Monday 14 November 2011

Red and Tan Bargello in the Round 2 - A Work in Progress

Friday was spent making these. Can you guess what they are? I'll just tell you because I suspect only children between the ages of five and nine would know. And maybe even they might not get it because I had to take some artistic license. They are Beyblade cakes for my seven year old's birthday party. He loved them (Phew!) and thankfully, these were easier to make than a Star Wars cake, which was the original request.

I didn't get any sewing done this past weekend, but I did get my studio cleaned up. Yay! In getting my room cleaned up, I pulled out some of my WIPs and took some photos. I thought I'd share some of them with you periodically.

This is the Red and Tan Bargello in the Round 2 project from my On Hold list. I was actually surprised at how far along this one was when I pulled it out. That ever happen to you? I thought the wedges still had to be pieced together into the round, but no. What a great surprise!

This is the second Red and Tan Bargello in the Round that I've made. It's about 42 inches in diameter. The first Red and Tan one, a photo of which is in my blog header, is up on our family room wall. I made it three years ago from Cheryl Philips's "Quilts Without Corners" book. The really cool thing about this Bargello in the Round pattern is that you make the second bargello using the scraps from the first. Love that!

Doesn't it look super complicated and hard? That's what I love about bargello. The strip piecing is boring as hell, but once you start cutting the wedges (you do need a 10 degree ruler) and sewing them together, it comes together quite quickly and looks intricate (it's not).

Where this one stalled is that I didn't have a purpose for it so I didn't feel much motivation to finish it. Seems a shame, eh? I do love it and want to keep it, but I already have the one for my wall.

The other factor is that I've found that the best way to hang one of these round bargellos is to sew a half circle hanging slip as you bind it, which means I'd need to know whether or not this is going to be a wallhanging before I finish it. Then you need some MDF cut in a half circle and a mirror hanging kit. Hanging this quilt more complicated than making it.

I'm contemplating converting it into a Christmas tree skirt. Or using it as one side of a Lego bag for my son (this just seems too nice for that). Or finish it as a wallhanging like the first? Or use it as a medallion in a larger quilt? Gift it? Donate it? My only hesitation in gifting or donating it is that it then requires the receiver to figure out how to hang it and what if they don't want to hang it? Then they've got a big half circle hanging slip on the back.

Any thoughts?

7 comments:

  1. I think it would make a gorgeous Christmas tree skirt. Or you could just send it to me. lol It's really beautiful. My son is only 5 so maybe I'll find out what Beyblades are in a couple of years.. I might have to google that. ;) Cute cakes though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would make it a Christmas tree skirt. It already coordinates with the wall decor. I love bargellos.

    ReplyDelete
  3. M-R Your swirly bargello is amazing !!! Love it. I also think it would make a great skirt for your Christmas tree!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love it..love bargellos...would be great tree skirt, but much too pretty to only see once a year. So I am going with a medallion for a larger quilt. You did a wonderful job in blending the fabrics and color selection. It reminds me of strawberry swirl cheesecake!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Omg you are amazing. I feel humbled to be sharing a blog with your quilty greatness. (ok that was a little overboard but not much)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am simply in awe, it looks fantastic! I would vote for the Christmas tree skirt only if you have your tree up for a bit because it deserves to be seen! You could always make it into a throw quit for the same room as the wall hanging or add a little bit of grippy fabric and make it into a rug for the same room. It kind of reminds me of peppermint lollies so it would definitely work for Christmas time decor of some sort!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was looking for inspiration for a modern bargello quilt and found it here, I plan on making one similar to your second picture -exactly as cropped in the picture. It is funny that after reading your post, I realized that the picture is only part of your project and it is actually round. No matter what you have made out of it or if it is still WIP, It is stunning. Every thing is in the eye of the beholder-and lucky that we all have different eyes.

    ReplyDelete

Yay Comments! Thank you for taking the time to post a comment. I usually reply to comments via e-mail. If you are a no-reply blogger, please leave me your e-mail address so I can get back to you. Unfortunately, I've had to disallow Anonymous posts due to spam -- sorry! Cheers!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...