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Monday, January 7, 2019

Lost at Sea

Today I began fiddling with the seahorse border. The plan was to use seahorse tails as the border. One obstacle (challenge, opportunity, annoyance, problem...) is that I don't have enough of the background fabric. I used my closest match to make the seahorse tails and it is noticeably darker. This configuration lets me avoid having the darker fabric line up with the background...but this makes the border to dark and clunky compared to the seahorses.

Meanwhile, I have my first 2019 entry to my LITS list...that is, my "Life Is Too Short" list.  I know that I'm supposed to have a UFO list and plans to complete any unfinished projects...but I was introduced to the quilting life by Mary Ellen Hopkins. I didn't appreciate it at the time, but she often referred to being on the downhill side of life when time is short so its best to cut your losses. So the Good Fortune project is going into my "Life Is Too Short" pile. While I liked the colors overall, they don't work as well with this pattern. Plus, the construction was not going to be friendly.

That said, I think Buddy and Molly did an excellent job of sorting and packing everything.
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15 comments:

  1. Beth StrandJanuary 7, 2019 at 10:45 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Beth StrandJanuary 7, 2019 at 10:47 PM

    I realized my comment sounded all wrong....if Buddy and Molly want to re-home those pieces, I'm right down the road... lol! Beth @ Words & Stitches.

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  3. Vroomans' QuiltsJanuary 7, 2019 at 11:50 PM

    That happens to all of us at some time. Pass it on to someone else

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  4. DorothyJanuary 8, 2019 at 12:47 AM

    I love the seahorse tails as a border--perhaps if you put a "spacer" bar in between each set of two it would look less clunky. I am at the age that I will have to start a LITS list :-( :-(

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  5. JulieroseJanuary 8, 2019 at 2:07 AM

    Mary Ellen Hopkins was my first and all time favorite quilt book on Log Cabins--she had a super sense of humor about life and quilting! I have a drawer full of LITS ;))) I like your seahorse tail border..hugs, Julierose

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  6. BarbaraJanuary 8, 2019 at 6:27 AM

    Ha...that’s the way I feel about all mysteries. Life is too short to put in all that work and not be happy with the outcome. I’m never happy with the outcome. I like the LITS philosophy. I’m going to incorporate it into my own sewing journey.

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  7. gayleJanuary 8, 2019 at 4:53 PM

    If you ran an even darker strip around the outside of the seahorse quilt, would it look like a gradient?
    I think I've been doing a LITS thing, but sometimes projects come back. Like, life was too short yesterday, but today is looking a little better...
    On the other hand, some projects just take up life in a box. In the dark. Forever.

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  8. CathyJanuary 8, 2019 at 6:33 PM

    I’ve had several of those LITS projects over the years and found Cynthia Brunz’s Quilty Orphan Adoption, which she used to hold every March and September, to be the perfect way to pass them on to others who would finish them (usually for a cause). Not sure if she is going to do it this year, though.

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    Replies
    1. Cynthia Brunz DesignsJanuary 9, 2019 at 8:58 PM

      I will be hosting the event in March. I have a LITS project I am ready to adopt out :)

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  9. PaulaB quiltsJanuary 8, 2019 at 9:31 PM

    I no longer do mysteries because I agree life is too short. I need to know what the result will be, in general,except for Improvr wallhangings, and even then I know the color scheme.

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  10. Julia GJanuary 9, 2019 at 5:08 AM

    I really like the tail border and the darker fabric doesn't bother me at all. What if you were to reverse it, so the curved part is on the outside? That might contain the eye a little more and redirect the viewer back to the horses in the center.

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  11. MissPatJanuary 9, 2019 at 6:47 AM

    Thank you for giving a name to those stalled projects that are never going to go anywhere. I decided to stop doing mysteries after starting one last year (and choosing a different color scheme) that I kept making fewer units ever week and abandoned when I saw the reveal. Not sure I'll ever be able to incorporate the disparate pieces into a quilt.
    Pat

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  12. ledamewoodJanuary 9, 2019 at 12:52 PM

    Try placing a darker narrow border (maybe navy) between the seahorses and the tails.

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  13. Mystic QuilterJanuary 9, 2019 at 7:36 PM

    Still love the seahorses even with the darker border and your LITS list is a hoot but I do think she was spot on target with her words of wisdom there. Now, perhaps Buddy and Molly would like to give instructions to Leila on the subject of sorting - perhaps they'd even like to give me a lesson!

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  14. Cynthia Brunz DesignsJanuary 9, 2019 at 9:02 PM

    I used to have that light blue batik in my stash but I must have used it. I will look a second time tomorrow.

    I have given up feeling like I have to finish every project. It is quite freeing!

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