The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Or as I will be approaching this:
The Ugly, the Bad and the Good.

But first, a happy weekend to all.

It has been an interesting week with this quilt.
I was having a grand ol' time putting those columns
together into bigger sections and then finally,
the full quilt.  I stepped back to admire my work...
(nothing like humility!)


...and there it was:  the ugly.
My random wasn't as random as it was
supposed to be.


I had taken this whole section and flipped it.
Now there were quicker ways to fix this--ie,
just switching a couple blocks around--but my
husband (God bless him), he knows me and when
I ask his opinion he gives me my opinion, even if
it's one I'm trying to bury.  He knew that I would
not be happy until I put it all right so yes, I ripped
that whole section, flipped it and now all is right in 
Quilt World.
 (If only in the rest of the world!)
It really only took a couple hours.  I got some nice
theology classes watched while I did it so time flew.


Now, what's the bad part?
Well, the bad here is that it's only 62" wide and I'm going
to have to add at least another 24" or so to get it to the
correct size.  I have never spent so much time playing
around with borders!  I think it's because there are just
too many options and while none are going to look
bad, I obviously want one that's going to look good.

A screen shot from some of the photos on my phone:


Needless to say there were many options looked at
and many pictures taken and I even ran to the store.
But finally I just walked away.  For about 36 hours.
Maybe the "bad" is really a whole day with not even
going into the sewing room??
Well, Friday morning, after a horrible night of sleep,
which is another story--but isn't it funny how getting
no sleep sometimes lends an interesting quality to
one's thinking?  SO, I woke up completely
at piece peace with going forward.
It doesn't really matter, there is no wrong.
Once again, all will be right in Quilt World.

And that brings us to the good, the happy ending to
this story...almost.  At least it looks good to me.
What do you think?
Here it is with most of the border action:


I don't think it is the best way to approach borders but
for some reason, this method seems to work for me:

I just need to work with one at a time.
When I tried out every fabric next to the center,
it was the blue that always made it pop.  And so on,
working with one border at a time. It seems like jumping
ahead without a full plan isn't good but it just works for me.
I guess I get overwhelmed with too many choices.


At this point I can get by just adding one more so I
think I'm going to put on a 7-inch border of this
and call it quits:


I'm still a little bit hesitant about this choice but I do know
it's time to be done.  It's also the backing fabric so it should
actually bring a nice front/back continuity--if you will--to it.
I'm not sure how true the pic is but the greens are a perfect
match and any outlining in it is actually a dark blue which
blends with the first border well.  I'm also thinking of the red
from the chain for binding but I'm still not eliminating
the yellow option....yet.

I'll have the final pic up on the Tuesday To-Do link up
so see ya there!
A wonderfully productive week to all!

Happy quilting!

Linking up to Quilting Patchwork Appliqué Link Party


Comments

Kate said…
Sometimes walking away and letting it percolate in your brain is the fastest and usually results in the better design. Even though it feels like you are stalled. Your borders all work, it's going to be a beautiful finish.
a good looking quilt - sometimes all you can do it rip it out and redo - or walk away come back the next day - rip it out and do over!
Joyful Quilter said…
Sometime I wonder why I lay out my quilts, seems like I turn a row in every single quilt. Glad you fixed it, it does make a difference. I really like your border choices, not sleeping (on it) worked. Hope you've gotten caught up on your sleep. Red binding? Hmmmm. Seems a little strong, but you've got such a great eye for color placement I'm not going to question it. ;o)
Debbie said…
Glad you made the choice you did...I was going to suggest a narrow and then wider of light. Not crazy about the print for outer border. I would be tempted to add a another narrow strip of blue again and finish with light if you have it. Kind of a repeat/repeat. But then ending with the print might work. I know....options and you just want it done. It will work!
piecefulwendy said…
Sometimes walking away is the best thing to do. I'm always amazed at how different things look, and the solutions I find, when I take a short break. I dream about quilts, though, especially when I'm fussing over something, but often find a solution in my sleep as well. I'm liking your border choices. Binding could go either red or yellow; you may have to audition them. This is a really pretty quilt, with a story, of course! (Don't they all have stories?)
chrisknits said…
I think it the best selection ever!! It's going to be beautiful when done.
Bernie Kringel said…
Beautiful!!! I love the borders you put on and I think the print will be really nice. Your anguish and sleeplessness and seam ripping all paid off. Well done - so far anyway. This is a beautiful quilt.
Bernie Kringel said…
You have a whole lot of chicks there, especially if you already have some layers (pullets or ?). What do you do with all of the eggs when they are in full production? We used to have a full coop but since there are only two of us, we stopped replacing the hens and now they are all in chicken heaven.

Your garden looks amazing. Ours is just starting to produce. Different weather of course than you so we are just getting green beans, picked the first zucchini yesterday and the snow peas are about finished. Blueberries and Boysenberries are in full swing. SOOOO many berries.

Nice post - I enjoyed this!
Libby in TN said…
I feel (and share) your pain. I, too, frequently make border decisions one at a time. Your solution thus far is perfect. I especially like the way you carried the red chain into the sashing and now into the borders.
I love your choices, these borders are great! I agree, it's not an easy step. I love that your husband knows you so well ;))
Thanks for sharing your process with the linky party today!
Needled Mom said…
Sometimes we just know when it needs to be done....or we need to be done with it!!! It looks really nice with that border choice.
What a brilliant solution--take the quilt in half and flip!!! I never would've thought of that! It's looking great--love that corner feature on your borders!
I like how you brought out the chain into the borders. It works great.