It has too many sashing triangles which I think dominate the quilt. I changed it from the original pattern because I thought the quilt, at 59" x 81", was too narrow and too short. Silly me. Whyever do I use someone else's pattern if I'm going to change it instead of follow it to a finish? I started this quilt sometime in 2018 as a sew-along on Facebook and finished it in 2019. It was lots of fun at the time. I should have stuck to the pattern exactly but I'm finding that I'm not very good at using other people's patterns (except for applique).
I've had it in mind that I would spend most of this year finishing quilts that have been in progress too long, have been unfinished for too long, or have been mis-finished (as this one) and need editing or changing. I'm certain I won't be able to go very long without starting a new quilt, though.
I pulled out my trusty seam ripper and began unstitching tonight. This will be a real puzzle to solve. And then I'll have a quilt ready to be layered and quilted. Hooray!
We had the greyest, rainiest, foggiest day today. It was beautiful. Two weeks ago we had rain/sleet/hail/freezing rain/some kind of wet precipitation that froze making the ground icy and precarious Soon after that we had a wonderful snowfall, which made getting around even more precarious. The past two days have been warmer and much of ice and snow melted. But tonight it rained again and the temperatures are dropping. I suppose tomorrow the ground will be frozen again. Personally, I just wish we would get another good snowfall or two before it warms up to spring weather.
I hope all is well with you.
--Nancy.
I love your quilt just the way it is. It's bright, colorful, cheerful, and I can almost hear it singing. I know you'll do what you need to do to make it right for you. We are sometimes our own worst critics. I'm so jealous of your snow. I hope we all get a few more storms before the winter is over.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin. Yes, I think we are our own worst critics, too. I added the extra sashing blocks to make it larger but I like the arrangement in the original pattern better. I should have just added a wider border.... It's part way back together again. I love primitive quilts and patterns but they are not always easy to follow. It'll get done soon.
DeleteOur snow stayed such a short time -- we're back to mostly browns now -- but it was beautiful while it lasted. I'm still hoping for a few more snows this winter!
I love the quilt, but if you want the blocks to be more of the focus, you could use squares scattered among the triangles in (less) bold shades?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggestion QuiltGranma! I decided, after all, to just try to replicate the original pattern as closely as possible this time around.
DeleteI think it looks like rose petals scattered on a path through a flower garden. But you have to like it, so I commend you for "ripping into it".
ReplyDeleteWe just had a discussion about following patterns at my guild meeting and it seemed to be the general rule that most of us don't closely follow a pattern. One of our members writes patterns and they sat there shaking their head as we spoke. After bending over backward to make sure the patterns are clear, I guess it may have been disheartening to hear what we shared.
Actually, today I pulled out a Kim Diehl pattern and drew all over it with the changes I want to make. :)
I love snow and we haven't had much of it this winter, but it is never a good thing when there is a layer of ice underneath it!
Thanks, Janet. I'm so pleased to learn that I'm like most quilters who also don't follow patterns closely. I have often wondered what pattern creators think when they see their original designs adjusted, altered, edited, changed, etc. As you said, they take a lot of time before they send those patterns out into the world. I hope the designers continue to write clearly just in case we do want to follow it exactly. I'm looking forward to learning more of your Kim Diehl edits.
DeleteWe haven't really had much snow, either, but I'm hoping we'll get another one or two good snowfalls before springs nudges winter out. Yes, the ice was a challenge.
I think the business of the triangles allows the applique to really stand out and shine; for me it works. But you have to follow your instincts which are excellent, Nancy. Finishing quilts is always a challenge for me and I tend to off the pattern too. Why oh why do I do that!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jocelyn. The triangles will stay, just not so many of them. I'm following the pattern more closely with this redo.
DeleteI don't know why we "off the pattern," as you say. And for me, in particular, I wonder why because I don't have that great eye (or vision) that so many others do.