Ugly Duckling

Tags

border, Clamshells, English Paper Piecing, fabric, hand stitch, Kaffe Fasset, patchwork, quilt, quilting

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

Remember this?  I have just completed the last and final clamshell!  And still I am not sure how I feel about this quilt.  I love the clamshells, and I love the strong bright colours … but so many colours with no order is challenging for me.

So, moving right along now to choosing whether to put on a border or not, and if yes, what border.  I would feel more comfortable with a strong solid colour which would anchor the whole quilt, but this fabric tweaked my interest when browsing my stash.  I have had it laid out on the floor for a few hours now to test drive it.  It reads pretty much as a solid from across the room, and the colour is replicated throughout the quilt body so it ties in very well.  Call it silly, but I like that the border fabric has large elegant swans in its design …. so incongruous on this ugly duckling quilt.

Can you see the swans?  I apologise for the lack of quality in the photographs.  And, yes, my husband has pointed out the the clamshells are upside down!  Maybe the next clamshell I make will be upside down like fish scales … in blue, green, aqua, turquoise, purple, lilac.  I will call it “Mermaid”.

I am doing a Kaffe Fasset workshop on using colours in a couple of weeks. Maybe I should wait until I have learnt some theory and have gleaned lots of hints from the colour maestro before making final choices??

I would very much appreciate any suggestions/advice/comments?

Hope you are all having a great week.

Jacqueline

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Tags

chintz, Collection Den Haan and Wagenmakers, Dutch chintz, English Paper Piecing, Les Mottes, Les Oiseaux, Les Petits Bouquets, patchwork, quilt

Hello there!  I do have a pretty good excuse for not writing for such a long time ….

I have just returned from an amazing holiday, the longest that I have ever had!  It included a 31 night cruise around South America, from Los Angeles to Rio de Janiero.  Of all the wonderful things about a cruise, and there is just so much to enjoy no matter what your preferences might be, I love the fact that I can take a couple of hours on each sea day to sit and stitch with the luxury of beautiful views to glance up at.

Here is the evidence of my diligence ….

Proof of my diligence!

I had so many lovely conversations with passers who were kind enough to show an interest in what I was doing.  I suspect I may have become known as the “stitching lady”, and referred to with a wink and a tap to the side of the nose!

I have had fun playing with EPP patterns and mixing it up with my chintzes.  I wish now that I had started with a more definite vision, but I will try to take things as they come and enjoy what develops.  I will probably take more care with the colour and pattern choices going forward, but have to admit that experimentation provides a great learning experience.  I am looking forward to playing some more! I am thinking of making up a sort of spot motif sampler quilt on a natural linen coloured background and using one or two of the luscious chintz borders.  Funnily enough though, I do not have as much time now that I am back into the daily grind.  Must start planning my next holiday ….

My homecoming was made somewhat easier by two things though – lots of luscious new fabrics for the store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/Motifsbyhand?ref=si_shop) including:

And, best of all, I will be seeing my daughter and grandchildren over the upcoming Australia Day long weekend! Yay!!

Thank you for visiting.  One of my resolutions for 2014 is to be a better blogger.  And … please …. any suggestions for making up my EPP into a stunning quilt will be gratefully accepted.

See y’all soon.

Jacqueline

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