I am so happy to have made decisions about the borders for "Contentment," my original quilt celebrating our marriage (our 23rd anniversary is on October 23). I started this project just before our 20th anniversary. Zeesh! Birthing this project has been like having a baby...in slow motion!
The first border has the pieces woven like a chain (my "chain and bull's eye" border...Steve calls it the "ball and chain border"). That seems appropriate for an anniversary quilt.
I am calling the second border my "pop bead and bull's eye" border since Steve said it reminded him of a toddler's pop-together toys. I could not make a decision about using one blue, so I used twenty-eight (stash justification at its BEST!) and almost as many purples.
I felt the first border wasn't heavy or solid enough so I knew I wanted the second border to have the visual weight of a solid strip of color but be more interesting than that.
It's getting too big for the table the top is spread on and the outer border is not even on it yet. It is about 44-inches square right now. It will be about 58-inches square after the final border.
Tuesday night I drew ALL FOUR of the 7-inch wide outer borders. I don't know where the sudden big dump of creativity came from, but I was happy to receive it as I have been totally stressing about the outer border for weeks.
As I watched TV tonight (Debate #3), I played "paper dolls" and cut out all the freezer paper pieces I had traced for border number one. I did not throw the scissors at the TV, but I did lob some rolled up clean socks!
Watching TV (Masterpiece Theater) last Sunday night (NEVER makes me throw scissors...or socks), I cut out the freezer paper pieces for the last thirteen "LITTLE TREASURES" blocks that I drafted last week. Remember that these are my original hand applique patterns that finish 6-inches (can be 9- or 12-inches) so most of the pieces are a little small. Once these are done, I will have 72 finished!
I sort the smaller freezer paper pieces into cupcake papers until I can get them pressed onto fabric. The larger pieces go into a sheet pocket protector with the pattern. This way I don't get down to the quilt cave missing any pieces...thank God for the beading tweezers I use to shuffle all these little pieces around! Using them bypasses my fumbly fingers.
It was 90 degrees this afternoon. It hasn't rained on our little mountain since August 29...we have not had any rain on the roof since we had to have all the screws holding down the metal roofing replaced...don't know for certain yet that the leaks are now addressed. We are having a mostly colorless fall. There are trees that are seriously stressed, including magnolias which makes me very worried that we might lose them.
Please send rain!
In stitches,
Teresa :o)
Oh my those are tiny pieces. You do beautiful work Teresa.
ReplyDeleteI think I watched 5 min of the debate, then got disgusted & changed the channel.
I love the borders, they are so interesting. Can't wait to see the final border. Yes, we need rain too. It has been around but just misses us. So very frustrating. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI thought the quilt was bigger than that for some reason! love the border. We have not had a lot of rain since the end of August but just enough to not have burn bans and I woke up to a light rain this morning and the cold front is coming through - the windows are open and I'm ready for some nice 60's today!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely eye candy this morning. Your creations always amaze me.
ReplyDeletethey do look like pop beads! You are so very creative!
ReplyDeleteOMG Teresa you are one of a kind! Seeing all those tiny pieces that you somehow make something amazing with.... it blows my mind! Clearly you have a different brain design than I do! Both borders are creative and fabulous!
ReplyDeleteOh, you are on a roll, woman!! I've done nothing but finish the binding on a quilt since I got home from my second retreat. Studio looks like a tornado hit it with everything just plunked down. Send some of your creativity this way, will ya? Dry over here, too, but we do have some color.
ReplyDeleteOh my! I am loving this quilt! How special. And, it doesn't matter how long a quilt takes as long as it does get done "someday". Such a treasure. I am sorry to hear about your drought. I thought our color would be bad in Maine too as all our lakes and ponds are down, but we still have lots of yellow, red and orange to get us through.
ReplyDeleteI very much like the cupcake liners tip. The stash-busting blues, makes the border more scrappy and adds a subtle interest. Leaves are slowly turning color southeast Michigan.
ReplyDeleteEven if your Anniversary quilt doesn't get finished till you're celebrating your 25th, it will be worth the time invested. It is incredibly beautiful. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity, fabric choices, and intricate applique.
ReplyDeleteMet a fan of yours at quilt camp this week. We had a great time praising your skills and admiring your design ability.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love! How wonderful your quilt top is looking, I can't wait to see what comes next!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Tazzie
:-)
What a unique and perfect border for Contentment. Your original quilt is coherent in style, color, layout, mood and creativity. I love how your happy life shines through.
ReplyDeleteoh it really is lovely!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!
ReplyDeleteTruly incredible. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDelete