Some things work out, some things don't. I got the
hanten made for Tetsu's mother, but it was NOT successful. Too small! I had figured that since she is a much smaller lady than me that I needed to cut the length down but I must have figured because this looks like it's for a child! I wonder if there is a little girl around I can give this to... Ah~~ Well I tried. Since Tetsu's mother is quite stooped over (very typical of elderly Japanese) I had thought that the length of a
hanten would be inconvenient and would get in her way when she was doing things. She leans over so much when she stands. Of course, forgot that when one stoops forward that means the back is lengthened so now I've got what amounts to a crop top
hanten. Well I'll show it to her and then maybe find someone else who might use it. It's the thought that counts right?
The rest of yesterday I auditioned fabric for the When-Oh-When quilt since I really wanted to get a border on it. Nothing struck my fancy. And all that fabric too! Is it true for anyone else that you buy fabric and when you go to use it it just does not work? I had bought fabric in the summer that I hoped to use for
this quilt's border. Remember I was aiming for a somber look so all the fabric was dull grey and I was so sure of the fabric I bought enough for backing too. So why has the quilt changed from what I thought I was making? Now with the top mostly done, the grey doesn't go at all! Ok. I had ordered three yards each of some other fabric to someday use for borders too,so I pulled those out. Nope. Too bright, too orange, too yellow etc. etc. Makes me want to fold the top up and forget about it but I really need to get this to quilting stage.
Okay. How about a pieced border? Triangles? 9 patch? Braids? Something from Bonnie's website that uses leaders/enders? Yep that sounded good since I'd already used some of those L/E in the quilt itself. Next, did I want a white checkerboard effect? A print checkerboard effect? A scrappy effect? (Does the above make sense to anyone except myself?) I chose the scrappy effect after making samples of each and I will continue along these lines until I've got enough border to go around. Anyway, yesterday was filled with a lot of thought process and not that much sewing...
Some things work out, some things don't. I got the hanten made for Tetsu's mother, but it was NOT successful. Too small! I had figured that since she is a much smaller lady than me that I needed to cut the length down but I must have figured because this looks like it's for a child! I wonder if there is a little girl around I can give this to... Ah~~ Well I tried. Since Tetsu's mother is quite stooped over (very typical of elderly Japanese) I had thought that the length of a hanten would be inconvenient and would get in her way when she was doing things. She leans over so much when she stands. Of course, forgot that when one stoops forward that means the back is lengthened so now I've got what amounts to a crop top hanten. Well I'll show it to her and then maybe find someone else who might use it. It's the thought that counts right?
The rest of yesterday I auditioned fabric for the When-Oh-When quilt since I really wanted to get a border on it. Nothing struck my fancy. And all that fabric too! Is it true for anyone else that you buy fabric and when you go to use it it just does not work? I had bought fabric in the summer that I hoped to use for this quilt's border. Remember I was aiming for a somber look so all the fabric was dull grey and I was so sure of the fabric I bought enough for backing too. So why has the quilt changed from what I thought I was making? Now with the top mostly done, the grey doesn't go at all! Ok. I had ordered three yards each of some other fabric to someday use for borders too,so I pulled those out. Nope. Too bright, too orange, too yellow etc. etc. Makes me want to fold the top up and forget about it but I really need to get this to quilting stage.
Okay. How about a pieced border? Triangles? 9 patch? Braids? Something from Bonnie's website that uses leaders/enders? Yep that sounded good since I'd already used some of those L/E in the quilt itself. Next, did I want a white checkerboard effect? A print checkerboard effect? A scrappy effect? (Does the above make sense to anyone except myself?) I chose the scrappy effect after making samples of each and I will continue along these lines until I've got enough border to go around. Anyway, yesterday was filled with a lot of thought process and not that much sewing...
14 comments:
I like the idea you are making for the border.
You asked me where my friend's daughter is? I have forgotten the name of the area, but I will give you her website, & you can see how much she is enjoying it all.
http://pics.livejournal.com/imaginling/pic/000xkt7c/g109
I have tried to send you emails before but the come back, as being unable to be delivered, not sure why?
In the first photos she is with her family, our friends are her parents, & she has 2 brothers. She looks so tall among the Japanese children. She can speak Japanese quite well, they tell her.
The L/E border will look great!
your decision re the border looks wonderful... love the scrappy look with that project.
Can you add a piece on the back of the hassen? maybe a piece work bit so there's some reason for it being "seperate"?
Love the border. I often have fabric that just doesn't work...then I try to figure out what to do with it...not sure why, but do know that I enjoy the hunt for fabric! Happy new year!
I like the L/E border too! I love scrappy quilts.
I usually fall back on a blue border when that happens to me - blue seems to look good with scrappy quilts. Of course, my favorite quilts don't have borders at all. It's nice to finish assembling the blocks and be done.
oh I've definitely had that happen - the fabric you thought would be perfect just doesn't work at all. sigh. I think you've come up with a great solution, much more interesting than a plain old piece of fabric.
The hanten is so pretty. It is too bad that it won't fit your MIL.
And the border is great.
n, np
I like the L/E border Tanya, and it's nice to getting the quilt further into the next stage, isn't it?
The hanten is so nice! I'm sure that someone will love to wear it. Does your quilt actually need a border? I think that those lovely blocks stand up well on their own.
Glad you are feeling better, Tanya. You've come up with a very pretty solution for a border. I'm looking forward to seeing the end result.
I love the picture of the three cats on the heater!
Happy New Year!
The hanten is beautiful, I hope you will find someone who fit it.
I like your border, it is a wonderful idea for a border!
I would like to send you the template for the other hearts, hope I figure it out how to send the original Size per Mail.
My 'planned' border almost NEVER works - I've finally learned not to purchase anything until the center is done.
Now, the border issue... since I just got 'over' my problem with my quilt ... I was determined to have a pieced border, but no matter what I tried, the only thing that really worked was something PLAIN. The center was so busy, no amount of pieced blocks worked at all. I'm wondering if maybe that might be what you are struggling with? You said you wanted it to be somber? Those little squares are cute as anything, but they are NOT somber - they just look playful! Hope you find a solution - the quilt is great.
Happy New Year
The pieced border looks great - it mirrors the other blocks made with squares.
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