Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Feeling centered

Hi all!  How are things going for you?  We are in a tizzy here, as the semester is wrapping up with exams and papers and all, plus the carpenter has promised to show up this week to finish in the living room.  Cross your fingers that he actually shows, because I am tired of living with construction.  Plus it has been raining like crazy! Too many years of 20 degrees in December has me a little freaked out by 50 degrees in December.  And the allergies hate this!

When I get tired of reading papers, I've been working on the center for my medallion quilt.  After about a half dozen different tries, here's where I am now:


I don't know if this looks boring to you, but it looked the best to me.  I tried several traditional things, like flying geese and diamonds, and none of them looked good to me.  I really wanted the central block to stand out, and everything else detracted from it.

This border is a 1 inch green frame, a 1 inch white border, a colorful rectangle border that finishes at 1 inch (!!!) and another 1 inch white border so that the rectangles seem to float in the white space.  And how happy am I that that rectangle border actually did finish at at 1 inch? 


Happy dancing!  And just for grins, the 4-patches in the corners also finish at 1 inch:


The next "round" is the pieced blocks.  My current plan is to frame those blocks as well, but I'm not sure what color to use.


I'd hate to use gray, but that's what I keep coming back to.  If I had more of the green, I might use that, but I don't have enough of any one color to use it for all the blocks.  I do have some solid gray, though.  I guess I'll have to try out some things and see.  The seam ripper is getting a huge workout on this quilt.

Finally, I want to recommend this book:


It's a little bit older book (2012), but I did find it really helpful in testing out different border options and thinking about which borders would best enhance the quilt.  Bet you could find this one at the library, too!

Hope you're all having a great week!  Off to read more papers, grade more exams, and ponder the border options!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social, Oh, Scrap!, and soscrappy for RSC16.

14 comments:

Jo said...

I love, love your center block! It definitely isn't boring. I would love to try my hand at making one.
I love all of your blocks. Colorful is my thing!
Can't wait too see them all together in your quilt.
Happy sewing!

Vicki in MN said...

Way to hang in there and be presistent on the way to a great quilt finish. I really love the center.

Jan @Cocoa Quilts said...

I love the block, but the borders are gorgeous.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I love the border you settled on! Sometimes simple is the best. It lets the beautiful piecing of your center really shine!

Andrea @ Mouse in My Pocket said...

I really like how this came out. I can't wait to see what you add next.

Tish Stemple said...

I think the block spoke and you were definitely listening :) The border was a great addition to complement the center block. Can't wait to see the rest of the quilt come together. And good luck with all that grading!

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

I love the wonderful colour combination in your centre block, so vibrant, and I am most impressed at the border AND the tiny four patches, clever.

Jo said...

I love how you keep trying different things. It is your quilt and you will know when something is right...

Bernie Kringel said...

Excellent choices Mari. Love the small rectangular border and those teeny tiny four patches are awesome. This is really coming together now. ☺️

PaulaB quilts said...

You did it, the perfect border. Colorful but not busy, and it is floating like you said. Congrats on solving the puzzle!

gayle said...

Oh, it looks great! Love those colorful skinny rectangles! (Will you do an expanded version of that border as a final (or near final) outer border?)

The Joyful Quilter said...

That border is PERFECT for the addition of the remaining blocks. Good luck with the next step in the process!!

Guilitta said...

Would you give us a tutorial from Your center Block to finish our Quilt?? Your center is gorgeous and I would like to do it so.

Greeting Guilitta from Germany

PS. Sorry for my bad english!

Tammy said...

Your quilt will be so beautiful.