Friday, October 13, 2017

A start instead of a finish

Hi everyone, and a happy Friday the 13th to you all!  Fun fact--several of my brothers and sisters and I all got married in October, and today is my brother's 16th anniversary, and another brother had a 26th yesterday.  (Others coming up, too, believe it or not.) Ours was last week (not saying how many decades) and we went on a small trip to go hiking and generally get away.  I didn't cook for four whole days!  What can I say--he knows the way to my heart! (A really pretty picture from our hike is at the end of this post.)

I know Fridays are supposed to be for finishes, but I didn't make that rule, so this week instead of finishing something I went ahead and started something new:



Yikes, that's a little busier than originally expected! This is the start of a new medallion quilt, which I started with an orphan block that has been laying around here for quite some time.  The quilt group I used to belong to made Tula Pink's 100 blocks from her book City Sampler, 100 Modern Quilt Blocks in the summer of 2013. Yes, I made all 100 blocks, and then some!  The center block here is actually four copies of her block #49, which were left over from a failed experiment.  Some day I'll show off the Tula quilts, but for today it looks great as a medallion center.


I have no real plan for this quilt right now except to make it colorful, use up some scraps, and have some fun with it.  There are three rounds here right now-- a first round with a pale yellow border and squares at the corners, a round of quarter square triangles, and a plain border of a black and white print just to break it up a small bit.  It measures 24-1/2 inches square right now.

Round one!

I'm not too sure how I feel about the rounds so far.  I feel like the first round should have been non-pieced in order to make the quarter squares stand out a little more.  I made the interior quarters of the squares all out of a (different) black and white print, but I think that gets lost a bit.  Maybe I'll try changing the first round, or maybe I'll just leave it until I've finished a few more rounds.


Speaking of which, what should I do for the next round? Flying geese? Birds in the air? Teeny half-square triangles? The good part is that there is no way I can fail at this, so it will just be fun.  If you look at antique medallion quilts, they're all over the place in terms of rounds and spacing and blank space, so there really are no rules.

And here's the picture from our weekend:


This was a waterfall near the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania.  It was a very overcast day, but we hiked up anyway and it turned out to be great. We had a wonderful time!

Hope you all have a great weekend.  If it doesn't rain, there is more yardwork in my future.  All the vegetables are out, but the flowers still need to be cleaned up, and everything else too.  I'm finding myself somewhat anxious for the first frost--to kill off the bugs! Know what I mean?

(I updated this post Friday morning to add in better photos.)

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finished or Not Friday, and Oh Scrap!

18 comments:

Jo said...

Keep working on your medallion quilt. It will be lovely. That is such a beautiful waterfall. How calming

Debbie said...

I love the colors against black and white. Just beautiful!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari,
What a great and productive use for those four blocks - I love how the is starting. Don't you just love starting new quilts?!! I do not think it is too busy at all. Oh, and I'm all for the first frost, too - bring it on - bye bugs. ~smile~ Roseanne

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

That is going to be such a fun quilt! Flying geese next! and beautiful Water falls

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Beautiful work on your quilt.

Lisa J. said...

It a beautiful quilt top Mari.

piecefulwendy said...

It's a bright, happy quilt. I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to do!

JanineMarie said...

What fun. I love black and white prints with brights! I don't think that dotty print gets lost at all. From far, it will read as a different texture while continuing the black and white theme. Funny, I thought it was a whole top made out of an oversized block when I saw the first picture. It will be fun to see how each round develops.

somethingrosemade14@blogspot.com said...

You are off to a great start. I didn't understand the title of your post at first because I didn't realize your were in the process of making a medallion quilt and thought it was a top already. This is going to be a fun project using up your scraps and deciding on the rounds as you sew along. Looking forward to seeing a great finish.

Alice said...

Is it ever going to be cold enough to kill those icky bugs?? I am starting to wonder. I love the bright colors against your black on white. It is super cheery. Can't wait to see the next round!! And my 23rd is on Oct 27th!!

Louise said...

Another vote for flying geese! Maybe bring back that solid red from the center in a few geese. Is this part of the quilt along that is any pattern in black and white and brights? I think there are prizes with the QAL :)

KaHolly said...

Flying geese would be fun for the next round. The don't have to completely surround it but just be strategically placed. I wouldn't change the center! Love it just the was it is! Glad you had a getaway for your anniversary and didn't have to cook! I can appreciate that as I just had a three day getaway with no cooking and it was glorious!

gayle said...

Oh, I love the brights shining out of the black and white prints! It's going to be gorgeous! (I want to try this myself someday, so am happily collecting black/white prints!)

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Hope you keep going. I really like it! If you go to Geese next, maybe add a solid color border and then the Geese. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Kate said...

Very fun and colorful. I like your no rules approach to this quilt. I like the black and white borders with the pops of color in between. Happy stitching this week.

Danice G said...

The quilt is very pretty and colorful. 'Love the geese pattern design. That waterfall is gorgeous. Autumn is such a beautiful season.

Bernie Kringel said...

I like Cynthia's idea of a strip that creates a break between the existing outer row and the next row. My vote if for flying geese blocks- brights against black of course.
My yard desperately needs attention too. All the perennials need to be cut bacd. Everything looks overgrown. Ugh. Hopefully can give it some attention when we get home.

Preeti said...

This is beautiful!!! Lovely prints. Hope you are enjoying the cooler temps and all things pumpkin spice :-)