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We just wrapped up the craziest month and a half that I think we've ever had at our house with company five weekends in a row, my husband studying for finals, spring cleaning, sewing deadlines, school vacation, four birthday parties, a holiday... my little hiatus here was me having to put down one ball until the craziness settled a bit : P Still, I can't believe it's been two whole weeks since my last post - time to shoo away the crickets and get back to work!
Last week I finished my March blocks for Stash Bee - a neat "Focal Star" block for Afton of Quilting Mod. I finished them at the eleventh hour, but I love how they turned out despite the time constraint. She gave us some great color guidance and suggested a whole bunch of fabrics I love, so it was fun to pull from a palette I enjoy and have lots of in my stash. I can't wait to see her finished quilt!  "brown bag" fabrics splayed out on the left, and what I pulled stacked on the right... what to make?? This week I'm working on a yoga wall hanging requested by a friend, as well as a "Brown Bag" swap project for my guild's upcoming spring tea. It's always a bit harder to create with someone else's vision in mind, though I usually enjoy the challenge, but this swap project has me completely baffled and battling some serious sewist's block. We all put five fat quarters in a brown bag and swapped them secretly back in October. I was stumped six months ago when I opened the bag I received, and here I am a week from the due date still stumped! We can make anything at all using the five fabrics the other person chose. And we can add to the fabrics, but they're so far out of my usual, that it was a struggle to even pull coordinates from my stash, let alone figure out what to make with them. I've been taking them out every few weeks hoping for an idea to come to me, and... nothing.
What do you do when you have to work with a palette or prints that are really out of your norm? Do you keep searching for the perfect fit or just pick a pattern you like regardless of the feel and see what happens? If anyone has some amazing idea from looking at these colors, I am most definitely open to last minute suggestions! Linking up with Let's Bee Social. 5/7/2014 11:29:07
Your stash blocks are perfect! .....now for the brown bag fabrics...that's a tough one. I love that quilters are not all the same and we have lots of palettes to choose from, but it is tough when you have to use one that is not particularly inspiring. I think something scrappy and random is good because it mixes it all up and lets the palette in general show. Thank you, Paula! I agree that I love diversity, just not when it stumps me! lol But I suppose if this person got my bag, she'd be equally stumped by all the contrasting brights I tossed in : P I think I may have found something batik/scrappy in an old magazine that I can make work... we'll see how it turns out! 5/9/2014 08:52:32
Hope inspiration strikes you.... But not too hard! Wow! That is a tough brown bag. Love the blocks though! Good luck, Sarah! Whoa. If I'd opened my bag and found those fabrics, I'd feel a little lost, too. They're great fabrics for a specific aesthetic - but it's not a modern one. I absolutely adore the fabric pull you did to compliment what's there. My opinion is - when in doubt, go with some HST's or geese. You could do something artsy - the fabrics all feel quilt earthy, rocky, frozen, big sky something... Maybe practicing curves? Or something improv? Wow, my suggestions haven't really narrowed anything down for you, but you're probably already done anyway! :) Comments are closed.
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Welcome! I'm Sarah. As a milmompreneur maker, wherever I go, I quilt, teach & sew! {Bio} 
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