The best laid plans of mice and men, as they say. As you may recall, I intended to work on the purrple and cream quilt that I had spent so many hours cutting out before my retreat. But since I never know what I will feel like working on once I actually get there, I bring several projects and let my whim decide what I will work on. I ended up assembling my Cupcake quilt from the Carrie Nelson class I took this summer with Nicole. Seeing her finished version of the quilt made me want to finish mine as well.
This kind of project is not easy to do at retreat. There are 93 quilters in attendance, over 40 in the lodge where I was assigned to work. There is not a lot of space to lay out an entire quilt, so Cupcake got assembled in sections. As I sewed the rows together, I was cautious of the placement of the browns and blues, but as I got further and further along, I was reluctant to give it too close a look in case I needed to rip something out. I realized on the second day that I had not constructed enough of the border pieces so I would not be able to completely put it together as I had hoped. I also had a fear that I did not have enough of the blue fabric to make the remaining pieces I needed. I emailed Nicole my dilemma and she Express Mailed her blue fabrics to me since she did not use them in her quilt.
Bless you, Nicole - the fabrics were waiting for me when I got home, and I was able to finish the quilt today. I don't think I've ever come back from a 4-day quilt retreat feeling I could not wait to sit down again at my sewing machine. I was piecing last night and this morning to finish my project and - ta da! Here it is.
I discovered up at Camp Huston after I'd sewn together 15 of the 17 rows that I had ONE BLOCK that was turned the wrong way around. I looked hard at the rest of the blocks and decided since it was the only one, that it would stay in as my Humility Block. Can you find it? I figured just 1 out of 289 blocks turned wrong is pretty darn good.
Do you think Carrie Nelson would be proud that I left it in?
After finishing Cupcake, I moved on to another Miss Rosie's pattern - Opening Day - which I am making using Moda's Roman Holiday fabrics. It's gorgeous and I will share a photo of my progress on this second project the next time I post.
Fabulous! I love the way it turned out. It isn't girly girl looking at all with the light blue, as I had feared it might be. It is absolutely beautiful. The subtle tan/light blue contrast in your quilt is wonderful. Funny how I always seem to opt for a sharper contrast when I have a choice. I showed my son our two different versions and he was so impressed. This was one of my most favorite joint projects EVER! After admiring the photos of Cupcake, I have to tell you my son was most blown away by your Orange Kowabunga quilt on your blog banner.
ReplyDeleteAs for your "humility block", I think I can hear Carrie whooping her approval!
Guess I better get going on Opening Day now!
I love this quilt. It really did turn out well in the blues. And it has such a different look to it than Nicole's. If you hadn't pointed out the humility block, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. Glad you had a good time at your retreat. Still think you should share Posh, lol.
ReplyDeleteOMG! It is just wonderful! I ordered my pattern and that is at the TOP of my long list to start after the first of the year. I LOVE it! And the humility block...yup, I can hear Carrie cheering.
ReplyDeleteI love how this quilt turned out. Now what fabrics should I make it from
ReplyDeleteIt took me awhile of really, really staring at the photo to see your one 'oops', and I think it's wonderful that you left it in! The quilt is so beautiful, Lisa! Since it's not perfect, is it for me?? LOL! I'm going to keep trying, you know! I love every quilt you create!
ReplyDeletep.s. Hooray for Nicole!! What a wonderful friend she is!
ReplyDeleteI love leaving in boo-boos - well just one. A mis-turned block is not 'bad' like a mis-sewn part. I think most people get a kick out of them. What a fantastic quilt!
ReplyDeleteJust love your cupcake quilt -- and as for humility -- really, most people will never notice (unless you point it out -- don't DO that!)
ReplyDeleteWhooooop!!! WHoooop!! Whoooopp!! I love that you left in your "humility block". To anyone who asks, you can tell them that you're like the master Navajo rug weavers who always include one flaw in the weave. :)
ReplyDeleteI also like that now people will wonder if you did it on purpose, and even better, they'll wonder if you know about the "error".
And I'm glad you had so much fun at your retreat! I finally got to my first retreat the end of September. In the weeks before I went, I kept telling myself that it was a BAD idea to go as I still had so much to do to get ready for Market. But, after getting three little quilts done -- and a fourth started -- in three days, I love retreats!
By the way, the cover for your pattern is on the way. :)