Saturday, November 5, 2011

Summer House Quilt-To-Be


A little while ago, on a whim, I bought a layer cake of Summer House by Lily Ashbury.  I think I was initially taken by the bright, happy colours and as I hadn't played with layer cakes before I thought I'd give it a go.  When it arrived, though, I was... hmm... not exactly thrilled with the collection.  Don't get me wrong, some of the designs are gorgeous... but, to me, it is a rather eclectic mix that doesn't fully gel.  As a result I was utterly confused with what to do with it.

Then, late (around midnight) on Thursday I finally took the plunge and started cutting.  I was following the Boxed in Quilt tutorial from Moda Bake Shop, but using just the prints with no solids.  I cut, cut, cut.  I sewed, sewed, sewed.  And when I stopped (at some ridiculous hour of the morning) and laid out the squares... I literally shuddered in disgust.  It was soooo busy and... just soooo wrong.  Not me at all.  I honestly wanted to cry but instead just dragged my tired self off to bed, feeling defeated.

This is a sample of what I woke up to...


Ugh.  What was I thinking??  That, right there, is proof that any brainwaves at midnight are not to be taken seriously.  Ever.

At this point, I would normally pick up all the pieces and shove them in some dark, cobwebby corner never to see the light of day again.  BUT, instead, I got stubborn and refused to let this collection beat me.  No way hosay.  I know that something great can be made from this line.  A Google Image search confirms this.  ;)

Before I could even start thinking about Plan B, though, I had to reacquaint myself with an old, but very dear, friend...



And then, after a number of hours, I was left with this...


Time to go back to the drawing board.  I'm positive that this project is selvagable but as it is, once again, past midnight I'm going to learn from my mistakes and leave it be until the morning.  I shall keep you posted with my progress.  I will be victorious.  Err... wish me luck.  I'll need it.  :)

E.

PS - I apologise for the utterly shocking phone pictures.  The "proper" camera is due back from its holiday on Tuesday.  Yippee!

6 comments:

  1. Oh wow! Those summer house fabrics are gorgeous! It will be fab! :-)

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  2. I love the fabric collection. I'm a sucker for anything with paisley in it, and I love the eclectic colour mix.

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  3. The fabrics are lovely but I can see what you mean about an eclectic mix...how about something simple like this? http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com/lavieenrosie/2011/09/a-tale-of-four-houses.html

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  4. Oh you can do it, I do like the blocks but they ARE busy, what about some solid color sashing all the way around each block? black, white ? whatever color, that might look better?

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  5. I actually don't think the block are that bad! But...yes if you need to start over then you just must. Ah, seam ripper. Got to love it!

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  6. Well, at least you didn't get toooo far before deciding you didn't like it, but ripping is never fun. Can't wait to see what you do come up with, though! Very pretty fabrics, but they could use a little...something...

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