Tuesday 10 September 2019

Things are never simple but maybe they ought to be

So much for gathering momentum!  I have good excuses for my failure to blog, though not worth bothering you with, but I have at least been sewing.

Not that the sewing is straightforward.  It seems like a simple enough idea.  Take my existing butterfly blocks, toss in some florals and hey presto...

I even found an amazing shirt.  Can you believe that all these prints were combined in one garment?
I have played around with all sorts of variations on a theme.  I have made blocks that are more rectangular than these, I have made floral four-patches and some that are butterflies in florals.  I have a nice big pile of bits and pieces.

So what's the problem?  Well, in a nutshell, I have to figure out a way to make all those bits into something coherent and so far I haven't.  I have tried all sorts of arrangements but nothing is clicking yet.  Worse, I haven't tried anything yet that pleases me as much as the original blocks did on their own. I find myself wondering if I am just trying to be way too clever and the answer is to stop complicating things. Now there's something to mull over.  
I'm not going to let it beat me, but you might want to prepare for a series of posts detailing my failures!



12 comments:

Robin said...

Failures are often more interesting than the successes.

patty a. said...

I wouldn't call them failures; a failure would be just giving up and throwing something together without consideration. Right now you seem to be is the playing/discovery phase trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. The only thing I could add is that all your pieces are about the same size. Maybe a change in scale or adding some of your fabulous HST will spark a direction. The floral fabric is lovely with the different blue striped fabrics.

Quilter Kathy said...

Those are lovely prints to seed quilt ideas!
The ideas are just flitting around in your brain... they will settle and start to grow soon :)

Kathleen Kingsbury said...

I understand about making things more complicated than they should be. And I read this about failure on a blog somewhere: FAIL = First Attempt In Learning.
kakingsbury at verizon dot net

Ann said...

I like the different backgrounds you are using - especially the different tiny florals which seem like where you’d find butterflies. These butterflies make such a lovely, restrained block but always seemed difficult to figure out how to use. That’s my excuse for not sewing them. However, you will find a creative solution somewhere.
Love all those prints from one shirt although not sure what the shirt would look like. I’ve been culling old photos and found quite a collection of 80s and 90s. What distinctive clothes and hair from that era. So identifiable later. {Now why did your fabrics remind me of those photos? Perhaps low blood sugar. Off for lunch.}

liniecat said...

Maybe those blocks need a pathway weaving through them ?
Good to know you occasionally have stumbling er blocks lolol as I have them all the time!

Mystic Quilter said...

Nice collection of fabrics here Kaja - no doubt all of a sudden the arrangement you're looking for will fall into place!

audrey said...

Love the collection of prints. They look very cozy together! Will be on the lookout for any failures, right now it looks more like experimentation and contemplation.:)

Janie said...

Four Patch Butterfly blocks are lovely fun!
And florals? Can't go wrong.

LA Paylor said...

maybe grouping lights and darks? think watercolor effects.

Mary Marcotte said...

Hmm, this is what we (writing teachers) call the percolating phase. It's just part of the process. A frustrating part at times, but necessary. Keep doing, trying, experimenting, changing, and whatever else you do to get to the other side. I used to tell students just try to not curse or throw things. Sometimes they did. You always do get there, so take heart in that. Besides, you have some great fabrics to work with!

Sandy Panagos said...

So-called "failures" are just stepping stones to a great finish. You'll get there. You always do!