Finally done!

Tea With the Queen

When Pattilou asked us to consider "color" in Step 3, I was stumped.  Already had quite a bit of color.  Black and white didn't seem right.  So I went to the stash and came up with a funny little cup fabric I'd picked up somewhere.  It had the orange and purple, but also dashes of other colors. I'm still not wild about that green, but keep telling myself that a bit of tension color-wise is not a bad thing.

Then came Step 4, and Jan's advice to look for "the gift of Serendipity".  It happened to be the weekend of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and I was thinking that those cups wanted to be tea cups, and how there seemed to be some crown-ish shapes in the center. I've been in a London state of mind, since a good friend has been living there for 18 months and I had the chance to visit in December.  And with the Olympics on the horizon...

Anyway, what do you think I found in my embellishment box that day?  A little charm with a picture of Big Ben on it!  Serendipity for sure. Did you know they've renamed it's tower after the queen?  It's "Elizabeth Tower" now.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18592966  So my little quilt has a story!

Can I show you one more thing?  I saw this on someone else's blog and this is the first time I've tried it. I cut two squares that I folded in half and stitched into the top corners on the back along with the binding. Now, a dowel will fit in there for hanging (mine hasn't been cut to length yet in the picture).  I liked that.  Easy peasy for a small piece.

Thanks to the hosts for their inspiration.  And to everyone else here, too.  I love seeing how your pieces have come together!

At the flimsy stage

A bit slow in getting to this point, but nonetheless a flimsy has emerged.  

This is what it looked like after adding colour.  As the piece had a fair amount of colour already I added the white with black and white circles, and trying to make it a bit bigger and less square, added the two yellow strips.

Next, Serendipity.. hmmm...  using the floor to see this layout, and I think it will work, two different purple pieces, the 4.5" green made squares and the 3.5" mauve strips interspersed  with some on the yellow and turquoise bits.  A liked it more at this point before putting the bits together.

And the final flimsy.  I think it will (it had better!) improve with quilting!  I wanted to make it as big as possible without spending any more time on it (a mistake!).  I have loved the process, thank-you.

Home sweet home....

"Home sweet home...it's complicated!" is the name of my Round Robin 2 quilt.
The leftover teal and black half square triangles at the top right were created for a Frieda Khalo quilt I made for a friend last Fall. I enjoyed the process of making fabric by randomly grabbing scraps from my overflowing tub! Slashing and inserting strips brought a whole new dynamic to the piece! Color is never a stretch for me..I'm downright gaudy at times, but color excites me...it's my "thing"! I chose grey Kona to surround my houselike creation...it has a calming effect. But now nothing can be too calm for my taste so I got busy with colored threads, both my Aurifil for the triangles at the rooftop and vivid pearl cottons for the random stitching at the top. The vintage colored buttons and the colorful stitching help to balance the riot going on inside that house!

                         I don't know anyone who has a perfectly calm house and 
                                                     family...do you?
      Life is an adventure with ups and downs, bright days and dark days, but  
                                            home grounds us through it all!

                        And that's me...loving my imperfect home and life in spite of
                                                      its inevitable complications!
                                           

liberated round robin 2 latecomer

HI Lib Friends,

I have been working on the RR2 quilt slowly but surely. This is what it looked like when I took it with me to Wisconsin last week and began quilting it. I am now doing handstitching with embroidery floss. Tomorrow I head to Cedarburg, WI to visit the quilt museum there on Thursday for a cheddar quilt exhibit, so it will go back to WI with me!! I decided to use solid grey fabric to surround my houselike creation, which I believe is definitely the influence of the modern quilt guild I have belonged to for the past couple of years!
I have free-motioned words and appliqued it as well...I think our final reveal is this weekend, so I am trying to complete it by then. As usual I am enjoying the journey..I love creative meandering!