This Is What Happens

When I finish a quilt top (or get to the point where I need to lay it aside for a while), I've already considered and reconsidered nearly everything about it and decided it's good to go.  When I pull it out for the next step, either to add a border or lay it in preparation for quilting, this is what nearly always happens:

First:  I see all the creases where it's been folded and wonder how I'm going to flatten it.  Do I need to press it or just let it lie there for a while and it will smooth itself out?

Second:  I wonder how I could have considered it ready for the next step because it either looks too long or too wide or the color or block placement looks not quite right.

Third:  I do my best to maintain self control and just leave it!

That's what happened to the maple leaves.  All those wrinkles, the uneven placement of color, the size...  But I'm leaving it except for adding a border or two, which was my original intention.  I'm grateful I measured the quilt before I folded it so at least I know how long to cut the side borders.

These are the borders I was auditioning before I put it away.

At the time I thought the turquoise/blue at the bottom looked good but now I think it looks garish.  (In person it definitely looks garish.)

I decided a narrow border, probably in dark brown, would be good.  And I thought perhaps the same light blue I'd used as background in some of the blocks would be good for the wider, outer border, but now I think it looks too bland.  This is a bright, vibrant quilt and I want the border to reflect and enhance that, not detract from it.

That's as far as I've gotten with current auditions.  It just occurred to me that with Picasa I can place the photo on a blank background in the collage setting and choose different colored background so it looks similar to a border.  Then, of course, I would have to find fabric to match.  Or choose fabric possibilities first and then only use those colors for the background.  I'll have to play with that before making a decision.  And audition fabrics in person, too.  I have a rust and orange plaid that I thought might work but no, it wasn't quite right.  And I have a medium teal that may work.  I don't know.  I'll have to keep auditioning.

(Please note, the first and second photos are the most accurate for coloring.)

I almost claimed adding the border as my One Monthly Goal for August and then decided the risk was too great.  It always takes me longer to choose fabrics and colors than to measure, cut, and sew a border.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished (or Not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
> Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
> Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 
> Main Crush Monday at Cooking up Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
.)