Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Leaves, leaves everywhere!

OK, please help me with the above. This is what I have been doing with the strings. This is a busy, busy, BUSY quilt! Is it OK, or should I put sashing and cornerstones to calm it down a little bit? Please tell me what you think!!

I have been raking leaves, exactly 1,582,496 leaves. It has taken me a really long time! It would probably take less time if I did not stop and count each leaf! Hee!! No, seriously, a lot of leaves. I enjoy it, though! There are many more to come, I just have to take it slower now since my back surgery last February. No bending, I actually have to sit down on the lawn and put them in bags. Takes longer, but hurts much less than bending over, and I still get to experience the pretty outside. It rained lots of inches last night, and everything is washed clean and fresh.
Above are chocolate Cherry nine patches for my friend Sharon at work. She is making a nine patch quilt with all pinks and browns. I call them Chocolate Cherries!

And some more nine patches! We quilters at work exchanged these about 2 years ago, and mine are still aging to be just the right vintage to put in a quilt. You know what I mean, right? About 50 nine patches here, 6x6 inches.
Back to work tomarrow for a few days...sigh, I hope it just the right amount of busy!! Please, all have a wonderful good day!
JulieK

34 comments:

SandyQuilts said...

I like your strings just like they are now. In all the string quilts I've made I've never used sashing or cornerstones. It's very pretty.

Dresden Plate said...

Sashing might look very attractive, and pull it all together?

Stina Blomgren said...

I have seen a quilt like this one with sashings and cornerstones between the blocks and it was IT!!!
It calmed the quilt down...and the blocks looked so nice... Good luck...
Love your nine patches...chocolat cheries..lovely...:o)

Unknown said...

I actually like your quilt. But I currently have a customer's quilt to be quilted and it is similar, she has added sashing and cornerstones and it looks great. Love your nine patches!

Teresa said...

I like it just as is, but then I have never seen one with sashing and that might be nice too. LOL..lot of help I am!

Libby said...

I like the layout of those strings as is . . . saves the fabric you would have used for sashings, etc. for more strings - an added bonus *s*

Jeanne said...

I think your strings are great, just as they are right now. The light strips do calm it some without having to add more fabric. I love the nine patches!

Vicki W said...

If it were my quilt I might put a white border on it the size of your white strips and then an outer border of strings all teh way around. I wouldn't sash it between the blocks. But thats' just my opinion.

About the leaves - bummer! I'm glad we have 10 acres, the leaves eventually blow somewhere on their own! We've not raked once in 10 years!

Amelia said...

As far as leaves are concerned around our place...we mainly just let them blow...living in the country it would be a non-stop battle...sometimes in the front yard Leon will take the lawn mower over them...which mulches them and then he dumps them on the burn pile.

I would do a couple of borders on the quilt to tame the explosion of color...the white helps your eye to follow a pattern -so perhaps white for one of the borders.

don't work too hard...

Ali Honey said...

I like it, but may I suggest you lay out a solid fabric on the floor and put your string blocks on it just in the order they are now and see how it looks. ( then you are not committed to doing it if you prefer it as it is )Audition a couple of colours.

Kerry said...

Love the quilt, love choccy fabric blocks too. What a lovely idea, you can have your chocolate and eat it too.
My idea for the string quilt would be to try out a narrow white border followed by maybe a dark brown from the quilt? I know it's not always that easy, very much a try and see what it looks like game, then try again if it doesn't work. Good luck!

tami said...

Before I started reading your post I was admiring that quilt. I like it just the way it is. It doesn't look too busy to me.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I don't think it is too busy - the white strips add a place for the eye to rest. But your opinion is really much more important than mine. If you think it is too busy, then you can calm it down.

Anonymous said...

Hi Julie, love the Chocolate Cherry blocks.I would try a sample of sashing and cornerstones first.Normally, I go by my first instinct with a quilt. Regards Lyn

Michaela said...

I like it the way it is now. I think that sashing or cornrstones will make it look busy. This is not busy to me. I love it.

The Calico Quilter said...

Your string quilt's not busy, it's gorgeous! Don't change a thing.

My leaves are starting to drop now, too. (This is the time of year when I'm not so enamored of the trees.) The yard guy picks them up with his bagging mower (for a fee, of course) and there are bags and bags.

Terry said...

I wouldn't change a thing about it! It's beautiful just the way it is! :0)

Darcie said...

I rather like all of the whitish diamonds or squares-on-point that my eyes quickly see first...and then they see all of the fields-and-furrows type of setting. But I will be interested to see what your final thoughts are. Just enjoy the process! If you run out of strings and need more, just hollar! ;-)

Unknown said...

I think it's great just the way it is. Why add more work if you don't need to?

Kristie said...

I like your quilt the way it is, I think it looks very nice! Love all of the nine patches too, any plans on how you are going to put them together??

We live in the woods and have a millon leaves, there is no way I would even try to rake them, I just take the leaf blower and blow them over the hill! :) I guess, I'm lazy!!!!

I recieved the purse pattern in the mail this morning!!! Thank you so very much! I can't wait to buy fabrics for it!!!!!
Kristie

Unknown said...

Scrap quilts are beautiful because busy! I love the string quilt the way it is. Maybe you just need to add a calming border.
And your chocolate nine patches, these are a cutie. I wonder how you and your collegue will put them together.
Good luck with the leaves. We have small garder here and twice raking in the fall will do it! Take care.

meggie said...

I think I would border the edges. It is lovely though, whatever you decide to do.

YankeeQuilter said...

I like the quilt top the way it is...very, very scrappy!

country mouse said...

Your string blocks look awesome!! You know me, I am so the scrappy quilter. My suggestion is to add a narrow cream border (a place for the eye to rest) then either a string pieced border or another wider "solid" border. Can't wait to see what you decide :cD

em's scrapbag said...

I love your strings. They are beautiful just the way they are. The Chocolate Cherries are delicious. I love pink and brown quilts. Have a great day! Em

Dresden Plate said...

Now wondering what you decided!

Anonymous said...

I like it as it is too. What a cool quilt!

*karendianne. said...

I like your strings and I'm always into cornerstones myself... because I like 'em. :)

And I knew you were counting leaves, too. I knew you were that type to count 1,582,496 just to prove you're better at math than me!

I love all those nine patches. I might have to dress up in the dark of night to thief 'em. ;>

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

Julie the quilt looks fantastic..

Karen said...

I like the string quilt. The lights making a design within calms the piece down. Maybe a dark stop border.
We had so many trees in our yard in when we lived in South Carolina. The first year we lived there, we had a man who took care of the yard. At first, he just did the leaves while mowing with the bagger. Then I came home one day and found him with a huge tarp in the yard and raking leaves onto it. He billed us around $250 dollars for that. We changed lawn people after that and did our own raking!

The Calico Quilter said...

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Quilts And Pieces said...

I love your strings! What a great idea!

Marisa said...

I am a HUGE 9 patch fan. I really want to start a 9 patch quilt. They are seriously the most adorable on earth.

Marilyn Robertson said...

I like the blocks just like they are right now! This is going to be a beauty of a quilt!

Puffins and purples!!

I was tempted by Puffins...a squirrelly breed!!  LOL!  This fabric was shared with me, and I have been loved these bright, candy corn colors...