time favorite quilts, Madeline's Good Fortune.

I combined two Schnibbles patterns by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company to make this quilt, the center is Good Fortune and the surrounding stars are super sized blocks from Madeline.

I got this quilt back from the quilter in September, but up until this last weekend, I just couldn't get good pictures of the fabulous quilting job on this quilt. A few extra hands and the right sun was all I needed.

The front is all French General, I used Rouenneries and Rural Jardin.

Here's the back, I chose the toile print from Rural Jardin and am happy with how it looks.

The quilting is a custom job with lots of feathers, wreaths, and outlining. I could not be happier with it.

I'm sure an all over feather pattern would have worked, but I plan to use this quilt on my bed, love how this one of a kind top turned out, and decided a custom job was worth the extra cost.

I've even already washed this quilt to bring out its quilty goodness.

The quilt pattern in this border is called Eggs in a Basket, it was new to me but I think it fits the theme and space perfectly.

A couple of folks asked me for some fabric requirements after I finished piecing this top. I've looked through my notes, and for a king size quilt like this, I would estimate you would need 3 1/2 yards for the outer border, 2 3/4 yards of assorted reds, 2 3/4 yards of assorted gray's and 1 1/2 yards assorted background prints.

This quilt finished at 108" X 108" and has approximately 1,084 pieces.

For more information on Madeline's Good Fortune, select Lifetime Quilt # 59, from my Lifetime Quilt list.

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