Ongoing Quilt Projects, Continued from the "No Appreciation...." Thread

[speckledhen]

Well, after sleeping on it, I'm not sure about the red. Yes, it looks okay, but when I see that quilt so far, I think "soothing" and the red is like hitting a minor speed bump, in a way. You mentioned rust and that got me thinking that a light rust tone or a different green is the way to go. I have few greens in this color family. I'm not sure I could get enough 2.5" strips to even go around out of this one, but maybe... I almost decided on the very dark green I bought, but when I took another photo, it showed that it had too much of a blue tone to it. Amazing what a photo will show that your eyes miss, isn't it?

This has a pattern, yes, but a small, overall one. And I may not even be able to get enough strips from it anyway, but still searching and testing things.

The closest I have to a rust in enough quantity is this dark rusty-harvest orange color, but it has a gold (not metallic) swirl in it so even if the color isn't terrible, maybe too much busyness, maybe too much orange, not enough rust.

 

[fisherlady]

Do you have anything in a soft lime sort of color? Or a pastel shade of green rather than a 'hard' shade? And I agree, the rusty orange is a bit to much to the orange.

 

[speckledhen]

Do you have anything in a soft lime sort of color? Or a pastel shade of green rather than a 'hard' shade? And I agree, the rusty orange is a bit to much to the orange.

Well, I have a couple of spring to lime green pieces, but nothing enough to cut strips. I did cut strips from the green I showed you and put them around the block. I've had that fabric for ages and I can use them in other quilts if I don't use them in this one. And I also put one of each of the lighter greens I have on it that you mentioned. I have more greens, but they have larger patterns, not suitable for this situation at all.
ETA: So far, the one I cut this a.m. seems the best choice, though it's darker, it looks country, has some gold and red in it in tiny amounts and is at least in the same shade family, no blue in it that I can see.

And I have these two fat quarters, or so they call them. I think they're skimpy, to tell the truth. But, they are too deep/bright anyway, IMO. Sorry, my camera is acting up.

 

[fisherlady]

I agree that your top picture is the best choice of your greens. It looks much more in the right tone.

 

[speckledhen]

I agree that your top picture is the best choice of your greens. It looks much more in the right tone.

Thanks, I think so, too. And it saves that gorgeous dark red for something else!

I actually went back to Thousands of Bolts and found they had quite a few patterned 108" or 110" quilt backs on sale for just $7.95/yd. I picked out one, I mean, that's a superb price, and put two yards in the cart of a nice rust colored one with some swirls/flourishes and chose a few more. Then, when I went to check out, it keep giving me the wrong shipping price. Up to 9 yards, it's $6.95 for shipping. Quilt backs count as 2 yards for every one yard due to the extra width. So, even with that, I only had 8 yards and they still bumped me up into the $10.95 shipping category. I kept trying to make it work right, it never would, and I became pretty irritated. I'd have to call them to gripe, but I just left the site. I've never had that issue with them in the past. Probably a glitch, but I'm not paying that shipping when it's plain wrong per their site information.

 

[fisherlady]

Get a screen shot of their page that explains shipping, so when you speak to them you have it as proof if they try to double talk...I don't blame you for refusing to put up with it.

 

[speckledhen]

Get a screen shot of their page that explains shipping, so when you speak to them you have it as proof if they try to double talk...I don't blame you for refusing to put up with it.

I tried it again, thinking maybe it was just a glitch, but nope. Now, what am I missing? This is what is in my cart (I removed some stuff after I found that the wide quilt backs were double shipping). If you say 2 yards of the quilt backs = 4 yards, then add the other yardage, you get 9 yards, unless my brain is completely fried.

This is my shipping calculation for the order:

AND, my order.

 

[speckledhen]

So many quilts, so little time (and my back is screaming!) As soon as the 14" blocks are actually sewn to the center (they are sewn to each other but not to the center yet), I have to make yet another border decision.
I was going to do those 9" blocks after that next border, but I may just do a checkerboard border then a final narrow one and call the top done. It will be larger than I wanted to go if I don't do that.
View attachment 1235159

 

[fisherlady]

I'm not really sure what to do, but it is almost like two different quilts I'm trying to smash together now. I probably don't have enough of the fabrics to make more than one or two extra of that particular surrounding 14" block so if I add another border, I'm up a creek again. Maybe I should make another center block and avoid the cool stuff or find another border block, a smaller one using another cool-ish cream fabric. I do have one. Then, use the Acanthus blocks in another way.

Here is a quilt using the Acanthus blocks alternating with Spring Bloomers blocks. 12 of the Acanthus, which I'll have, and 13 of the other, which I have to look up.
Well, it's not working. Let me save the pic, then post.

Can you Do a border similar to this one? Would that work?

 

[speckledhen]

Can you Do a border similar to this one? Would that work?

I probably could, I do like that block-it was an alternative to the one I did use-but I'd rather make it simpler. And that large block would make the quilt larger than I want it to be. Plus, this was sort of an unexpected quilt anyway. It was the other one I wanted to do, LOL. I shift gears a lot, don't I? I have a purple and green one I want to do and one in deeper fall colors and....and....and... ACK!

I keep wondering why I am even making quilts that no one wants to buy. Oh, they'd buy them, for prices like I grabbed old shirts from the rag bag and ran them through the machine really quick, prices from the 70's. I'd truly rather give them away than sell them for ridiculous prices that don't even cover the cost of my fabric, you know?