Moving Another Quilt To the Finish Line

So Chunky Crossroads quilt is now a true-blue finish! Started in February of 2016 as an Ad. Hoc. Improv. challenge, this quickly became a color challenge as well. Basically I took a stack of fabrics that had been simmering for awhile and said, okay, lets just DO SOMETHING.

Chunky Crossroads a completed quilt!

I love quilts with lots of block repeats where the fabrics and colors get to shine. However, these colors were tough for me as they weren't exactly in my comfort zone. I ended up adding in some brighter, hotter pinks and also some lighter greens and that's where I turned the corner from drab murkiness to just having fun with value and sparkle. When I see potential for colors to dance across a quilt, then that's where I dig in and start to get serious. It's one of my favorite creative grooves, really.

Loving the simple texture from the stitching across the crossroads...

 As you can see, there isn't the usual skinny little coping border between the main part of the quilt and the applique border. I'm earnestly trying to audition each part of the quilting phase for what's best. Not just rely on the same 'ol, same 'ol. I know some of you don't especially care for borders, but they are incredibly intriguing to me. This was one quilt that obviously didn't have to have one, and so the challenge was to find a border that said 'neener, neener, neener... Wanna bet I won't look better without a border?' lol  They are always an option around here, but that doesn't mean I'm oblivious to the fact that it's not always necessary....

Amazing how much difference a little bit of binding can make!

This applique border design was cherry picked out of an older book called 'Mad About Folk Art' by Gerry Kimmel. The original design was only the solid fabric vine, bulbs and leaves. After getting that part figured out, measured properly for this particular quilt size, then cut out and tentatively placed, it just wasn't enough. The background fabric was one of those Basic Gray tone on tone fabrics I love, but with just the lime green applique on top, it was a bit too blah. Not in the least willing to ditch any of that cut out applique vine, I finally determined to add the different colored 'flowers'. It was a simple fix but wowsers, upped the time factor considerably. Of course.

Just enough hand quilting in the border

So that left me with lots of time to consider how crazy I am, taking a straightforward improv. style quilt to the next level of complicated. First of all by placing the applique on what is more or less the color of fresh concrete {who does that?}, then playing around with a tricky one-piece applique vine, then saying, nah... 'Not good enough'.... By the time all the hand stitching was done, it was hastily folded up and put out of sight.*sigh  Can I never truly just do simple?

A feel good finish....

But the funny thing is, this quilt has been beckoning to me. Because I really do adore the colors in it. In spite of all the frustration in getting the colors balanced out properly across the quilt and trying to determine a great add on border look, dealing with puckering issues on the back etc.--it's been such a fun, delightfully playful quilt. I mean that sincerely. It must be some sort of illness, thriving on these ups and downs of the endlessly fascinating quilting process! The icing on the cake with this quilt was when I found a perfectly, hideous binding fabric hiding in the stash {given to me by a quilting friend years ago}. One that was exactly the right color. Bingo! Cut small enough, almost any fabric can work as a great binding! It took care of ALL the remnants of worry left about the quilt not being one big cohesive whole. I am still marveling at how that light pink pulled all the lighter colors from the inside of the quilt out to play with the outside edges. Don't you love it when it all gets wrapped up with a bright shiny bow!

For the most part, it always came down to, 'What do I have to lose?' 'Is this idea worth exploring?' The fabrics were all from the stash except for the long border pieces. Time is just whatever I choose to commit. And who cares? It's really all about the process anyway. I'm starting to get a little worried though. Each new foray into different and challenging color palettes seems to take me further and further away from those original 'safe' colorways. I tell myself that it's the benefit of learning and growing, but is there really any going back after a certain point?