Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Scrappy Top Complete... Maybe

The future depends on what we do in the present.
~Mahatma Gandhi

Quilting

The top is sewn but it's not a good finish. Some of the values are too dark/strong. The main diagonals should be the only dark points. 

You'll also note it's symmetrical. Most of my quilts are. Kaja's challenge is timely. I need to push myself to try asymmetrical arrangements... soon.



I may or may not rework this. The top half is definitely lighter than the bottom. A good example of what happens when we don't pay enough attention to value. Fortunately there's a bunch of sewing piled up so I have time to ponder.

It's so hot that a wrap skirt is the coolest clothing I can imagine. A wrap dirndl was the first thing my mother showed me how to sew. Fortunately I could remember the basic instructions and it only took a couple of hours.


The Kaffe fabric has been in my stash several years. The bright, splashy daisies feel like summer. 

Reading

When Beverly Cleary passed away this spring, I remembered how much my children liked her books, especially The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I reread it and still enjoyed the story even more now that we've spent time in California. 


Next I read one of her autobiographies, A Girl from Yamhill, which covered her early life until she left for college. She was a beloved only child but also had serious issues with her mother as a teenager. It was unpleasant to read how her mother pushed her into a relationship with a man in his twenties when she was still in high school. Good to read she gave him his marching orders. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

30 comments:

patty a. said...

Put a border on that top and call it done. It is a cute quilt that anyone would love.

Julierose said...

I like your scrappy top just how it is, too. This way it doesn't look so "planned" ;)))
Cute wrap skirt...great choice for the fabric-- stay cool
hugs, Julierose

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I think the darker values sprinkled through give it a lot of interest. You could think of your value changes as being the asymmetrical part of this layout. If it were "too planned" it would look symetrical and possibly be a lot less exciting to look at.

Robin said...

What a cute skirt. I think the quilt looks just fine as it is. That being said, I am currently re- appliquing a block for the Sweet Land of Liberty quilt that was totally wrong and I had to fix it. Only the maker knows how it's supposed to look.

Ann said...

That’s what I’m telling myself but some of the squares bother me.

Pamela said...

Perfect hot weather skirt! I like the quilt how it is. Call it done!

ButterZ said...

I think your quilt looks great. It now has a definite top with the darker, heavier, being the bottom

Sally Langston Warren said...

Oh, I so enjoyed Beverly Cleary’s books too! My fourth grade teacher spent time every day reading a book to us. A chapter a day until the book was finished. She introduced me to Henry, Beezus, Ribsy, Ramona, etc….. as she read several of BC’s book that year.
I like your quilt as it is. The diagonals still stand out over the other fabrics. Maybe you need to get it quilted and gifted soon. I bet in years to come, when you see it at the recipient’s house, you will see it like we do.

Bluestocking said...

It's probably little consolation to *you*, but I for one am comforted that even quilters with much more experience and a far better eye than myself think "hmmm" about their quilt tops now and then! I have just laid out a great many hourglass blocks and confess to feeling not a little discouraged. Robin's comment above, "Only the maker knows how it's supposed to look," made me laugh, if somewhat dryly, as my daughter walked in just as I had started glaring at my blocks, and she said, "I like that!"

bumblebee53 said...

funny; those darks don't bother me. in fact, they add interest and keep the eye moving and I still see the lattice of the very darks; I'd call it done but it's your quilt and I understand about being bothered and wanting to make it right to YOUR eye. That dirndl wrap skirt is so adorable!

Preeti said...

It certainly gets lighter on the top. Are you telling me it is not intentional??? I had to try hard to achieve that look of effervescence. Uniformly distributed values are kinda blah, don't you think? In the current example, the value distribution is such that it makes the eye travel in a definite direction. I wouldn't fret about it :-p Fret not, she said!!!

Ann said...

It’s definitely scrappy, Julierose. The skirt is cool and easy to wear.

Ann said...

Those are two good points, Wanda. I will look at this for a while.

Ann said...

So true. We makers are the ones who need to be satisfied. Even when everyone else rolls their eyes.

Ann said...

Skirts can be so comfortable on hot days. Thanks, Pamela.

Ann said...

That’s a good point. It is truly from my scraps. I just wish I’d paid more attention to value.

Ann said...

What a delightful memory, Sally. My fourth grade teacher led us in art every Friday and was my favorite teacher. I read some of BC’s books on my own but found them fully when my own children read them. Wonderful.

Ann said...

I often think the quilts I like half way through end up kind of blah and the ones I think are uninspiring halfway through end up
Quite good. Perhaps it’s because I pay attention rather than coasting to the finish.
Funny story about your daughter.

Ann said...

I’m probably too particular. My face is within inches of the fabric. Thanks for writing.

Ann said...

Oh, yes, Preeti. I totally planned this. Hahaha. I did think I was introducing a bit of variation but yikes, it’s like two separate quilts. And thanks for the reminder not to fret.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Over the past couple of days I've popped back and looked at this! I do like it, the colours all dance around - but, I agree, the top section is lighter. I guess it's a matter of whether you can live with it and if you feel this is finished. I know you love adding borders, was that the plan next? If so, it's a quick fix... I'm sure you can balance things out, for example by making sure the top corners are darker? Improv asymmetrical borders? Look forward to your next step!

Linda said...

Perhaps I’m a Philistine but I can’t see anything wrong with the top you have made. I love it!

Ann said...

That’s a clever idea, Linda. This quilt is the finished size but I could re-examine it. I don’t mind some variation from light to dark but this one seems heavier than most.

Ann said...

Well, thanks, Linda. It’s not wrong per se; it just doesn’t meet my expectations. Haha. I didn’t think I had any expectations for scrap quilts.

Mystic Quilter said...

Just catching up with your quilt here and what you say, I'm of the mind that if something really bugs you then best thing is to try and fix it rather than leave it. I do think that the bottom half is darker, perhaps a few squares changed around?

Ann said...

Yes, now that I’ve thought about it, there’s just a few squares I want to change out. I. Glad you’re feeling better, Maureen.

audrey said...

Your quilt may be symmetrical, but the way the values fall, it comes off as anything but! I am a fan of these quilts, but never have managed to make one. They definitely sound harder to make than they look!:)

Ann said...

Thanks, Audrey. It’s going to be hard for me to make an asymmetrical quilt unless it’s a pictorial quilt. Trip quilts, otoh, are usually easy. This time, however…. Sigh.

Nann said...

I can see how you'd like to emphasize the diagonals more, but I agree that it's fine as it is. Just a lesson for the next time. I loved Beverly Cleary, especially the books illustrated by Louis Darling. I asked for, and got, a hardcover copy of Beezus and Ramona one Christmas. Special order from the local bookshop, years before kids' paperbacks were commonplace. I may still have it.....

Ann said...

Thanks, Nann. I’ve been pinning some changes while I work on the baseball quilt. Lucky you to have some Cleary books in hardback. They are still good reads.