Pink

This seems to have been The Little Quilt That Didn't Want to Happen!!
You may notice that the photo has a (badly) photoshopped edge simulating a facing? Yes, well, late last night I heard my father's voice saying "Measure twice, cut once". "Yeah, yeah," I replied, "I do know how to use a rotary cutter and ruler, you know". And cut off the seam allowance. My due-to-be-faced quilt will now sport a jaunty binding when I regain my composure. In the meantime it is having to settle for a clean-up in photoshop.


I decided at the beginning of this round that I would learn from my lessons of last round.
Point 1 : no last minute rush jobs. Time to stop kidding myself that I work best under pressure. No, I don't. I just settle for less.
Point 2: no trying to be clever, fraught with meaning and significance. Just have fun.


How did I go with the Pink quilt? Point 1. FAIL FAIL FAIL. Point 2. MASSIVE SUCCESS!!!
It means NOTHING! There is NO significance!! I'm so proud.


Seriously, I did make a personal commitment that this time I would continue with my original Twelve by Twelve plan to just have fun. I intend to relish this experience a whole lot more than I perhaps did last time and to use it as a bit of relaxation time. Life has managed to become even busier this year and a regular reason to quieten things down is a very good thing.

I should probably talk about the quilt? I have a strong love of contrast in all forms but especially in colour and I immediately knew that my quilt would feature the use of pink and her complement, green. As you can see, I'm not ready to leave circles behind, either. I started with circles of pink that I appliqued to the green background fabrics, then I cut them up and sewed them together in a piecemeal fashion. The hand embroidery was especially enjoyable (partly because it made me sit on the sofa for a while!!) and I thought of Jude Hill and her wonderful spontaneous stitching as I wandered my needle hither and yon.

The placement of the circles was a bug bear from very early on in the piece because my chosen construction technique limited their positioning and I still don't like where they ended up. I tried to redress things a bit with the darker pieces of teal, but they definitely don't work for me. If I had my act together and this was a Study instead of my final piece (which it truthfully should be) I would reposition those circles. But, in the Spirit of Fun and Relaxation and Letting Go, I smattered some buttons and knots and said to myself, "Live with it, kid. Do better next time."

This quilt has genuinely taught me a lot. I feel a series coming on... or at the very least, more small abstract quilts. I'm happy to keep making quilts that, even if they don't quite work, teach me something and make my heart beat faster.