Saturday, 9 April 2022

I am definitely not the boss around here

Well, this is a new experience for me.  I've had quilts tell me what to do before, many, many times.  But I've never been bossed about by a shirt, before I even started turning it into a quilt.  That is what has happened this week.  

I wanted to start working to a colour scheme inspired by a photo, the latest AHIQ challenge.  I had an initial pull from my shirt bag, which looked like this:

and also wanted to dig out the scraps of this green, from my last top.
It all seemed pretty straightforward, until I found this shirt on ebay.
It's lovely.  Just the right shade of green, and with brown and a soft pink running through it.  I was a little smug.  Ha! Did this shirt want to play ball and work with my other greens?  It did not.  It sat on top of the pile glaring at me and absolutely refusing to play nicely.  

I am, maybe, a little wiser than I used to be, so instead of insisting it did what I wanted and forcing the issue, I have given in.  This shirt is not going to be paired with lots of other greens.  Instead I will be pairing it with browns, 
with pinks and with a creamy yellow shirt with fine pink and deeper yellow, and blue-green stripes.
This pile consists of 6 shirts, one half-metre of quilting cotton and a dress made of a beautiful Monaluna quilting cotton that my daughter wore when she was five.  Let's see where it takes me.

10 comments:

Julierose said...

That is really so creative to use that favorite shirt you bought run the "show"!!
Hugs, Julierose

eeyore said...

I love your writing about this. Exactly what happens to me. Thank you for cracking me up, Kaja.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Yup - the fabric is always right. We cannot make it do something contrary to its nature. Good luck moving forward now.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

That shirt is lovely and the other shirts it told you it wanted to be paired with compliment it nicely. I hope you have fun seeing what they want to become!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Delightful post! I love how this happens for you, and look forward to seeing where it all goes.

patty a. said...

It was better to listen to that shirt than end up with a quilt top that screamed at you.

Janie said...

I love that, ‘I am definitely not the boss around here!’ So funny, but true, I understand.
Great mix of fabrics in your shirt collection, this is going to be good!

Mystic Quilter said...

Better not to fight the fabric!!! Your post has made me realise that I have done nothing at all about the latest challenge, I may be quite late to the party!!

QuiltGranma said...

Looking g forward to what you make with these two projects. Wondering what they will tell you next!

audrey said...

Gotta love those fabrics that just want to do their own thing and not be bossed around.:)