I've been running into problems with borders the last few quilts. You might remember that I was working on Whimsy's pieced borders when I decided I needed to go piece a gazillion flying geese instead. Mostly that was because Whimsy's borders were waving at me when I attached them and I didn't feel up to dealing with them just then.
I happily went off to piece the flying geese and was astonished and delighted at how quickly the center of the geese quilt came together.
Nevertheless, I'm sure you have noticed that I haven't posted any progress on this unnamed quilt. That would be because I'm not sure what to do with it next. I made a trip to the quilt shop specifically to choose border fabrics and actually came home with two selections. At the quilt shop I and all the staff were sure they were perfect choices, but when I got home and spread out the fabric and laid the quilt on it to mimic borders...nope. Not quite right. It's in a UFO box until I figure something out. Perhaps when I get set up to download pictures again (that's a whole other sigh-inducing story!) I can post pictures and you can all send me suggestions.
When I hit that roadblock, I didn't pull Whimsy back out. (Sorry Pat! I'll get it out again at some point, I promise!) Instead I finally cut into my Greetings from Canada fabric to make a "Canada Quilt". It came out more or less as I had designed it on graph paper, with a few adjustments.
However, the lovely dark blue fabric with maple leaves and provincial flowers that I had planned to use as a border, while still absolutely lovely, just doesn't work as a border. It worked beautifully as a filler in the body of the quilt, and will make a lovely backing, but it will not be a border. So now what? I don't have nearly enough of the greens and reds to piece into borders either. I fear this one is heading to the UFO bin as well for the time being.
I have a few placemats and runners to finish, so I'll work on those and hope I come out of those projects inspired to push ahead with these three!
How well do you get along with borders?
Borders often give me fits too! You'll hear those beautiful tops soon telling you what they want for borders! ---"Love"
ReplyDeleteYeah, sometimes. Mostly my borders work but I tend to get bogged down making the pieces. That's when I put them away and work on something else for awhile. Then when I get back to that particular quilt, it seems to get finished so fast.
ReplyDeleteLiri
I am finding the longer I am a quilter, the harder the borders get. Seems it should be the opposite. At least I do think the attention to detail is improving our quilts :-)
ReplyDeleteThree goergous quilts! Pieced borders sometimes give me trouble, too. Heck, sometimes straight borders don't go so well! I hate to hear they've gone into the UFO bin, but sometimes it's better to let things simmer than force them through. I hope inspiration strikes soon because they'll all three become treasures when done.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, what a shame - they are beautiful quilts. Don't despair, it's taken me 12 months to decide how to quilt a baby quilt. I'm sure you will resolve your border issues in good time. ann :-)
ReplyDeleteYou'll notice most of my quilts have NO borders! I bet you can guess why. Your quilts are lovely. Sometimes a little time apart makes the heart grow fonder!
ReplyDeleteAll of those quilts look great;) I have problems with borders myself...that's why most of mine don't have any;)
ReplyDeleteHappy Quilting!!
Kathleen