Thursday, January 07, 2016

Stack-n-Whack Fans

Getting back to client quilting now that the new year is here.  First one up had been put off for a bit while I searched for inspiration.  Large masses of blank, open fabric take planning (and a bit of courage).  It feels good to have it finished, and I hope she likes the end result.
This quilt has a single Hobbs 80/20 batt and is stitched with gold Glide, and dark blue & green So Fine threads.  I was told that it is going on a bed and that it does not have to be as dense as another I did for her before Thanksgiving.  The blue border is a whopping 10" wide!  That width of border takes either a nice large feather, as I chose, or a good bit of subdividing (time, marking, and cost there).  The feather is a bit more organic, to tie in with the leaves of the outermost border fabric.
 The fans are simply stitched, mostly because nothing really is going to show on them.  The place to get bang for your buck is on the plain blue squares.  I chose a stencil.  I believe I have used this a couple times before (I like this one that much!).  The stippling around the stencil, which is stitched in gold, pops the design.
 It's a pretty bed quilt.  Next up on the weekend is a baby quilt, then onto a Neimeyer star of some kind.
 I have been puttering with just about every possible combination of border colors for this top this week for the last month.  I have bought everything from these two colors, to a custom dyed lighter orange (which matched the champagne silk horribly), a deep green and a black.  I am having a hard time getting on board with the black, but may still incorporate some black in the border/binding.  It's time to move this top along, stop consternating about every possible color, and get the dang applique done.  A lot of quilters I know are choosing a word for 2016.  My choice word is this phrase "No Procrastination" !
or perhaps you line this variation better (he he, said as I procrastinate!), with just a touch of the black...Leave me a comment with your preference :-)

22 comments:

Maggie said...

Hey Margaret,

Happy New Year!! My preference is the black. Would it be too much to also incorporate the border, much more narrow, around the blocks? The reddish color first?

There's something really amiss if your customer doesn't like the quilting on the fan quilt!!

maggie

Vicki W said...

I'm not as fond of the black....and I usually put black in every quilt!

Shannon said...

I love the little touch of black under your ribbon appliques!

Lin McQ said...

I love the border with the black added.

ChristaQuilts said...

I think I prefer it without the touch of black. At first I thought I liked it better with the black, but then my eye wanted to add more black as a tiny outline strip around each block to tie it together.

I like the black/white animal print in the blocks and am thinking that's probably already enough touch of black.

But it will be gorgeous, whatever you decide :-)

Laura T said...

I definitely like the touch of black you added:-). Outstanding quilting on the blue quilt!
LauraT

lvkwilt said...

Definitely with the touch of black! Love it!

Lisa said...

Love the addition of black

Jenny Jo said...

My vote is cream!

Sewing Up A Storm said...

I like the second choice with the black in it. With the smaller photo I liked the first then I opened the photos on my monitor and I think the tiny bit of black pulls the zebra fabric around the out more. I really like the asymetry in that orange strip and love how it is twisted in the lower right............very pretty!

Unknown said...

First off I must say how brilliant you are! You have a wonderful gift and your quilts are so beautiful. I've been around quilt in all my life. And have never seen work as outstanding as yours.
It's always hard to tell true colors in a photo. What stands out to me is the pink colors. But I'm a pink fan!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful designs with us all!

Unknown said...

I like the touch of black as your blocks have a touch also! Courage! Love your sharing.
Leslie

Marina Segalovitch said...

Black looks very interesting to me if considering some quilting in black on these beautiful large borders. I am sure you will surprise us! I signed up for another year with MQU magazine mostly because of your articles. I go back to them often and looking forward for the new ones. Thank you!

Nicole said...

I like the black. It brings out the black in your blocks. Very pretty.

Unknown said...

I think the black looks great. The ribbon is so nicely done!! It looks really good.

momto1 said...

So hard to tell from the photo. I do love the black, but I'd be concerned that it would draw attention away from those gorgeous blocks.

Love your quilting. The blue fan quilt is just stunning. I love seeing how you consider what quilting design to use in the different parts of the quilt.

Unknown said...

Tie in the zebra with the black. It makes the border pop!

Mary said...

I prefer the order without the black, unless you add black to the body of the quilt in equal amounts. Love the quilting on the fan quilt! Superb as usual, Margaret!

Tammy Hutchinson said...

I like seeing through the woven ribbon, so w/o the black. Love your setting plan!

Anonymous said...

HI Margaret,
I like the twisted braid border but do like the bit of black in the straight one too. Guess I am not much help at all either.
I am sure you will figure it out and it will look fantastic when you are done.

ruth

Nancy Wines said...

No black!

Moriah Quilts said...

Beautiful quilting. Your creativity and skill
encourage me to build mine. Thank you for sharing. With work like that how do you find time for your own?