Folk Art Medallion

I finally got the rounds finished on the reproduction version of the medallion quilt.  It finishes at 10 1/2” square.

I have  mixed feelings.  I love how the little squares and the square-in-a-square blocks came out, very soft.  I am not, however, in love with the look of that center applique, nor with those dark brown/charcoal gray border strips.  To my eye, the pieced borders have a delicate appeal.  The center applique and the solid border strips, particularly the half-inch wide one, are bold.  End effect: the whole strikes me as unbalanced. 

Remember, this is the quilt I had begun when the quilting pixies came to call.  I’m going to blame it all on them (and not some squirrely lack of judgment on my part).

The question is: just how “not-in-love” am I?  Am I just a little dis-infatuated?  Would time (anywhere from a week to a decade) mellow my feelings?  Should I tell myself to just suck it up and pull out my seam ripper?  After all, it’s not a huge deal to make another center block and choose other fabrics for the solid strips.

Jeff just came home, saw me staring at the quilt, muttering, and said he was going to offer his two cents.   Then reconsidered:  “I’m your husband, my opinion should be worth five cents.  Maybe even a dime.”  Funny guy.  Anyway, his dime is that I should just do away with the outer pieced border and add another unpieced border onto the dark half-inch border.  He really likes the effect of the center applique, the squares, and the dark borders.

Hmmm.  Any one else want to weigh in on this one?  (Don’t you just hate it when you have high hopes for a project and then it goes splat?)

Just to show the two versions side by side, here’s another look at the Kaffe Fasset version.  My original thought was to turn this one into a pillow, but I’m holding off as I debate making another three blocks and doing this up as a wall hanging.  Could happen. 

Sidenote: in case you missed it, I’m giving away a six-month gift membership to The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims.  Just leave a comment on the Giveaway blog entry to be in the drawing.

Sidenote, the second:  Just where did the phrase “my two cents” come from, anyway?