I have spent the past two days diligently sewing away on Taylor and Lynnea's wedding gift... a quilt. I enjoy piecing quilts together and feel so darn creative, knowing that no other quilt in the world will look quite like mine. I purchased the fabric last week, then washed and ironed it in preparation for the fun to begin. Yesterday I spent the entire day cutting and piecing the blocks, and today was spent sewing all those blocks together.
Except...
I'm not sure I like the end result. I loved the fabric I chose, but now that those fabrics are side-by-side, all together in one solid piece... I'm not so sure they "go." I have a {sinking} feeling in my stomach that it looks a little too "Hollie Hobbie" (to steal a phrase used on the Project Runway marathon I watched listened to today as my sewing machine hummed all day long).
The pieced quilt top actually reminds me of a dress:
These dresses that my sister and I are wearing here. I think my mom had one to match, too.
Those were the days of the patchwork revolution. It was stylish. With it. In.
(Here we are obviously ready for church... my sister is in that same lovely dress we wore on Halloween.)
Patchwork was everywhere.
On tablecloths...
Pre-printed on polyester and cotton...
(My grandma wore this top all the time)
And in quilts (of course)...
After two days of tireless cutting, pinning, laying out, and sewing...
I pretty much ended up with that dress. In quilt form.
Hmmmm....
I may have to start over.
Shhh... don't tell my family, who already think I'm nuts for sewing like a madwoman the past two days.
My biggest worry is {time}. I don't think I can find another two days +
(for measuring, edging, backing, and binding).
(for measuring, edging, backing, and binding).
It's really nice. I don't think you need to do a new one.
ReplyDeleteIf you really don't like it, you can still give it to them for a wedding gift, then make them a different one for their first anniversary. But I think they are going to love it, it was something you worked so hard on, and that is what they are going to see.
It's darling and DO NOT start over! They will love it! Also, did you notice the patchwork on the pots on the fireplace when you were roasting marshmellows? Kind of funny that even the pots had the deco podge patchwork going on. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with everyone above, don't start over! Retro is in, right?
ReplyDeleteIf nothing else maybe you can tie all of what you wrote above into the quilt presentation to them. Something like how obviously the patchwork that was so prevalent in your early life left such a big impression on you that the quilt ended up being patchworky too. Tie that in to how the things they do at the beginning of their marriage will end up being something that is a part of them as well...so to fill their early days with great things (love, respect, looking out for the other, etc.) that will be what they want to be deeply engrained in their marriage.
You can even tie in how what was engrained in you ended up being passed on to them...and how what they do and be in their marriage will someday be passed on to their children as well.
I think it's beautiful, though! It kind of reminds me of the type of quilt you'd find at a boutique-y quilt shop (I'm thinking of the one out here at Gardner Village.)
Two thoughts....it only looks Hollie Hobby to you because it ties in to the dresses from your past. Others won't make that same connection. That said, you do have a lot of pattern in mid-color tones. If you want to modern-it up a bit, how about if you consider wide-binding it in a dark solid...like a midnight blue. You could also try and work some of the solid color into the body of the quilt, too. I have seen some that use fabric paint to block in an initial onto pattern...such as a modern "S" on the white blocks you already have there. And use the darker yarn for the tying as well. I think this quilt is totally do-able. Make it work. Just my two cents worth...ML
ReplyDeleteOK...sorry...but one more idea. How about cutting the top into some large blocks and then dying them individually with a couple shades of Procion dyes (if you are unfamiliar, they can be purchased at Amazon.com or at dharmatrading.com). You could dye them solid or mix shades of a couple of different tones (I think a golden yellow and a burgundy might be nice). Then wash and re-press the blocks. Re-assemble the blocks with dark color strips in-between (something like deep brown or the midnight blue.) The end result would be a stained-glass effect....and if you mottled the dying process on the blocks, it could even be a watercolor stained glass look. (yeah....textiles are my thing.) Don't give up. You have done some beautiful work here. ML
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