My sister came up from Portland for the weekend and we went out to see Darling Daughter and the Delightful Granddaughters. I played with Miss Margaret in ways my body is not accustomed to anymore and I'm paying for it now! I can hardly stand up straight today ;- )
"I wonder if I can get Grandma to swing me one more time?"
Before my sister arrived I had a brainstorm for the Fabric of Life challenge quilt. I had to go out and buy some beads for it (oh darn!) but then got right to work yesterday and finished it up. (I don't seem to be able to take a straight picture of it however. I am just not a photographer.)
I bought what I know as antique African trade beads. The label on the strand calls them "Venetian Bead Mix, 150-200 Yrs." They are a mix of sizes and colors and even shapes. I had to supplement them with a few new seed beads to make the more expensive beads extend all the way across the width of the quilt twice. I also picked up four cowrie shells to accent the center of the quilt. I ended up doing more machine quilting than I had intended, but it's all in the ditch so it's not really visible.
Overall I'm happy with the finished product. The only change I would make if I could would be to make that slant of the striped print along the bottom edge of the center medallion more pronounced. Tonya recommended leaving that bit alone when I originally showed it but it had such a curve to it I wasn't comfortable working with it so I whacked some of it off. As it turns out, I whacked off a little too much. In a perfect world I would have had more of that stripe to play with! Oh well; live and learn. All it lacks at this point is the sleeve and label. I could have turned it in on the original deadline afterall! It sure feels good to get things done. Now I have to be careful not to lose my momentum and get back to my monthly journal quilts...
By the way, thank you for all the positive comments lately. I've been a little lazy about responding personally but I do appreciate every one of them. Keep up the good work! I enjoy hearing from y'all :- )
Very pretty African fabric quilt. Love the seed beads that look like shells. And would you just look at the adorable hair on an adorable preschooler!! Too cute.
ReplyDeleteThose babies are gorgeous! That quilt is gorgeous too! I love it! Very nice and the beads and cowrie shells are perfect! Great job! Thanks for your comments on scraps and storage- I love playing with my scraps too...thats where some of the doll quilts come from. have a good night! :) kim
ReplyDeletedarling little girls. woohoo on the finish! you did great. no need to reply to my comment, I don't respond to all of them myself. cheers.
ReplyDeleteWow I like that orange, it packs a punch. I don't know about the strip on the bottom, the overall piece looks pretty balanced to me.
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