Friday, October 06, 2006

Leaf Season progress report


I have been working and working on this one, some days more, some less than an hour. Today I made the stem blocks and assembled two leaves, I also pulled together pieces for the remaining leaves, but boy, am I having problems with this. Not with the sewing....no, my problem is with choosing the pieces to go in each leaf. I will be able to make a number of leaves that have the same fabric for each of its pieces. I also have enought pieces to 'mix and match' colors within the leaf. That is where I have a problem. Everytime I try to use several greens or yellow/golds, or reds within the same leaf, I'm in trouble. If I place randomly, it bothers me that it looks lopsided, or too heavy or unsymetrical. If I try to balance, it looks too stilted. Who knew that I am so....uptight about these sort of thing? Another thing that I have noticed-the fabrics that I have chosen tend to be tone on tone, or small and subtle prints that read solid from a few feet away. It will be interesting to see how this all works out, what I can work with and what will drive me up a wall' every day a learning experience!

13 comments:

Joyce said...

Sometimes you just have to jump in and let it do its own thing. I have the same problem with scrap quilts. I try to plan too much.

Mary Johnson said...

Yep, just grab a handful and go with them unless they look too blendy. Random always works best for me.

Cynthia said...

try not to stress too much with it. I just grabbed fabric from my stash and if i thought it looked like a Fall color i just used it. I started worrying about whether i had chosen the right fabrics and then i thought that it will look good when they are sewn together. So i just kept going.

McIrish Annie said...

i sometimes have that problem too. try not to think too much about it. the pieces are small enuf that it will all come together. that's the beauty of using scrap!!

quiltpixie said...

if the leaf ends up feeling lopsided that'd be ok for fall -- just play with the arrangement of the leaves in the overall quilt so it doesn't "weigh" in one area -- they'll have more of a sense of movemnet I'd think...

ForestJane said...

There's a reason all my leaves are solid... lol I have the exact same problem unless it's hand dyed and it's definitely the same colors. :)

But I like the leaf colors that you've chosen!

Evelyn aka Starfishy said...

I like your colors! And, sometimes I am too picky if I look closely - try putting a block up on the wall and stepping back 5 feet...

Cheers!

Evelyn

Bonnie said...

Try not to fret. Scrappy always looks good. Enjoy mixing it up and I bet you love the results.

Linda C said...

I know that part can be a problems for some rather than just throwing it up and seeing if it sticks--I hate agonizing over block placement and rarely do it. Pin them up on something and then walk away---or look at them through a camera lens, door peephole, wrong side of binoculars, whatever. Trust me, all you see is the pure distillation of color--not if something matches.

Laurie said...

Gail,
Stepping out of our comfort zones is not an easy thing to do! I like balance as well! Good luck with the leaf quilt...I'm sure it'll look great!
Hugs
Laurie

Susan said...

Yes, it can be a problem trying to get them all "just right". I finally gave up and just started sewing.

Oh, I have that same gold fabric in your picture in one of my quilts....

Susan said...

Yes, it can be a problem trying to get them all "just right". I finally gave up and just started sewing.

Oh, I have that same gold fabric in your picture in one of my quilts....

Granny said...

How you doing with the Leaf Season?

Judy L.