So close and yet so far
I was really excited a few weeks back to add the last few border strips to my Daydream sampler quilt in scrappy Christmas colors. I started this project when I was freelancing for Quilter’s World a couple of years back.
Below is designer Carolyn Beam’s original Daydream in Moda fabrics by Corey Yoder.
by Corey Yoder
I wanted a more scrappy look and I had several yards of this great candy cane print.
I pulled my fabrics in similar happy colors which is always really fun. I don’t match the colors exactly when I do this, but more generally.
As each of the 2021 issues arrived, I made a few more blocks. I was a little uncertain of how this would come together in the end, but I’ve learned to trust my gut, so I tried not to worry.
Some blocks were more successful than others.
This one wasn’t especially successful. Nor the one below.
The blues and the pinks fight a bit when you look at just this block, but I was pretty sure it would be all right in the big picture.
So here’s where I landed, and I liked most everything except for one block. It’s the middle block in the third row. The more I looked, the more it bothered me.
The dark teal/navy was just so dark with no mediums in sight to temper it. And then I realized that I’d missed four stitch-and-flips which should form another diamond in the center. So I took the block out of the quilt top.
And then I took the entire block apart.
It would have been easier just to start over but I made this block in May of 2021 and by now I have no idea where those fabrics are and I didn’t want to introduce a bunch of new fabrics at this late stage.
I solved the problem by using a medium red and a medium dark green for the diamonds. Now they don’t stick out so much and I think the whole thing works better.
This was a tricky one and it doesn’t work as well as most of my scrappy quilts do. I probably didn’t give myself enough rules to follow so that it became cohesive. Even so, I still like it and l’ll use it to teach some concepts about repetition and color matching/clashing as well as value and contrast lessons. I guess that’s the beauty of being a teacher: I can use all of my mess-ups to help other quilters avoid those pitfalls.
Soon this one will be quilted and then it goes into the Jingle Bells trunk show. I’m traveling this week and will give that trunk show twice! It’s such a fun one to share as it gets everyone in the holiday spirit.
If you’re on Instagram, check out my new handle @stashbanditquilts. My old account was stolen in August and so I’m starting over. I post almost daily there and would love to have you join me!
Happy quilting,
Tags: carolyn beam, Christmas quilts, fabric savvy, jingle bells trunk show, quilters world, scrap quilts, trunk shows
Jan
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This quilt may have its ‘problems’ to you but I really like it. Bright, cheerful, and the top is done!!
Amy Falise
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What a bright and cheery quilt! I like the change you made. The original stood out to me too and I would have changed it too. The overall look is so nice and I like the colors you used too.
Nancy Sue Arnoldy
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You’re so right! That block looked like it had a “vacancy” sign in the original block. Making it more scrappy and less chunky helped to tie it in with the rest of the blocks.