Can't see the trees

That's because they are sideways. ;^(

I wanted to make a quilt that kinda looked like you were looking through a clump of trees. No sky or ground, just trunks. I had changed the colours in the veranda so that quilt wasn't needed so I made a runner to ' get it out of my system'.

I took my runner to sewing class and brought home a couple of giveaway fabrics. On checking them out when I got home I see that I wasn't even close to what I'd envisioned.

But in the interest of 'doing my own thing' I plugged away on my new colour palette for the veranda. A tree in each block.

The more 'trees', the more I felt like I needed an axe. LOL

Here is what I learned:

I needed many more prints. This was a stash quilt and I think the print fabrics were a give away to which I added mostly tone on tones or solids.

I think I need to work with either all solids and TOT's or all prints and 1 solid. I don't seem to appreciate the old rule of 1 large scale print, a couple of medium prints (geometric), a solid and an accent.

I also need to remember that the quilt shrinks, particularly up when I am sewing it all together. I wanted this quilt square or at least long looking. It is 5 feet by 5 feet 6 inches. awk!

It is good to push the colour palette, but not too far. I left the few trees in the light brown but quickly saw the backgrounds didn't work so I only had to rip out the first one I'd sewn into a row.

And I need to stay home but I have NOTHING for a backing. I persevered to stay on top of this project and not have another ufo but a whole cloth coordinating print is gonna be preferable to spending days on piecing some kind of backing and nothing is looking at all promising.

Now I need to add that bit on the bottom corner, square it up, find a backing and get it quilted. I'm leaning to straight lines, more trees. Not a real crowd pleaser but I learned a thing or three! AND- it is kind of an outdoors quilt, a lawn blanket!


But I think I like it best- SIDEWAYS!