Well, I Don't Know....

Here's my Bramble Blooms so far.  The birds are not appliqued yet because I'm still adjusting the placement of the larger bird.  I think the birds' color is okay but I wish I had a print fabric in a similar shade/tone to give a little more interest and depth.  (Or maybe the bird should be grey?)

I don't know....  I never know about fabric choices until things are stitched down, at which point it's a little late to make changes (unless I want to devote hours and hours to unstitching and restitching again). 

At first I thought about green pickets but when I got ready to sew them, they just seemed wrong.  So I went with the cream/tan/pink print ones.

I'm looking at this as a learning experience.  If I were to remake this quilt, what changes and improvements would I make?

If I make another version/variation, how would it be different?  Would I change colors, or motifs, or placements?

I'm learning how unbrave (cowardly?) I am with color.  I tend to go for "safe" colors.  Maybe that makes for a boring quilt?

In the photos above, the lighter browns in the middle photo are more accurate to the in-person browns.

As always, I'm thrilled to read your comments, thoughts, and observations about this part of Bramble Blooms (or any other quilts I'm working on and post about).  I always appreciate that readers see and notice things I don't.  Thank you.

It shouldn't take me long to stitch the birds when I finally begin.  At least I'm mostly caught up for the next prompt when Audrey posts about it in coming weeks.

Two weeks ago it seemed like spring was coming along nicely, and then that Friday we had a wonderful snowstorm.  It took a few days to melt and we had spring weather again. This morning I awoke to several inches of snow.  Even with the snows, it seems like Phil's prediction of an early spring might be more accurate than not.  The prediction for several days next week is in the 60s and for 71 degrees on March 4. 

I hope you're having a good weekend!
--Nancy.

Backing Fabric

It sometimes happens that what looks perfect online might not look exactly the same in person. Take, for example, this fabric.

It is Madison Square, by Paula Barnes for Marcus Fabrics.  I bought it online at Whittle's.  (Gosh, they are a fast, efficient company.  I ordered it on a Saturday night and it was in my hands 3 or 4 days later.  No affiliation, just a happy customer.)

In person this fabric's colors are somewhere between the two photos above.  I'm never sure what to expect when I buy fabric online so I remind myself that the fabric will probably work for its intended quilt but might not be perfect.  (But heck, who needs perfection, anyway?  And is there really ever perfection when human hands create something?  There's so much more character and interest with imperfection, right?)

I bought six yards of this fabric.  It will become the back for this quilt, Cheddarback.

The original quilt and quilt pattern are called Cheddarback because the fabric on the back of the original is a solid cheddar color.  I never envisioned using that color for the back of this quilt.  It was simply the name given to the original by Gay Bomers of Sentimental Stitches who hosted a quilt-along almost two years ago.

When I saw the Madison Square fabric it almost shouted at me, "Use me for Cheddarback!  I belong on her."  (Does that ever happen to you, that a fabric tells you it wants to be used for a particular quilt?)  To me it has an old-fashioned look that seems to fit the quilt.  I think the fabric will be okay.  There's enough brown in the quilt that the brown in the backing fabric won't stand out as odd.  And the red flowers will work because of all the red in the quilt.

How to quilt it?  In the original it looks like the blocks are quilted on the diagonal at about 1½" apart and the sashing is quilted the same distance apart but in the opposite direction.  The quilter made sure the quilting lines met where a large block meets the sashing, but sometimes the sashing lines are not 45-degree angles.  The quilter adjusted the quilting so the lines could meet.  You can see detailed photos of the original here, and below is Gay giving a tour of the quilt and showing some of its features.  You'll see that the quilter must not have used masking tape to mark the quilting lines because some of them are slightly curved. 

I may change my mind about how to quilt it once it's in the hoop.  We'll see.

This will be my One Monthly Goal for September:

• wash, cut, sew, and press the seam for backing 
• layer the backing, batting, and quilt top, the pin baste, and 
• begin quilting

I'm linking this post to the One Monthly Goal September Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thank you for organizing and hosting, Patty.

--Nancy.

Buying Fabric Online?

I've never bought fabric online before and I have some questions.  Can you please share your experiences?

• Have you found that the colors shown online are true to the colors of the fabrics when you receive them?
• How can you tell the quality and feel of the fabric?
• Is one company better than another?
• Have you been satisfied buying fabric online?
• What other questions should I ask but haven't and what else do I need to know?

I'm linking this post to Really Random Thursday at Live a Colorful Life.

Thanks for any help you can offer.  I appreciate it.

--Nancy.


P.S.   Images above were screenshots made on April 3, 2014.  The first is from Connecting Threads, the second from Creating Keepsakes.
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