It doesn't always work.

I like to think that I'm pretty good at putting colors/fabrics together. But not everything works the way I think it will. Case in point:

On a whim, I started pulling fabrics from my stash. The colors all worked together. But in this configuration? Not so much. Washed-out weirdness (in person, it is even worse).

Feeling lazy, rather than fixing the "real" problem of the grey/yellow pieced blocks, I decided to try and make them work by finding a new focus fabric.

Still not perfect, but soooo much better with some contrast in there. I think with some borders, this one is going to be okay. And at this point, okay is feeling pretty good to me.

Sunrise Coins - Blogger's Quilt Festival, Spring 2015!

It's Bloggers' Quilt Festival time again! I'm excited that I have something new to share for this one...

Every so often, I am compelled to make a quilt "just because." No recipient in mind, no real need, but just because I really want to make it. Such is the case with this fun design by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts:

It is called "Framed Coins" and can be found in the (incredibly awesome) book, Skip the Borders. This is actually the third project I have completed from the book. I am a fan.

Can't say as I was horribly original with this one. I pretty much did the exact same thing as in the book, just with red/oranges instead of greens (thus I've given it the name "Sunrise Coins"). But-- it was all from my stash! Woo!

It measures 72" x 72" so I have entered it in the ,"Large Quilts" category.

I had fun with the quilting though! Aurfil Mako 50/2 thread was used throughout. I started by stitching in the ditch around the colored frames and each group of coins (2370, "Taupe"). Then inside the coin sections, I used a grey thread (2600, "Dove") and did a flame-y all-over type thing (inspired by the "Allover Leaves" design found in the book, Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters-- another awesome book!). Then for the colored areas, I used contrasting thread and free-motioned the straight(ish)-line frames. In the red, I used orange (2150, "Golden Poppy"). In the orange, I used red (2250, "Red"). In the peach I used coral (2255, "Dark Texas Orange"). In the coral, I used peach (2220, "Salmon"). I was really pleased with how it all came together!

The back is a fabric I've had in my stash since about 2000. It is such a beautiful print and it just seems to work so well with this quilt. I am also proud of having tried something new with the binding on this one. Most of the binding is black and white polka-dot. But there are two sections where I changed colors of binding to match the adjacent blocks. It was fun trying something new, and I think it looks pretty snazzy too.

It almost feels kind of cheater to call this one a 2015 finish as all but the binding was done last July (and I was too lazy to re-do the label). But the last stitches didn't go in until this year, so 2015 it is!

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my quilt. Have fun enjoying all of the other fabulous entries!

Ina Maxi goodness!

My latest finish:

This is the Ina Maxi Skirt, a PatternReview.com exclusive pattern.

I purchased this happy coral stripe cotton knit from Gorgeous Fabrics with this pattern in mind. Based on my measurements, I cut a size Large, which worked for some parts and was big in others. In the photos above and below, I've tucked in my shirt to try and give an idea of how un-fitted the waist is on me).

While I like how it fits and skims my body from my hips downward, I definitely need to go down a size (or more) for the waist. I tried to mitigate by doing some shaping-- I cut 7/8" from the top of the waist side seams tapering down to the original waistband seam at the bottom. That helped some, but it is still pretty loose where I want it to be close-fitting (because I want it to feel like its gonna stay on/up!). The fabric is 100% cotton and seems to have good recovery-- but maybe something with lycra would help with fit as well?

The only other alteration I made was to trim off 1/2" from the hem. It is still on the long-ish side, though its totally wearable so long as I wear a bit of a heel. Next time, I'll probably shorten it by 1 to 1-1/2" above the tulip part. I also made sure to insert a ribbon to mark the back, which is only subtly different from the front (you can see it poking out in the right pic of the above collage).

On the bright side, I have worn the skirt twice now without incident-- the skirt totally stayed in place and there was no unnecessary flashing. And it is so cute! I love the look of this skirt. I can see myself having another one in my closet at some point-- with a wider, multi-colored stripe print, or even with a pretty solid.

And I feel so fancy when I wear it!

Mint Chocolate Marshmallow Sampler blocks

I finished these a little while ago, but wanted to share them on here (for completeness, I guess?). Here are the final blocks of the Sea Breeze Quilts "Chocolate Marshmallow Sampler" quilt along:

Block 11

Block 12

Here I've laid all twelve blocks out in what I'm thinking might be my final layout. I've set them aside for now. I need some time to think about how I want to sash them and finish it all (though I am leaning toward the suggested option as I do like the stars).

Many thanks to Kate at Life in Pieces for the inspiration for this project's new moniker! Green and brown and white? "Mint Chocolate Marshmallow" is perfect!