Saturday, May 6, 2017

Revisiting Chinese Coins II

Without progress on my Chinese Coins II for the past month, they came off the wall to work on the Mini Trip Around the World (TOW.) And look what happened.

Chinese Coin layout

While I didn't like the red boxes together, This arrangement alternating red boxes with slightly longer blue coins has possibilities. The sashing is a small scrap of dark olive that sets off the bright colors well. I was sure more fabric about this color lurked in the stash boxes... but I was wrong.

Although this plan didn't work out, it broke the drought and I sewed several sets of Coins. Many of my coins measured from six to eight-inches long. I haven't made a Coin top laid out vertically so they are purposely set to get my mind thinking the right direction.

Monica at Lakeview Stitching and I are both inspired by Nettie Young's Stack Bricks. Like both of them, I'm planning wide sashing. It's interesting to see the variations we each bring to this design. Monica recut some hourglass blocks into several improv blocks but she retained the tall rectangular outline of the block.

Chinese Coin sets

Mine are turned ninety degrees; wider than they are high. Without really planning, I ended up with a light side and a dark side. Originally I laid them all with the dark on top. That made too strong a horizontal. Now they alternate. They almost look square as they float behind the sashing.

Because these strip sets had lots of blues and pinks, I was absolutely certain my second choice for sashing would be perfect. {First choices was a remnant here.} So I cut several strips. Wrong-o. Again.

I was amused to note my sashing has the same colors as Monica's. She planned her colors better; the browns and tans, fit the cornflower blues. {Someone in the States didn't keep her eye on the scraps.} Somehow my coins became greener. The quiet color saturation of both these sashings attracts me but doesn't work with the stronger, {more acidic?} strings. This sashing won't make the grade either. It looks like Retro Mama meets the Groovy Gal.

Plaid sashing for Chinese Coins II

Back to the drawing board.

Enjoy the day, Ann