Tuesday 19 February 2008

Too much pink !!!

Thankyou all for your lovely compliments on my stitcheries. I would say to anyone thinking of having a try to go for it. So relaxing and such fun to see the picture emerging as you stitch. I have another couple prepared and will do them soon. A few of you have asked for the name of the website where I got the pattern for the rainy day picture. It is www.homeberries.com . I found other sites but this was the best I came across so far. It has loads of pictures all divided up into sections - seasons etc. There are some really good ones - cute snowmen, angels and especially of interest to many quilters - cats !!! I can see me making plenty of these from here.

On the back of my fabric there was a piece of calico ( muslin ) basted together at the edges. This was a tip given to me by Linda and it worked a treat - thanks Linda. She said it hides stray threads and gives the fabric a bit of body and stops puckers.

Anyway, under Patricks instructions I am doing some work on a WIP - namely my Carolina Crossroads quilt. You probably all know by now this is a mystery quilt. I have never done one before and was a little dubious about my colour choices. Once the blocks were all done I knew I wanted to add sashing as there was - you guessed it - too much pink !!! Now I like pink - as all the fabrics I used were from my stash it is clear that I have a lot of pink fabrics. BUT it needs something else to give it a bit of oomph and take away some of the pinkness. Here are a few of the blocks - see what I mean ?? The dark colours are not as prominent in real life. They all seem to blend together more.


I spent some time at the weekend going through my fabrics and picking out a few that I thought would work. I am doing this quilt-as-you-go and with the method I use you only see a half inch of the joining strips which have the sashing effect. I cut several little strips and put them in place amongst the blocks. I kept walking away and coming back to them and eventually I had a winner. I asked Jason to pick one too and amazingly he picked the same one. He was very pleased with himself about this - lol !




We both decided on the middle one - the green stripe. The only problem was I knew I did not have enough. I bought this weeks ago at the fabric warehouse I go to. The problem with this place is they only have fabrics once and never usually on the bolt. They are all pre-cut lengths stacked in metal baskets and you pay for them by weight. You need to have a good rummage too. Sometimes they are seconds and have flaws in them and you have to be careful what you're buying. I found the fabric I needed on the internet in a shop in Tennessee so I knew I could get more if I needed to. But Tennessee is a long way from Wales and I would have had to wait a while before I got it. I decided to go back to my warehouse on the off-chance that they would have more of the fabric. As we walked up the stairs to the craft section I looked over to the baskets and guess what I saw.......Yippee - ONE piece only of my fabric. Bigger than what I needed and when I unfolded it to check it - it was perfect. Lucky or what ?? I was chuffed - some things are just meant to be. I have started using it and will do a bit more before I show you pictures. My friend says I am brave using a stripe in a completely different colour but I THINK it will work and I like to add a surprise in amongst the mix now and again.

Linda asked how I do quilt-as-you-go and it so happens I've took a few photos along the way so next time I will show you my version.

Happy quilting !!

33 comments:

Unknown said...

Why couldn´t you show us a little??? *LOL* I will be coming back soon to see if you have a picture to show us.

Unknown said...

Oh soooo pretty, and not at all too pink, but then I'm starting to lean towards the pinks and soft shades.....

Ila K. said...

Hey, the all-pink goes with your socks LOL!

Looking forward to the quilt as you go pictures. Thanks in advance for that.

Shar said...

Love the pinks very pretty! Thank you for sharing the website for the free stitchery patterns. Also looking forward to the quilt as you go photos!

Shar

Emily Cole said...

I love all of the pink! I can't wait to see how it looks with the green stripe sashing too... you sure got lucky with that warehouse! Way to go!

Kieny The Dutchlady said...

OK, now you have me hooked too. Just finished my first stitchery, they are so much fun. Do you stitch through two layers?

Looking forward to see how you combine the pink with the green.

Kristie said...

~Giggle~ I just printed most of those free patterns!!! :) Thanks!

I love your quilt, I think it is very pretty!
Kristie

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

The quilt look great...

Sew Create It - Jane said...

I've been having a grand time looking at that website...thanks for the link.

Like your Carolina Crossroads...I think it will look great when it done...pink and all!

The Calico Cat said...

I think that that green will look great with the pinks!

Becky said...

Love the sock too!

Ila K. said...

Me again! I've tagged you to share 7 random things about yourself. You are so kind to share your charming quilts, enquiring minds want to know!

http://koolqlt.blogspot.com/2008/02/7-random-things.html

loulee said...

Lucky you to find the right fabric. Yay!!

Thanks for the link. ;-)

Julia said...

Thanks for sharing the wonderful site for the stitcheries. There are several that I want to do.
I love your pink socks!!!!

Marilyn Robertson said...

I like the pink too, but I am looking forward to see the green stripe mixed in. Your stitchery pieces are wonderful!

country mouse said...

I'm with the masses. I like the pink too, very pretty (my daughter REALLY likes it :cD ) but I can't wait to see the green added to it.

Lisa Boyer said...

LOVE the green stripe. Can't wait to see it put together! Thanks for the link to the embroidery site--they sure have some nice patterns...

Quilter Kathy said...

I LOVE your blocks Andrea! I am scared of that striped fabric...LOL...you are very brave!!Just show us a little how it will look!!

Red Geranium Cottage said...

OMG I love that quilt. And I think it's perfect!!! You can really see the different fabrics. I wouldn't change a thing.

Helen in the UK said...

Your quilt looks SOOOO lovely in the picture and I am very amused by the pink toes creeping into the bottom of the picture!! I'm intrigued to see what it will look like with the contrast sashing :)

Elly D said...

Hi there, Your pink quilt is very pretty. Looking forward to seeing it with your green sashing. It will look great. Also how you do your quilt-as-you-go.
thank you for sharing..

~Bren~ said...

I love all the pink!! I am still getting caught up...now toward the end of my feeds list. Your stitcheries were wonderful!!!!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh I LOVE your Carolina Crossroads! I love all the pinks! But I can't wait to see how that green goes with it!

YankeeQuilter said...

Pink and green...very "preppy!" I love the combination. Can't wait to see it!
Sio

sewkalico said...

Just to let you know, I mailed your parcel about 2 weeks ago now. Cathy got hers in Ireland this week even though they said 6-8 weeks so I hope you get yours soon too :O)

*karendianne. said...

I think this is going to be fun! What an adventure. ;)

corry said...

Pink and green... a pretty match! I sure like to see this quilt finished!

Cherold said...

I love your pinks! Pink is my color...you have been tagged. See the details on my blog:

http://www.cheroldsplace-cheri.blogspot.com/

Cheri

Lynda said...

You were lucky to find more of the fabric you needed! Even in an ordinary quilt shop, you can't guarantee that they will have more, if you need it. Did you go and buy a lottery ticket on the same day?!

Colleen formerly of South Africa said...

Just caught up on your blog. Your "free" desk is wonderful.Love the idea of "freecycling". Love the xstitches and the quilt.Glad your hands are recovered. Colleen adjusting from south africa

meggie said...

I love your new header pic!!

Also really like your mystery quilt. Will be very interesting to see how it turns out.

Rebel said...

Oh... there's no such thing as "too much pink"! But I guess sometimes you need to throw a different color into the mix to bring out the wonderful pinkness of it. =P

Looks great!

Lettyb said...

I know this will sound lame - but I have a question about joining blocks for quilt as you go. When you sew the 1 inch block to the front you take off 1/2 inch with the seams - but does that mean you have 1/2 of fabric between blocks that has no batting under it at the join???