Perfection

Lately, I have been one very very lucky swapper.  Today I received my Doll Quilt Swap 12 from Louise.  It is gorgeous beyond belief, and I’m warning right away, I haven’t been able to get the color right.  I’m going to try again in a couple days (it’s late and gray right now and a forecast for snow tomorrow – so as soon as I think I might get a day with good light . . .). 

The color looks a little flat here, and I’m feeling bad about that because this quilt is the most gorgeous combination of soft and warm taupes.  (If me and Photoshop got along I could probably fix this.  But we don’t get along and, really, it’s all Photoshop’s fault.  It has nothing to do with my personal limitations.  Nothing at all).  The design is fabulous, and here’s a close-up of the hand quilting.

Is that not gorgeous? 

Louise included a sweet card as well.  The colors of the fabric in this photo are actually pretty close to reality.  Scrumptious.

And she even included a selection of those gorgeous taupes along with!

I LOVE this quilt.  Love it, love it, love it. Love those beautiful colors.  Love the design.  Love the prints on the fabrics, the maps and newsprint.  Love the trees.  Love the dimension of the hand stitching.

And, it’s perfect serendipity as well: there’s  a mini up on one of my living room walls that I’ve wanted to swap out with something else.  This is the perfect quilt for that spot – at the top of the stairs where the taupe blends perfectly with the new carpeting on the stairs, the entry way tile, and the little area rug that leads into the kitchen.

Louise mentioned in the card that she went out of her comfort zone to work with these colors.  I should have such success when I wander into terra incognita!  But I’m not going to be envious because I’m just too darned happy that her adventure is my beautiful work of art!

I’ll try and get a better picture in a day or two, both outside and  up on the wall.

Thank you, Louise!

Doll Quilt Swap 12

Out the Door

Another mini ready to go.  My partner said she liked color, so I went for color!

She also said she liked traditional blocks in a modern (off the grid) style.  Okay.  I tried. 

Really.

I did.  I made up the little blocks and I kept playing with them trying to come up with an off the grid, non-traditional layout that looked good. 

Head smack into personal limitations.  I couldn’t do it.  Every layout I played with looked like 1) I was too lazy to make all the blocks and fill out the quilt, 2) the dog ate half the blocks and I was racing the deadline, or 3) a deranged design-challenged quilter had run amok in my sewing room.

I speak as someone who really admires the modern style that other quilters manage.

Sad, really, but there it is.  My thinking outside the box skills clearly need some work.  Meanwhile, I went for simplicity and hoped that would be “modern enough.” 

In any case, I really like how it came out.  I just hope my partner does!

I took some process photos.  Like bunches of little squares.

Laid out into blocks.

And the foundation started.

At which point I got caught up in the process and forgot to take any more pictures.  But here’s a close-up of the finished quilt.

I love the colors on this quilt set against the black and white binding fabric.

And lastly, a pincushion for part of the extras.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled programming.  (Grading, grading, grading . . . )