Wednesday, January 23, 2013

WIP- Finding Works NOT in Progress

I decided to use a lettuce green batik to back my  Color Play of the Day quilt, the ongoing topic of my last several posts.  I also decided on the arrangement for the assembly and will show that, once I have joined the blocks. The adventure of searching through my stash for that backing fabric uncovered several small projects that I intend to finish, a Scarecrow and some Christmas Ornaments.  However, searching through my stash, turned up another work NOT in progress, that maybe never will be.

I unearthed a Halloween wall hanging size quilt that I had started, then buried because I did not like my fabric selections. There is something to be said for having the discipline to finish  projects you just got distracted from.  There is also something to be said for having the courage and decisiveness to realize you really do not like something as much as you once did, and acknowledge you really do not want to finish it.  It is kind of like deciding not to throw good money after bad. Here is the pattern I fell in love with (at some point in the past) but I selected the wrong blues.



Well, how do I recover?  I like the pumpkins' bright orange and royal blue.  


Cute as the cat and witch are in the pattern, they are a lost cause in my creation of them.  The intense blues I picked were too dark to contrast with the blacks.  I also picked blacks with too much of a white distracting pattern in them.

  
I think I will ditch the witch, scat the cat, and banish the bats. I was never a fan of flying rodents, anyway.  Question is, can I salvage the pumpkins as pillows or as a wall hanging of three pumpkins?  Should I save them as blocks in another quilt?  Do I have the guts to just toss them, along with all those blue and black squares I so tediously cut?  Do I donate the project to a guild or is this handing my problem off to some unsuspecting guild member? I also cannot believe I wanted to do all those adjacent itty bitty squares of the "same" color.  Do I want to inflict that on another quilter and lose her as a friend? How do you folks out there deal with your fiascos?

Happily, I also found a UFO that I do like.  Here is my quilt top assembly from the pattern Earth Wind and Fire by Linda Ballard. I deviated from her earth tones in favor of jewel tones and pastels.


I took a class in this pattern from Linda Ballard, mainly for her techniques. The pattern, beautiful in its simplicity, is a combination of the classic Log Cabin and Ohio Star.  She introduced me to the Precision Trimmer 6 which I highly recommend for squaring up the four square, hourglass, and flying geese blocks.  Even though it seems like you are trimming off just whiskers, it really makes block assembly a breeze and seams meet exactly at all the junctions. I now have renewed enthusiasm to finish this one off with backing, quilting, and binding.

By the way, this was the top that I initially bought that extra wide pale batik for and then rejected. I rejected that pale batik for Color Play of the Day, too. I wonder, will I ever use that fabric?

Completed projects:  
  1. Does a project count as complete if you decide to discontinue it?
Ongoing projects:  
  1. Color Play of the Day quilt - awaiting top assembly
  2. Doll quilt - awaiting binding
  3. Grinch quilt - on design wall for assembly and creative sashing solution
  4. Christmas stuffed ornaments
  5. Scarecrow
New projects:  
  1. None
Stats since last WIP 1/16/13:
     Completed  projects - maybe 1?
     New projects - 0 
     Currently in progress - 5


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

1 comment:

  1. I would definitely keep those pumpkin blocks and make a wallhanging or pillows... your granddaughter is sure to love them!!!
    I absolutely LOVE your Earth Wind and Fire quilt!! Everything about it is amazing!!

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