Am I There Yet?
I recently got an idea for a quilt. Nothing particularly innovative, but I had gotten these gorgeous Glacier fabrics from @carylbreyerfallert and I knew I wanted to do something circular with them. I thought about the fabrics for a few weeks but was having trouble figuring out exactly what I wanted to do. One day I got them out and looked at them, and suddenly I knew exactly what I wanted to do. You know that feeling when something just clicks in your brain? I remembered some templates by @Louisa Smith that I had inherited from my excellent mother which I hadn't used in years, and in about 5 mintues I had this sketch in my trusty Quilter's Planner and I couldn't wait to get started.
I started playing with the templates and some quarter circle templates that I had, and frankly was having so much fun that I literally had to pull myself away occasionally to go to the bathroom or feed the dog or MOVE...
I (probably over-shared) posted the piece on Instagram and Facebook as I made progress but I was so excited and pleased with how it was going. I did have some trouble with color placement - too many green/blues and purples and I really wanted to have it as balanced as possible using the colors that I had (turns out I didn't actually have ALL the available colors - wait - WHAT? And yes, of course I thought about getting the rest but I didn't want to wait and so - oh well). But it worked it out, methinks.
I also completely re- made the green circle. It's the only complete circle in the piece and I wanted it to be really well done, which I didn't feel it was (I'll make a pillow out of the leftovers, though so no real loss),
to
and so I felt that I had and it stayed pretty true to the original version, and when I was finished I was so thrilled!
For about 10 minutes.
I shared the finished flimsy, but as I looked at it, I wasn't as thrilled with it as I had been as I was making it and I couldn't figure out why. I mean, I loved it, but but but...dammit, something just wasn't right. I walked away and came back and looked about 25 times. What was it? How could I not be excited about it anymore? I mean, I LOVED it while I was making it...
However, the night I finished it, I let it go, thinking I might just need a break from obsessing over it. I read a book and went to bed at 11:15 or so. Well, I tried. It seems I was hyped up on too much green tea and I couldn't sleep. And just as I was finally drifting off, it came to me what I needed to do. I was relieved and also annoyed because REALLY - why the h-e- double toothpicks didn't I think of that BEFORE I sewed all the blocks together? I told myself that I would work on it in the morning, but 5 minutes later I was in my studio, doing the fix. Yeah, I had to do a LOT of un-sewing and taking apart of blocks, and sure, it was a little hairy sewing them back into the top - so what? It's funny how when you know you are doing the right thing, you don't even mind picking stitches until your eyes cross! I worked on it until 4:00 am, but as I went to bed (caffeine finally worn off) I had no regrets - now I felt it was finally right.
Below is a picture of the second finish. I think it really made a huge difference in the quality of the piece. There may be some who liked it better before, but to me it looked incomplete and too Pac-Man -ish!
Now I really truly LOVE LOVE LOVE it! What do YOU think? Please do share your opinion, but know this - it surely AIN'T goin' back to the way it was. My craziness has its limits (I think.)
Anyway, I'm already quilting it, which is proving to be a little adventure in itself as well, so it can't. But more on that next time.
I really don't have a good name for it - I was thinking Moon Pies just because I don't eat much sugar or crap anymore I sometimes miss it, or Moons of Jupiter? Pearl Drops? (Ugh - no) Other, better suggestions are welcome...
