Saturday, December 9, 2017

Ready to Quilt

Propeller Baby Quilt
Final decision for the posts is slightly larger circles. Previously they were the same size as the propeller centers which was too small. As Robin wrote, eye movement stops there. I also tried circles large enough to touch the geese but that was too far. {And I forgot to snap a photo.}

Also the bright red colors on white were too strong. The new reddish print is darker, subtler, and {perhaps}mimics the angles of the flying geese. The off-white background matches the propeller backgrounds better and tones things down.

Until now I hadn't considered a pale blue grey. That might have looked good. {Back to my old "rushing" habits although I have paused several times constructing this quilt. What is the right balance between forward movement and thoughtful pauses? I haven't found it yet.}

The red and orange fabrics of the geese repeat in several places. I also paired them to emphasize flight.

Propeller baby quilt with flying geese sashing and red circle posts
Start Your Engines quilt is pin basted
There's a two-inch border around the outside in a soft grey/white stripe. Somehow this quilt wanted to float a bit. If if doesn't work after it's quilted it can be cut off.

Check out Mel's post at Piece, Love & Happiness to see some flying geese with more movement.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
My niece took me to the Perot Museum recently. Although it opened more than a decade ago I've never been. What a treat I've missed until now.

Quite a collection of minerals including this 1.25 ton amethyst geode. There were rooms of weather, astronomy, and of course, energy. After all, this is Texas.
Amethyst geode and tornado machine at Perot Museum
1.25 ton amethyst geode and a tornado machine

Did you know central North America from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson Bay was under the Western Interior Seaway during the Cretaceous?  The Perot staged a striking display of several including this Fiat-sized Protostega swimming above a bus-sized Tylosaurus.

Protostega and Tylosaurus, late Cretaceous (80-79 mya) from Rockwall Co.

This Dallasaurus is the link connecting the evolution of aquatic mosasaurs like the Tylosaurus to terrestrial monitor lizards. It's always interesting to see fins turn into feet and vice versa. Did you know residual hand bones still exist in whale fins?

Dallasaurus fossil swims above a monitor lizard skeleton at Perot Museum
Dallasaurus fossil swims above a monitor lizard skeleton

This guy is an Alamosaurus. With a name like that, how could I not include a photo?  The cast is made of bones from several of this species. You can see the real fossilized neck behind him near the bottom. It's the only set of articulated vertebrae from this dinosaur. Fossil pieces that large are too heavy to mount; that's why museums must make casts. These bones were found is such a remote location of Big Bend they had to be helicoptered out. I took one of my field work courses there so it always has a special place in my heart.

Alamosaurus sanjuanensis cast mounted at Perot Museum
Alamosaurus sanjuanensis cast mounted at Perot Museum

On the way out we saw this message carved on a bench.

Bench at the Perot Museum in Dallas

Dinner anyone?

Enjoy the day, Ann

18 comments:

Quiltdivajulie said...

Congrats on reaching the ready-to-quilt stage with this one. I don't think there IS any perfect balance between forward motion and thoughtful pauses. Each quilt and each stage of a quilt has its own unique set of needs and so do we as quilt makers. All we can do is all we can do. Bugs for dinner - yuck!

Mel Beach said...

Your quilt is really starting to take flight!! It's pretty fabulous. Not sure how I feel after reading about all the bugs I have probably ingested this past year...yuck!

Robin said...

The red print you used for the circles in the cornerstones is perfect. The quilt really turned out so nice.

Ann said...

You're right, Julie. But I hate leaving quilts for months/years almost as much as deciding too quickly. Sometimes after they've languished for a long time I simply sew them up with the next idea I have. That's a dicey solution.
Yes, that message made we queasy, too.

Ann said...

I keep hoping I'm below average on this. Yuck, indeed.

Ann said...

Thanks, Robin. Funny how a few small changes to an idea made such a big difference.
The top is done but it's not quilted yet. The quilting design is giving me fits at the moment.

KaHolly said...

Your quilt will be perfect! I’ll be up in the Metroplex later this winter visiting old friends for a couple of weeks. The Perot Museum looks like it would be a fun side trip for us, that is if I can keep them out of the quilt stores long enough to do anything else😉!

Janie said...

Accidentally eating bugs! Well at least there's some protein and maybe trace minerals involved.
Great work.

Kaja said...

I am telling myself that if I haven't noticed the bugs this far, they can't be very big ones, but I'm not sure it's helping! I like your solution, and the paired geese, which I hadn't noticed but which add a nice rhythm. The balance is often a pragmatic one for me - I don't want to stop for so long that things never get finished, nor make something I don't really like. Upshot is I quite often look back and think I might have done something differently, but that is just part of the learning process: every quilt adds a little more insight.

Ann said...

It's always tough for me in the metroplex. Do I visit all the quilt shops or do other things? Hmmm.

Ann said...

Positive response, Janie. It was a shocking statement to me.

Ann said...

My first reaction was that the bug statistic can't be real. Then I tried to console myself it was an average which doesn't speak to the individual. Like you, neither of these reactions really helps. At least I haven't died from them.
I'd like to keep my quilts moving. Ideally I'd like to start and finish each in sequence but that will never happen. But if I wait too long I just lose interest. Either the style or colors look dated to me. Or something. I, too, can always find something I'd change on each quilt and usually take it as a learning experience.

cspoonquilt said...

The top looks great! And thanks for the trip to the museum!

Ann said...

Someday I'll learn to cull photos to ONE per museum. Too many dinosaurs. Ha!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

Alamosaurus is amazing as is your quilt project which I've been following along...what a fun post :)

Ann said...

Thanks, Deb. I enjoyed spending the day with my niece. The Perot was a bonus. And I'm delighted you like this little quilt, too.

Cathy said...

WOW!! What a stunning baby quilt!

I knew we consumed bugs but didn't realize it was that many. That fact (maybe it's fake news?????) doesn't creep me out as much as the number of mites and other "invisible" things actually live on us. I saw it on a show years ago and felt itchy for months. And I used to have nightmares of living during the age of dinosaurs. I know how ants feel when I tower over them! I think I watched too many Creature Feature movies when I was a kid.

Ann said...

Mites bother me if I think about them so I try not to. And I'm such a chicken I never went to horror movies. The kids always tell me when it's safe to uncover my eyes when we go to anything the least bit scary. That includes The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Ha.