Ready to sew, but wait a minute....

I have a rule before I begin sewing together all the pieces on a new project - always sleep on it, no matter how excited you are to continue!

With piecing, it is best to make sure you are happy with the overall look before proceeding as I do not want to rip out seams to insert a new fabric piece.  Nor can I simply applique (well I could, but that would go against my self-imposed piecing rule) a new piece over a fabric that I dislike.

So when I am done with my fabric choices, as I think I am now, I always wait another day before sitting down to the sewing machine.  And I spend time sitting and looking at my design wall, then popping back into my studio off and on for a fresh take on things.  Many times I have looked at my new piece the next day and something has practically leapt off the wall, begging to be changed and I cannot believe that I did not see it sooner.

Grasses and Trees

I've been busy adding different fabrics to represent grasses and a line of trees on the far side of the river.  

For the "grasses" I've selected lots of yellow-green prints with stripes and linear lines.  Most of the "trees" are being cut from this great fabric I found in my stash that has both lighter and darker trees.  Along with one or two other prints to help, I think this one will do most of the work.  

Now that my line of trees has been established, I feel like the last major element is in place and the finish is easily within sight......

The benefits of being a hoarding fabriholic

Occasionally I will read about someone who regularly purges their fabric stash and think I should start that habit too.  It's a philosophy that I live with in every other area of my life, cleaning out closets and cupboards, but I cannot seem to do that with fabric.



Progress so far

Every time I think that I will never use a particular fabric, I am proven wrong.  So I hang on to everything because you never know.  I was searching for just that "something" to add to this project when I came across the cotton upholstery fabric pictured here that has been in my collection for at least ten years.  I have taken it out, looked at the pattern and colors many times but always ended up rejecting it.

Now I think I've found the perfect home for it, adding it in two groups in the bottom area of the quilt.



Adding More.....





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I'm filling in more of the details now.  Taking one
small section at a time, the landscape areas of
trees and brush are gradually filling out.

My mostly green, landscape fabrics are roughly in two groups, grayish or seafoam greens and yellow/light olive greens and I'm trying to keep them grouped together.  As I said earlier, I'm hoping that the addition of all the yellow-greens will help that central yellow floral blend in to work and play well with the others!

The sky is also finished as those fabric choices were all fairly easy decisions.  There were some

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last minute changes as I ran out of one fabric and
needed to re-think my placement, but I always feel that those sort of problems usually work out for the best.  If I run out of a particular fabric I never spend time trying to track down more of the same.  I either make do or add something new and I always feel that it makes for a more creative and interesting result in the end.