A Tale of Two Applique Quilts

Once in a great while, I have this mad idea to throw some fabrics together and just 'see' what can come of them. This Home Sweet Home was just such a quilt. Only I got derailed by the idea that it might look better with appliqued words on it. Where have we heard that before?

Home Sweet Home quilt top finished!

Then I paused for a very long time in major indecision. Why am I spending so much time on a quilt that I'm not even sure that I like? But something kept propelling me forward with the applique ideas until I finally just gave in. Okay. Time to get moving on the applique list anyway, might as well start off with the easy stuff.

Adding applique usually makes me pretty happy...

You can see from the picture below why the quilt was giving me fits. It was totally out of proportion. That sweet, cream rose petal and leaf fabric was just too much. The length of it was all wrong and made everything else look odd. When I eventually realized that all the applique in the world wasn't going to fix my problems, then the solution finally, finally slunk around the corner and sort of waved at me. Hi? Anybody there? How bout taking some of that rose/leaf fabric out and replacing it with something a lot more interesting? Yeah, I do sort of get mesmerized by applique thoughts and forget that it doesn't always magically make everything look better. But the purple/blue striped fabric sure did the job. Wowsers. What a difference that little strip made!

Not feeling very enthralled at this point!

And then I discovered even more reason to add applique, right? Why not? In spite of various issues with this quilt, it's really one of my favorite ways to play. No pre-determined idea of what the quilt should look like, a quilt top that isn't going to look any worse after experimenting, overflowing applique parts and pieces totes begging for attention.... Justification is so, so easy!

After several of these 'throw-together/experiment type' quilt tops impulsively turning into an applique rescue mission through the years, you'd think I could finally start calling them by what they really are: Intentional Backgrounds. At some point I give these doubtful quilt tops a good long stare and determine they aren't totally un-salvageable, and then out comes the abandoned applique bits totes. We'll see about this. I've been calling them my Ugly, odd, changeling, quilts for years, but maybe it's time to stop. Some of these do actually turn into quite charming looking quilts, amazing at that may seem.*wink  Hey, don't try to kid me, you know you've winced at more than one of my starting-out efforts!

Loving that striped fabric addition!

That's the main reason that I post even the ugly starting point on the blog, every single time. As much as it hurts. Hmm... I did that? It's just hard sometimes to share a picture of something that doesn't reflect well on our creativity or vision, but if we leave that part out of the story, then we're not being 100% honest with our readers. We're prettying things up to make us look better. Look how smart we are, never taking a wrong turn. And also, there's no point of reference for later, which I personally love, those 'from there to this' moments! For those out there who don't like mistakes being pointed out, remember, growth often comes from mistakes being corrected. If every single time we didn't know have a clue what we were doing, where we needed to go, it paralyzed us into inaction? Many of our best quilts would never even have been started! And if a quilt never gets any better? Oh well. Comfort quilts are useful too!

The green stems/leaves could be brighter, but they were
all pulled straight from the applique parts totes!

After all the applique was done on Home Sweet Home {I was mostly satisfied with the results?}, then I turned my eye to the Ormes Inspired quilt. It's an interpretation attempt so it feels like considerably less room for make-it-up-as-I-go-along type of fun. Or maybe it's just a different kind of fun altogether? Yes. That's it. Love when everything starts to gel and the true feeling/vibe starts to shine through! I had the pink tree and the elephant cut out and ready to sew since before the holidays actually September, but hadn't felt any particular motivation to start stitching. It just happens that way sometimes. This is a big canvas and not the most favorable hand stitching environment as far as comfort goes.

Starting back on the Ormes Inspired quilt

The elephant seemed adequate until right up to the moment it was totally stitched and then I didn't like him/her anymore. Something felt 'wrong' enough that I puzzled over it for several days. Did I seriously need to redraw the entire elephant again? The first time was hard enough for this non-artist person that I am! Ultimately I fell down on the side of, if I don't change something, it's going to irritate me for the rest of my life. What is the best that I can do without needing to start completely over?

Original inspiration. Please know that I have
received permission from the artist herself to do this!

Eventually I decided that if the elephants head could be less curved looking and the eye adjusted slightly, then everything else could probably be left alone.*sigh  Out came the seam ripper and good applique scissors. It's not perfect, never will be, but now I can quit picking her apart. And yes, I've emphatically decided it's a 'she'. My quilt, my elephant!

You can see on the left side of the quilt, the next seven elements added to the quilt. With applique, it's always, stitch from the bottom up when dealing with layers! The upper left black leaf has a partial area of dark magenta fading into the large pink tree and the bottom lower left tan leaf has a green tip where it overlaps the tall green/white Matisse leaf element. These colors are not anywhere near 'correct' of course. {Not according to nature or even to Jane Ormes}. Just my personal interpretation based on what I like and also, whatever fabrics/colors are available straight from the stash totes! And yes, every now and then I cringe a little and think this quilt should have/could have had fabrics bought special for it. It's probably worth it! Oh well....

Adding larger elements

Next up, I cut out and placed five more large leaves on the upper right side of the quilt. All of these leaves etc. taking lots of drawing time. Since I don't have large enough paper for most of them, I am drawing like a crazy woman directly onto freezer paper. Very helpful when the leaf is drawn exactly as I intend to use it, just place it over the top of my chosen fabric, iron and then carefully cut out. If the drawing doesn't work out then I am wasting so very much freezer paper. It's really sad how long it can take me to settle on what is ultimately used! I'm saving all the larger pieces of freezer paper to use in cutting out the smaller elements, but yeah, I'm perilously close to needing a brand new box of freezer paper. Good thing it's not outrageously expensive!

Trying to get the bottom layer stitched into place

This is the part of the quilt that often feels like a roller coaster. Just enough work done to start feeling excited about how it might turn out! Oh yeah, love that! And then just enough done to realize that there are definitely going to be some issues to deal with.... Remember, I didn't end up graphing the entire quilt out and taking a good, solid measurement to start with? As I draw each specific element and consider placement, then I'm constantly seeing areas that are not exactly to scale {as per the original print inspiration}. Um yeah. Poor planning? Or just the only way that I could ever talk myself into starting this crazy project!

Loving this corner of the quilt already

Things not being precisely to scale should not be a deal breaker by any means, though sometimes it does cause me to draw a leaf a little fatter or maybe a tad bit more narrow than perhaps it was meant to be. I'm sure the artist herself was very, very precise! There is more empty space between some of the elements than perhaps should be. These are all things that will be worked out as ongoing layers and progress is made. A wonderful challenge, but one that does give me a tiny bit of anxiety at times. As said before, I don't intend for this quilt to be an exact copy, but hopefully when all is said and done, it will exude the same joy and spirit as the original piece? 

Some of the fabrics aren't exactly perfect...

Anyway, I already went back and 'fixed' the elephant and hmm... maybe a stem on a leaf was listing the wrong way too? Fussy, fussy business and one that could drive me totally insane if I let it. Honestly not intending to do that whatsoever. This is dangerous territory in trying to determine where the boundaries are on get-it-fixed-now-or-forever-let-it-ruin-the-quilt vs. type-a-personality-disorder-taking-away-all-the-joy. I've spent years learning how to go with the flow in quilting. Not gonna let this particular quilt and all my inborn insecurities get me down now!

Green leaf to the right is two different fabrics,
one darker than the other...

I've got to admit to enjoying the easy, simple lines to the applique in this quilt. Once I settle on a particular size, shape, then the rest is just pure fun {minus the occasional hand cramping from too much quilt wadded up in my hands}. It's even nudged the hand quilting down the priority list the last few days, which is pretty tough to do around here! It's a good thing that all the color/fabric decisions were figured out back in the fall, at least for the larger elements. I made sure to take pictures and lots of notes, but it has really helped make this part easier to just focus on drawing the shapes and then placing them. If I had to figure out colors as well, then my brain would totally freeze and I'd be stuck here forever! One thing learned from all the years of quilting is this, some quilts can only be done if you narrow things down: one step at a time is ALL you have to do. Figure out the color. Figure out the shape. Figure out the placement. Stitch. Then it's on to the next round or layer--rinse and repeat. 

If you're worried about the wrinkly look to the quilt, it's always scrunched up in my hand or dragging on the floor somewhere. Not gonna stop and iron it every step of the way just for picture perfect style shots. lol  As if! 

At Least I Tried

Awhile back I received an invitation to {apply to} enter quilts into the 2018 Primitive Quilt Show in Houston. At first I brushed it off as something that would be a ridiculous waste of time.

Hills and Valleys

Then later on, decided why not? It's not a bad thing to challenge ourselves occasionally or try and get out of our oh so familiar comfort zone.

A close-up

It took a lot of time to take the crummy pictures that we usually end up with around here. There's never enough time or a good enough set up. And for some reason, that's not where my heart is. My daughter helped tho and points for that.

Fun to see different pics of the quilts

Everyone is busy of course, so you have to understand that help is very limited when it comes to things like taking advantage of the very best daylight hours. We had to squeeze in our one and only photo session at the end of a work day but before dusk.*ugghh  Cue the hysterical laughter. I could tell immediately that the full quilt pics were going to be terribly washed out.

Big Blue or otherwise known as the 'ugly quilt'

We deemed it good enough. Really, what else could be done? These quilts will not hang in the air by themselves! And as expected by moi, both entries were rejected. No big surprise--my quilts aren't ever wholly 'primitive'. Nor do they seem to fit into any other genre of quilting easily or well. I'm still pondering what particular box or genre they might actually fit into....

A close-up

I admit to being a little disappointed when receiving the polite rejection letter, but overall it was probably worth the effort and angst. Just a deep breath out and then, okay. So I tried and failed. No big. It definitely helps that I didn't make either of these quilts specifically for the show. That would have been a bit more demoralizing I think.

Trying to determine the top side of the quilt...

Truly, I try NOT to make quilts specifically for entry into any quilt show. Quilting is my happy place and pressure and deadlines do not make me happy. That said, I think maybe I'd better suck up my comparison anxiety nerves and go ahead and enter a few quilts into the {almost local}, regional quilt show once again. If there are people who regularly click into Quilty Folk to check out my latest makes, then it stands to reason there will be a few people who might enjoy seeing them in person. Variety is the spice of life and we quilters do so enjoy being inspired.*wink

Adhoc. Improv. #26 Progress

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on my last post! Such an interesting and lively discussion about keeping and/or gifting the quilts we make. Congrats to the winner of the magazine giveaway--Georgia! I've sent an email your way as well as announcing it here.

The Ugly Quilt is finished!

Knowing that AHIQ #26 was coming up, I was rushing to get in another good finish. This 'Ugly Quilt' was started clear back in the late fall of 2015. It was a rough start, just playing around with a couple fabrics I liked and no pattern at all. Just at the point where I thought it needed to be round-filed, the quilt finally started developing a personality. I decided to incorporate some of my tentative improv. skills for the last border and after that was sewn on, the quilt decided it was done. Finito.

Loving the stitching....

Some quilts just wanna be square! I still smile at how quickly this one turned from really ugly to starting-to-get-sorta-interesting. It has several pieces of 90's calico in it, some make-do piecing and one lovely Coxcomb applique attempt. The free-style Baptist fan stitching makes it look so wonderfully cozy and now I just want to snuggle up with it for the whole rest of Fall. I couldn't believe it had been almost two years since I started this one. Where oh where has the time gone?

I can wholehearted say that I'm much, much more confident about improv. now than when I started this quilt. And also, I noticed while stitching on this quilt, that my initial goal in joining up with the Adhoc. linkups is starting to be realized. I am slowly, slowly starting to think about ways I can use different improv. looks to use in most all my quilts, whether in block piecing, borders or just attitude. While branching out from my safe space occasionally in color and style, simply by using the fabrics I love and continually working on that timeless 'utility' look, my quilts are starting to look even more make-do'ish than ever. And I adore it. LOVE that it doesn't look so forced and cheesy now.

I'm always happy with a good medallion look!

This past week I've also tried to make time for the 'Use Your Words' quilt. I liked the simple, almost stark look when all sewn together, but thought it needed just a touch more color.

Make Beautiful Things

And so I added on a mixed green and bright pink repeating squares border. Hmm... Maybe a bit too in-your-face now? The borders are not sewn on at this point so there's plenty of time for changes. I almost want to cut the sides of the borders down--change the look from fat squares to skinny rectangles. There would be lots of waste, but it might be worth it. Oh my, life has been a little bit too busy lately for me to properly concentrate on getting the best solution figured out. Maybe next week?

Auditioning a border....

This project was a result of last quarters prompt over at Ann and Kaja's. I took their prompt, grabbed some some orphan blocks and tested myself with a challenge to learn improv. letter piecing--wallah! Somehow that quilt top above happened. {I still call it a squirrel!}. The next quarter will be a 'consolidate and review' so yay! for me. Lots of time to get this quilt top squared away and maybe even dive into another improv. idea niggling at the back of my mind. Or two. Wouldn't want things to get boring around here!

It's also that time of the month to link up to sew-stitch-snap-SHARE#15. Progress is progress is progress....

Some Things I've Been Working On

Life has been craaaazy for us lately, I think it's been mentioned once before here on the blog. We've had company something like every weekend but two? out of the last 8 or 9 weeks? Yeah. Fun stuff. Anyhoo--hand quilting and applique have been the go-to stress relief for yours truly.

Next up in the hoop

Immediately after dumping the last quilt out of the hoop, then it was on to the next. This one is a decidedly fall colored quilt which makes me just sigh in complete and total satisfaction. It's been awhile since I attempted any Baptist fan stitching, and this one seemed like a perfect match for that. Because this is such an 'imperfect' quilt, it seemed wildly appropriate to stitch freehand fans, right? Well, like I said, it's been awhile.

The first two frames were stressing me out so much that I almost ripped ALL the stitching out. The blue perle cotton thread was getting lost in the piecing and I couldn't see anything. What a disaster. After I slept a night or two and did lots of contemplating, I decided to keep going. But from now on use a blue wash-out pen to mark my fans as I came to each particular frame. Still a freehand look as I'm not using any sort of template, just drawing the 5-arc sets prior to stitching.*whew!  Glad to get that figured out! And now I'm happy as can be and things are going swimmingly. I am loving the sweet texture and am so very glad I didn't default back to a more formal look. This quilt definitely needs stitching with the look and feel of 'the human touch'.

Peachy Cameo Medallion

And my Peachy Cameo Medallion quilt got a good fixer-upper this week. I was a little unhappy with the top and bottom borders and in fact, got out my seam ripper and took the bottom one off, flipped it upside down and then just sat there and sighed with exasperation. I knew it. Even though it makes everything wonderfully balanced, I don't like the look. Not with this quilt! So while that border was off I did a quick measurement and sure enough, it needed trimmed about 1/4". Hmm... I thought the two borders looked a little out of whack. So I went ahead and ripped off the top border and hello? it was 1/2" too long. Working too fast because of time crunch issues and just not paying enough attention.

The long and short of it is that in trimming both of those borders, I had to take off a couple of those green leaves there on the sides of the quilt and move them over. Which made my brain spin and next thing I knew, there was a great solution to my borders making itself known. Yep! I quickly picked some fabric out and mocked up some simple little flower pots to put my vines in--elongate those side borders down into the bottom border. Problem solved! So yeah... all that 'fixing' took a couple hours, but it was so worth it. Now it looks right and good. Ready to move on to the next border!

Vintage Lillies

And I warned you that I was probably going to start 3 new projects? I was serious about that. This one is a project I've been deliberating about since Kaja started this quilt much earlier in the year. The colors were so intriguing that I couldn't help but start pulling fabrics. Yum... Various fabrics have migrated over to that stack in the last couple months, but I just couldn't pin down where and how to start the quilt. Finally, after the quilt show in September, the starting place hit me like a bolt out of the blue. What about a Lily block centerpiece? And from there it's just been a matter of finding the time.

A fabric pull

I cheated on the lillies, and just drew up a simplified version, totally skipping the diamond piecing. Who cares about that? I just want the look! All the pieces need to applique stitched down and then I'll probably have to cut the top of the block down for reasons of proportion. My daughters were less than impressed, but I am really excited about this new start. It feels really good. Maybe some improv. can be incorporated into this quilt too?

Trying to take the Family Pic

And just as a side note in the interest of keeping things real. My plan has been {all year} to get a family picture sometime this fall. One good picture of my mostly adult children with their dad and mom--it's gonna be blown up pretty big and will hang on our wall forever. My parents always had a big pic of their huge family and I loved it, always wanted my own. So... plans were made, schedules were checked and finally we had a date where everyone could be in town, not working, no company, yada yada yada. It was a beautiful day, but my oh my, were the family members grumpy. Normally I'd have made meticulous plans to make sure we all had new, spiffy clothes and, no. 

We totally lost track of time. Okay. What colors do we ALL have in our closets? It seems that we are a casual, blue-jean sort of clan. There was a football game in which cell phones were making their way into pictures on a regular basic. NO! This is picture day! My oldest son was on call with his work. Don't answer your phone! This is important! My husband has been sick off and on all summer. He looked tired, desperately needed a nap. Eyes open everyone! He's lost almost 60 pounds in the last two years. Yay! Good for him. Apparently I picked up 15 or 20 of them.*Ugghh  Was I not planning the picture for over six months? Seriously. How hard is it to stay away from the desserts? and so on and so forth. I'm depending on my amazing photographer sister to make US all look amazing. That's not too much to ask, right?

Another Play With Improv.

I'm sure you've heard it before, but I've got to say it again. I'm simply terrible at keeping up with BOM's, Linky Party's and QAL's. Please don't take offense if you have one I keep skipping. And what beautiful irony that I have my own monthly linky party going on around here at the first of every month! Oh the laughter that has caused me a time or two, as I'm sure you can guess.

The Ugly Quilt

The one thing {other than my daily circles} that I determined to make sure and keep up with was Ann and Kaja's AHIQ series. No matter what. So yesterday and today found me sewing up a storm. I wanted to finish up with my improv. string borders on the Ugly quilt especially. 

When sewing the strings together, I just matched up two longs sides and sewed, no extra cutting for curves etc. Then, when I had about six brown and pink strings sewn together, I added in a red string. That string was laid face to face with a brown or pink string set and then cut {freehand} to the curve. Next, I added another brown/pink string set, cutting to the curve to match up to that previous red string, and on and on I went. It seemed to help 'straighten' the border and also add some interesting wonkiness. This all feels very new and 'modern', but really, this is a very old style/design in quilting. Making the border in these comfy colors really emphasizes the vintage make-do look for me. I can totally see this quilt hanging out on my couch some day in the future!

No fancy corners for this quilt!

So then I jumped to these crumb/improv. blocks from the scrap bin. A couple weeks ago I had pieced the blocks together in sets of four with a light colored striped fabric. There was a plan of sorts. I really liked the 'glow' that was slowly emerging, but then somehow I ruined it by adding in too much brown. That's a tendency I have when it comes to brown, using too much, but I continued on with what was pre-determined. Honestly, I think my brain was on auto-pilot or something because I wasn't really thinking about anything but getting it done.

Improv. Squares with first short sashing strips

The plan was to add long brown sashing with the shorter brown strips {picture below}, but this just immediately set my nerves jangling. I mean the very second I put them on the wall! Waaay too contemporary of a look for me. I couldn't get the long strips off the wall fast enough. And then I was stalled. Duh.... Time to wake up and pay attention! With the idea of sashing still in my brain, I considered using a lighter colored fabric in place of the brown {looking at the picture above sort of gives the illusion of that}.

Adding the long sashing strips

Then I stepped back from the wall and gave it all a very long look. Hmm....  What if? And so yes, I squished all the rows together and gave that a good look. And I'm liking this very well indeed. Not exactly what I was expecting out of these blocks, but still... It's sort of interesting in a scrap bag kinda way.

And then taking them away

There are still three more rows to add onto this quilt, and it's only about 42" wide--much too small to call it quits. For now I'm leaving it on the wall and looking at it every time I walk through. It's not my normal style of quilting and yet I'm absurdly pleased with it now that all the rows are cozied up together. 

I'd like to think I'm opening up to the idea of what Improv. might be. A What If sort of conversation that is really just an extension of what I've been trying to do for the last couple years. And I'm not done with strings either. I had a great idea pop into my head just the other night. Maybe next month I can actually find the time to explore where my brain is going with those.... Time to link up with Kaja and Ann's January AHIQ!

A Long Ramble About My Comfort Quilts and Also Some Improv.

I cut out these flannel strips about the middle of December and have been slowly sewing them together ever since. It's been good mindless sewing for those crazy times when thinking is an impossibility. Sadly, they get quite tedious to work on at times.

A vastly reduced pile of flannel strips

Eventually I'll have enough sets sewn together to make two comfort quilts. Nothing exciting, just very cozy, comfort quilts for two guys {one young, one old} who will very much appreciate a simple lap quilt. After I started in sewing, I had to cut out some extra {more interesting} fabric strips so the blend of prints/colors wouldn't keep putting me to sleep. You know how that is when everything blends a little too well.

Sewing the units into sets of four

And what's the deal with flannel? So much lint. Wowsers! I started having problems with the tension on my regular machine and after three or four go 'rounds with trying to get it back to normal, finally resorted to using my backup machine. She's a sweet, little {used} Bernina and so far is doing an excellent job for me. Yay for having a backup machine {Christmas present last year} as I cannot imagine being without at this particular time of the year!

My backup Bernina

So..., wanting to play, stretch my improv. abilities and well, just work on something a little more interesting, I turned to my Ugly Quilt. I think I threw up a quick picture of this quilt awhile back and was almost embarrassed to even admit to making it. It was one of those 'I'm bored, maybe I'll cut into some fabric I like and do something really off the wall' sort of endeavors. And I promptly decided it would end up on the back of a quilt because, hello? It was a nothing.

Ahem. Maybe I better tell you the back story before we get to the improv. part?

Since the inglorious start of this quilt, I have started playing with it again. Such as adding a small, fussy cut border that mostly blends in with the rest of the quilt. Meh. What did I do that for?

The Ugly Quilt with one border

And then, eyes popping wide open just before going asleep one night 'What if I added an old fashioned oak leaf type applique?' How nice to find exactly what I wanted on the second page of one of my inspiration binders the very next day. So providential. It's from a 2008 Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine--a pattern that I've many times considered making, although never just the one as a centerpiece!

And now some applique

Then, as these things often happen around here, my Ugly Quilt had more to say. Perhaps a scrappy blue sawtooth border? And I've been completely won over ever since. This ugly little quilt has been slowly winning me over and now it positively melts my heart like a squishy, toasted marshmallow. Which I know doesn't happen for everyone because my oldest daughter thinks it looks 'weird mom, just weird, especially the colors.' There's really no accounting for taste is there?

The sawtooth border

So back to the improv. part. Today I decided to attack the next border. It's been awhile coming because I had a dilemma or two to sort out. Sherri Lynn Wood tells us in 'The Improv. Handbook' to cut from the complete width of a piece of fabric {42 inches}, make sets and then cut and sew the new improv. strip lengths. The problem is, I don't have many full widths of fabric pieces. What I have is a whole bunch of fat quarters and most of them have chunks cut out of them! I finally decided to cut out some random strips of pinks, browns and red fabric, all about 8 1/2" long, but varying in widths. We do what we have to do, with what we have. and that's okay. Just had to get things settled in my mind first. Why are simple things so often the hardest to figure out?

Starting with some random cut strips

And another thing--it always worries me to just start cutting pieces of fabric without knowing the ultimate number I might need. I've finally recognized this as part of the very real 'fear' I feel in starting in with an improv. project. I can get so much anxiety going about this {because I do so hate wasting fabric} that it can literally paralyze me and cause me to never even start. It's not the uncertainty about the finished outcome of the quilt, that part I'm perfectly okay with. It's figuring out how much fabric to cut so that I can freely play, without cutting so much that I end up with a mountain of extra. Regardless, I am determined to conquer this fear and forge ahead, one little improv. quilt idea at a time.

So this is what I ended up with. I varied a brown strip with a pink strip and started making sets of six strings. Because I free-cut the strips {no ruler}, there is a slight wonk to them that very much makes me smile. Plus I think the fact that I'm only making a border makes this much more fun. If it were an entire quilt, I'd be stressed, fretting about value changes etc. and leaping ahead to possible design problems. Worrying about things getting boring.

Sewing them into units

I love the idea of making this border a little more complex color-wise, so am also considering adding in a red strip periodically--maybe even every six strips. Would that be too calculated? Is everyone cringing at the idea of mixing red and pink? This has been an odd quilt so I think it calls for something a little offbeat. For now I am just auditioning though, nothing is sewn together or set in stone.

Thinking about adding in some red

And I'm also being run out of my quilting room by a passive aggressive 15 yr. old boy who was very annoyed to be told the Christmas tree needs de-ornamented. What? Be asked to do something on a school vacation? The outrage! Everybody in this family knows that AC/DC and me do not get along, so even though no words were ever spoken, the message has been {literally} very loud and clear.

Trying to see it on the design wall....

So I'll work on my scrappy, improv. border later on when things settle down and the kids have this grave injustice worked out of their system. I might need to cut more strips and maybe I won't, but I am refusing to let that stop me from this particular method of playing. Time to link up to Ann and Kaja for their AHIQ linky party of the month! It's such a great motivator to me, their quiet encouragement to spread our wings, try new things and maybe step outside of our narrow little box once in awhile. Do at least go check out Ann's wonderful new quilt top! Very inspiring!