Remaining Neutral

Using colors from nature

 can be a way to help remain neutral

when choosing a color palette.

But when there's a rainbow of colors

surrounding us, it can be a challenge.

Last January I began working on the

BOM found on The Quilt Show

designed by the late Sue Garman.

I looked to the colors of the southwest,

the desert tones.

Starting with the center medallion

and adding each new border
month to month.

The most challenging
has been what I've called

 "geese flying in circles"

It was paper pieced and seemed
to take forever.
Wait, it did take forever!

On a recent trip to Santa Fe
I took my quilt top and
found a lovely adobe room
in which to photograph it.

It's not finished yet.
But the colors are definitely what I was striving for.

Last week I worked on the next border, pinwheels.

All those half square triangles were
trimmed and perfectly sized and
the borders  went together lickety split,
or as fast as you can sew a pinwheel border,
which isn't really very fast.

Two floater borders had to be figured out,
 sewn on and
then finally,
 those spinning pinwheels.

This is where I am today.

Next up,
more flying geese.
Not Running Man's favorite visiting yard bird!#@!

 I'll remain neutral
and continue on.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

The County Fair

Another week has flown by.

I've been helping my daughter reorganize

her 2nd grade classroom,

getting ready for my Florida daughter's visit,

and even had a bit of time for some sewing.

More hst's to trim.

****

The interesting part of my week was

being a quilt judge for the local county fair.

The day started early with

stacks of quilts waiting to be unfolded,

and having them shout, "look at me!"

"I want one of these."

Better yet,

"I want one of these!"

The fair guidelines try to make this a 

positive experience for everyone who enters.

All the quilts are accepted and hung.

The judges accentuate the positive and

provide feedback in areas where technical skills

 might need some improvements.

Even then, it's still a competition.

There are commonalities that can be critiqued,

are the blocks square,

are the borders straight,

are applique edges smooth,

is there even distribution of quilting,

  and don't forget about that binding.

It was a long day,

and I hope that the quilts that I looked at

and critiqued felt that it was done fairly.

It's a heavy responsibility as a judge to look at someone's

work and then making comments,

 and

it takes courage and confidence for the quiltmaker

to enter a quilt show, locally or not. 

 Hopefully, we all had 

a positive experience.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

 

 

 

A Winter Finish in Summer

How quickly, it seems,

we can go from this...

to this...

With a few flips of the calendar pages

the seasons change.

I've continued to work on and 

even finish some of my 17 in 2017.

My most recent finish,

"Let It Snow" will be ready and 

waiting when winter decides to return.

 Let It Snow

37" x 30"

This was a delightful free BOM wool applique

pattern designed by Stacy of 

Buttermilk Basin.

The reason it was on my 17 in 2017 list

was because it was last year's free pattern!

 It's still available on her website for purchase,

if you're interested.

I found the black flannels for the backgrounds in my stash,

and the wool as well.

Years  ago I bought this wool skirt at the Goodwill,

 felted it,

and who knew years later it would become snow.

The blocks were fun and easy.

By simply changing the cardinal to a blue jay

it personalized the block for my neck of the woods.

(No, cardinals here)

Adding some buttons or

 beads is another way

 to make a pattern your own.

I had planned to add a more extensive border,

but it just wasn't in me to keep going.

I simply quilted in the ditch and

 

 added some snowflakes in the borders.

I'm simply going to let the blocks

speak winter.

Another finish from my list.

It's a great way to enjoy the summer.

Check out what others have finished on their lists

by visiting Meredithe's blog,

Pomegranate and Chintz

 

Until Next Time-

Kyle