crocus999 wrote: Hi Crocus,
This travel machine only travels back in time and these days only travels infrequently! As for going to the Olympics - you must be joking - when it can whirr to its heart's content, well oiled, threaded with quality thread, in prime position on the table here at home (without having had to go in the car first, lugged around from a car park to a class sometimes even in the rain) looking at the embroidery machine covered up, sitting idle in the corner. No travelling for this old Lady, she is having an Olympia all of her own right here where she usually is resting on her laurels. Her travel companion is enjoying the whirr and reflecting on the many good times they have had together and how few times they have been seperated over the years due to "illness"; how many baby clothes, doll's clothes, children's clothes, curtains etc. they have produced together over the years. Other machines have come and gone over the years but she has stayed.
We hope Flat Rita finds her travel machine but it will never be comparable to this one. Marianne's travel machine is unique

It looks like you need a 1/4" foot to use Marianne's travel machine Terri. Sadly my size eights are much too big so I don't think I will be time-travelling that way!

I'm interested in knowing more about Marianne's "travel machine". Could that help Flat Rita getting somewhere faster? I've heard of travel machines, but thought they were only science fiction. Now I know a quilter who has one? How many others of you have travel machines? Neat . Where can I get one. I'd like to go to see the Olympics in London right about now.

She made me laugh out loud. My husband is tutting at me, he's clued in now to what site I am reading

Hi Renata - I figure I can change my mind midstream and still not waste anything since I like to do very scrappy quilts. If I don't like how the colors are going, I keep what Ive done, but push in a different direction for the rest of the blocks. When they all go together, the majority of the blocks provide the basis and general tone of the quilt, while the "mistakes" add some sparkle. (Of course, that might just be me justitfying my laziness in not wanting to make any extra blocks....)

Nancy

Thank you all! As I looked at my photo, deep down I KNEW I had fabrics with similar value... and that worried me but I hoped the white background would just make the problem go away. I looked at some of my light fabrics (pinks in particular), but they really faded into the white and so I retreated from that Idea and never went back to look at other light colors.

I chose the turquoise because it was not in the focus fabric but it looked like it would provide the pop I was looking for and that is why it was in the grouping. I had not thought about how to use it, but your thoughts about using it in moderation and possibly as a mini-border will be in my mind as I go along. I actually had, as Rita suggested, thought about a magenta color for the mini-border because it picks up one of the colors of the berries in the border fabric. I'm thinking about doing piping instead of a flat mini-border just for practice. But, as most of you said, I can cross that bridge as I get closer and can even change my mind on some of the colors in the midst of it all.

Some of you mentioned a darker fabric in the mix--I like that idea very much and I'll pull out a few things to see how they mix in.

Finally, I think I tend to plan out everything ahead of time so I can get on with the piecing and I hate to waste fabric, but I believe the lesson here from you all is that it does not have to go to waste, it may just go into another project, even if I did cut it.

Feel free to keep comments coming, but I believe you've just given me permission to stop dilly-dallying... yes, Lois, in some ways, I am like you and I think our way has its merits. But, there are times I wish I were a little more like you, Nancy, and just let things happen! While I'm confessing , I would also like to be a little more like Rita and have fun, make lots of things, and complete a project, including the FMQ, rather than agonizing over it. I would absolutely love to have a bit of Rosemary's creativity, common sense and definitely some of her bodacious humor!

Renata, what you have got looks good, (I particularly like the right one in the front row - hope that gets to be one of the larger pieces) However I do agree with the others that you have got nearly all mid range tones there, and a darker one would probably to your advantage, either green or possibly a blue (depends on what you have, can get your hands on)

Any way it is a sampler quilt for learning on. if it all looks too dreadful, throw it in a bucket of black dye and then give it to a student or 'goth' they love black

Renata, I love your fabrics, but agree just one darker fabric for pop might be a great idea.

Renata, your fabrics are beautiful and with a white background they will be stunning. I agree that you could add a darker shade of blue or green but as I was looking at the fabrics both the blue and the pinky-red are looking darker than the others so I don't think it's completely necessary, IMHO. I think a thin magenta piping before the border fabric might be nice? You see we all have different ideas of what is okay and what is not. Just go for it. It will be fun whatever you do and if you make a mistake well just chuck it and get a different piece of fabric. We only learn from our mistakes anyway. Have fun.

Renata, You sound just like me. I think I would love the fabrics you chose, especially with a white background fabric. I am not sure about my choices either but its where I am going to start. One thing I learned at the SS in Rochester that I am going to try to put into practice is that when I am at this point i will not Dilly DAlly (I am really, really good at it.). I will just start and if I don't like one of my choices I will give myself permission to pick another. Okay now, we will see if I can follow through. I have to do job work this afternoon, but after that I am planning to jump in with the green background. I am doing that even though I am also strongly considering another background. Since I can't decide which one I will probably try them both and see what they tell me. (This is not my usual self talking here. I'd usually stew and try and make the right choice and then procastinate because I can't make the "right" choice.) I often stress about cutting into beautiful fabric, but like Alex always says, "There is always something even more beautiful waiting for you at your LQS." Have at it.

I have finally learned to ask myself: Dark, Medium, Light? when I've finished choosing my fabric.
I've had much better luck with the final look of my quilts when I've done that.

Hi Renata - I do all of my fabric choices by the "spur of the moment" method -- throw in whatever suits my fancy at that moment, often changing things as I go along. At first glance, I love the colors but saw all medium values. Then I read what you wrote (yeah, probably should have done that sooner), and added the white background in my head and liked it a lot better. I think keeping what you have will give you a quilt that has the same tone as your focus fabric, except the blue which pops out from the others. Since I personally like a little pop, I would leave the blue in but use it in moderation, keeping in the back of my mind that I might decide to leave it out as I start getting blocks together and get a better picture in my head. I would also lean towards adding a darker fabric, buy my eye leans towards a darker green. Not really dark, but just enough for some definition. I would use it as a narrow border and maybe put a little bit of it in the blocks. Might even use if for the binding, although I usually reserve decisions like that for when the top is finished.

If you ask me tomorrow, my answer will probably be completely different......

Nancy

Well my pennies worth is that you've chosen well.

I would only use a small amount of the blue though and a thin folded first border of blue between the leaf fabric and the white. The fabrics are quite bold compared with your leaf fabric but having the white will lift it. Smashing, be interested to see what others think. I'll post mine for comment later.

Hi Renata, your fabrics are beautiful! The only thing I might do differently is to consider adding a darker fabric to the mix. All of your colors except your focus fabric are medium value. Wouldn't hurt to see what a darker fabric would look like!
Kathy