I knuckled down and finally sewed the borders on to Scrappy Tulips. It's not like it was difficult per se, but getting into the quilt room lately has been a chore. Every spare minute finds me curled up on the couch wrestling with an altogether different quilt. All the other projects seem to be very back burner at the moment!
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| Adding on the last border |
This quilt is one that I absolutely love and yet, I am concerned that the center blue just gets duller and duller the more color that gets added to the quilt. It's not
quite as dull as the picture tries to make it out to be and so I cringe a little to show my pictures. But it is a problem. {Sort of.}
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| Scrappy Tulips |
If I want to make it one. And I honestly don't. Because who cares if it's not exactly perfect? I've decided this one will be an '
As Is' quilt. Like a skirt we buy on clearance missing the jacket it supposedly came with. We don't care because we love it anyway, never saw the original jacket and so don't really know what we're missing. And as this all came directly from my scrap bin or my totes of fabric stash? Well, no extra money spent = proud frugal quilter bennies, right? lol
I just have this vague idea that Scrappy Tulips could have been a magnificent quilt if only. Maybe some big stitching {later on} will add back in the little something I feel it's missing. And if not, I'm not too proud to finish it just the way it is. I look at what's been accomplished here and think, 'okay, it still has that make-do, scrappy, vintage-type look I'm trying to understand and get more comfortable with.' Everything is a journey. An opportunity to learn. I won't be making that magnificent quilt some day in the future if I'm not willing to make a few mistakes along the way to getting there.....
I like the colours you have used on this. It may be duller in the photos, but it reads to me as scrappy, and yet somehow restful. Maybe thats not what you were aiming at, but I would display this one with pride.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! Love all those scraps!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is only about the process, not the end result.
ReplyDeleteCrazy woman ! It turned out lovely.
ReplyDeleteYour analogy is so perfect. We've all bought that skirt with the missing jacket!! This is going to be wonderful and quirky just as it is.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about the blue seeming a little dull, but I don't think it is looks out of place. The quilt has its own personality and it's just a little different than you expected it to be. It is a really lovely quilt!
ReplyDeleteTo me it looks marvelous, love the scrappy look and your color choices.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Sylvia
I don't really see the blue as dull - will love to see the whole quilt when you are done with it. scrappy is a good look, one can usually not go wrong with it.
ReplyDeleteLove it XXXX
ReplyDeleteI see that lighter blue not as dull but as a resting place for the eyes, and something that grounds your tulip blocks. Perfectly lovely as it is, and also possibly a place to highlight with your quilting, maybe a brighter blue perle cotton? So many possibilities, always!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great scrap quilt...to me it reminds me of a farmhouse in the 30's or 40's and I could just see it resting on a rocking chair out on the front porch while people are sitting around shelling peas. Or maybe it's on the porch swing or glider. Love it!
ReplyDeleteLooking at the pictures I would not know what is missing. I just love this quilt! Tulip quilts (and the flowers themselves) are a favorite of mine, I love scraps and scrappy quilts, so a scrappy tulip quilt is a win-win. And your colors are superb! Makes me very happy to look at these pictures!
ReplyDeleteI love this top. I love the scrappy flowers on that bold striped fabric. I love the snowball blocks and I think the blues work very well together. I know we agonize over decisions with our projects - so often! I think this top is going to be a fantastic quilt - I don't see anything "as is" about it.
ReplyDeleteI love it. I'm working on a similar piece right now, and struggle with certain things about it, but when others look at it, they don't see what I fixate on.
ReplyDeleteIt's turned out beautifully!! The blue doesn't look dull to me. Remember it's only half finished, you'll add extra magic to it with your quilting.
ReplyDeleteI think its lovely Audrey. The blue doesnt look washed out at all from where Im sitting. And I agree with Rachael...its not over till the last stitch is sewn in!
ReplyDeleteOn my compouter screen it looks great. But I know what you mean. When a quilt starts going in its own direction it can be frustrating and ultimately disappointing. It's up to you what happens next!
ReplyDeleteIt looks pretty magnificent from here. 8)
ReplyDeleteAnd it looks like if you decided you didn't want it, there would be a long line of quilters willing to take it off your hands...
Not only do I love all the quilts you make, but I love your quilting philosophy - it's excellent too!
ReplyDeleteIf you bind it in that blue then it will really pop, but I don't think it is at all lost now either. I know, though, how things look different in photos. In real life, all the other fabrics compete a lot more for attention. But if you see the turquoise first, and that brings you in to look at the rest, then I think it's done a good job. It really is a great mix! Congratulations. :D
ReplyDeleteI just love the sense of adventure you bring to quilting. I tend to make things that are restrained somewhat but not you - throwing caution to the wind with your eclectic fabric choices. It gives everything you make full of energy.
ReplyDeleteI love that you call it an As Is quilt! We bought our current house "as is", and it took a while but I have learned to live with some of the quirkiness. Remember it's a scrap quilt! If you wanted it matchy-matchy you could have used the latest line from Denyse Schmidt.
ReplyDeleteMaking do with our scraps and stash can sometimes leave us feeling like we "missed it by this much". But that's what makes it challenging, and makes a great quilt.
I love it!! I love the colours you have used it's fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI love these scrappy tulips! And it does have that wonderful use what you have scrappy quality I love oh so much!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of big stitching. You could applique large bees across the sashing... or moths, hummingbirds. Those might have brighter colors and be a reason why the sashing is (as you say) a bit dull. Make those animals show up more.
ReplyDeleteI love scrappy tulips and your charming borders.
From over here it looks great! What about the same shade of blue for the binding to bring the colour out more?
ReplyDeleteThe border had to have taken a good while to sew with all those little corners on each square.
ReplyDeleteThe border is awesome - and the blue is probably fine - but maybe with your idea of big stitches you could use aqua or teal to add zing to that blue... but, it looks to be a fabulous top already "as is"!
ReplyDeletecongrats on the finish! I love it and I'm sure you do too!
ReplyDeleteI think the Tulip quilt is beautiful! Plus, it's finished. Can't beat that.
ReplyDelete