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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Fabric... Welcome to the Patriotic Quilter where I like to share all things quilty as well as red, white, and blue! Please feel free to look around and enjoy yourself! I would love to hear from you.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

A Little Switcheroo

Hi Everyone,

Okay, this is the post where I make a confession.  If you having been following this blog for a while now, you may have already picked up on this:  I am a bit "anal" when it comes to quilt making.  I can also be a bit of a perfectionist.  I tend to blame it on being in 4-H during my formative years.  The quest for a purple ribbon is strong! 

Can you tell a difference between this:



And this?  (Other than the fact that the photo below is only a corner?)


Probably not.  Here is a closer comparison.  Look at the centers.
 
Yes, the bottom one is pinned, but it is also a tiny bit darker than the one on top.
 
  When they are side-by-side, you can see the difference.  Really.  It is much more noticeable in real life!
 
 
 
When I ordered the medallion print and it arrived, I was a bit surprised/dismayed to discover that the background was French General "faded red" because the FG solid I was using for the block background was a darker red .  I guessed I missed out on that fact in the description.  I decided to try it out and see if I liked it.  I used it on all the large plates and I found that I could live with it.  It wasn't too noticeable.  Then I added the small plates and their centers were the darker red.  The red color was a factor when I auditioned all my FG reds for the small centers, but the one I liked best was the darker one.  As I began to applique the small ones in place, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to live with the faded red medallions.  So I ordered a yard of medallions on the dark red.  That was the third reason that I didn't take this quilt to my retreat.  (I mentioned two reasons in yesterday's post.)  The package containing it actually arrived the evening after I left.  Here are some text messages that I exchanged with my husband that night:
 
Me:  Did I get a package today?
 
Him:  No, but you did.   From UPS.  Some Jolly woman or something like that
 
Me:  ???
 
I swear that I did not mistype that.  That is exactly what he said.  Maybe you can figure out that the package was from Kimberly Jolly at the Fat Quarter Shop.  I did, but I'm not sure about the whole "Did I/ No, you did" thing.  Probably he was taking advantage of my absence by drinking some beer or something.  Around the third day I got another text message that said:  "I hope you are having fun because I'm miserable."  Aaahhhh, it is nice to be appreciated, even if it is said in a guilt trip, ha ha.  Luckily the lawn mower broke Saturday afternoon so shopping for a new one kept him occupied for the rest of the weekend.  He actually went to Walmart on tax-free weekend!  He IS the brave one in this family. 
 
 
At any rate, the fabric arrived and so when I got home from the retreat I began doing this:
 
It wasn't too hard.  Remember how I told you that the machine applique takes a series of straight stitches and then takes a "bite" into the applique?  I just ran my seam ripper under and ripped the "bite" stitches.  That left the straight stitches, but they are so close together that I wasn't going to try to rip them out.  I just made my new centers a tiny bit larger so that it covered them up!  All the ripping and follow-up appliqueing of the new ones only took around 2 hours (I had already prepped the centers the day before when I was still so tired from the retreat that I spent most of the day sitting around watching TV.)  It was worth it.  I think it would have bugged me forever if I hadn't made the switch, and I like this quilt way too much for that!
 
 
This is where I'm at today.  I have attached the red borders and started laying out the rest of the dresdens.  I only have 6 of the medium plates done and need to make 10 more.  Once I have them done, I'll make sure I like the layout of everything and then start appliqueing them and the rest of the small ones. 



This is a close up of a medium one.


You can see that I used the medallion on it, too.  I can't tell if I prefer how this one "just fits" or if I like the extra red around it on the larger ones as shown below.  I really love them both.  I was glad that it worked for both sizes.
 
 
Anyway, that is it for today. 

I hope you have a great day!
JoAnne

13 comments:

  1. I could not have lived with it either and what's a couple of extra hours of work when you'll have that quilt a lifetime? It looked fine in your pictures but if it looked different in person is was the thing to do. I've not touched mine since I made the big blocks, you're motivating me to get going on it again.

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  2. Beautiful! The medallion fabric is perfect!

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  3. You are way too perfect! Didn't you know that the Japanese art of Wabi Sabi is always leaving something not perfect in your project? But, it is whatever makes you happy!

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  4. Congratulations this quilt is fabulous. The variation in the red colour brings a new dimension to the quilt and it adds greater interest. Enjoy you deserve it. Well done!! Thanks for sharing Marie (mlismore@optusnet.com.au)

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  5. I just love this quilt - dark centers, light centers - it's all good! Laughing at your hubby's texts. Aren't men just a joy?! Lol!

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  6. Glad you were able to get the fabric you wanted, if not you this quilt probably would of lived in a dark closet for the rest of it's life. Now it is a show quilt. I had a similar experience, I went into a quilt shop for solid red FG, they said "do you want the bright or the heather? I said In my stupidity " I don't know, I never realized there was a difference, I will go home and get a swatch of what I have to match." Thought FG red was all the same. Learn something new every day.

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  7. Oh, it would have bugged me, as well. I understand that you absolutely had to make the necessary changes. It's stunning.

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  8. Looking good! So glad that it is turning out how you would like!! Are hubby's a kick in the pants!! LOL

    Blessings

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  9. Good for you, if you can't be happy with it, I'm glad you could get the fabric to redo it! Those medallions really make your pretty dresdens sing ~

    :-} pokey

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  10. Had a nice giggle over those text messages! Who ever said they were "smart" phones??? The Dresden is absolutely gorgeous! The two different reds would have bothered me too...

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  11. Smart move! Really what is three hours or so when it makes the difference between "okay" or "GREAT!" ?
    I love the look of the medallions on the medium plates...very pretty. I made a doily centred Dresden almost two years ago for a gift and I am not yearning for one for me...a keeper. Another thing for my quilting bucket list.
    Your quilt is a real show stopper!

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  12. Re: the text message...did he explain it? Must have been an interesting explanation.

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  13. I would have had to switch them out too, but now I have to ask---what are you going to make using your faded red medallions!?!

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