After deciding on a comfortable size for my lap-quilt-to-be (~36"x77"), the initial prototype proved to be unworkable.
It doesn't have the 1:2 ratio of height:width I'd like in the finished product. At 33"x46", this is more of a 3:4, so some designs need to be cut out of each column to create a 5th column, and thereby more width.
Back to the worksheet (actually, back to the back of the worksheet) and after some eyeballing of what I'd done in the prototype and double-checking of original sizes, I cobbled together this possibility:
Columns were rearranged for a more pleasing distribution of large/small designs, and colors enhanced to be closer to the actual shirts. Now the dimensions are 29"x59", much closer to the 1:2 ratio needed to flesh this out somewhat equally in both directions.
Simple subtraction and division brought me to a plan for 2.5" vertical sashes and outer borders, with 1" horizontal sashes.
Back in February during the Magpies' TexFest Dos, we visited a darling quilt shop (Las Colchas in San Antonio) at which I bought some wild dachshund fabric, just because. (It's dachshunds!) It makes me smile.
This is what I want to use for the sashings!
To that end, here's one virtual layout:
The white rectangles represent how much additional space needs to be filled by cutting the designs longer (not necessarily those designs indicated--for instance, I might cut the blue "cat knows" design longer instead of the pink "glasses" design).
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| Scale in the pattern-fill function is always off. Those dachshunds will be much smaller in real life. |
Another idea is to have 2" vertical sashings/outer borders, and cut the designs in four of the columns an inch wider (I'm not sure I could get any more width from some of the 'CDO' column designs). That would give an additional inch in width. So many possibilities! What I really need to do now is get serious with a ruler and the starched pieces. (I haven't any interfacing for this project and I refuse to shop for any. Starch, and lots of it, will suffice.)
But I mentioned Backings as well, didn't I?
As I rummaged through the 'cute-but-now-what?' drawer of fabrics, I started noticing my general interest in birds tends to translate to a collection of bird fabrics. So I started pulling some of those out:
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| Magpies! |
This will create the backing for my lap-quilt. If that's not enough, not only will I have a bunch of the "awesome" dachshund fabric left, but I've also got one more dachshund fabric--the oldest fabric in my stash (bought at the PX on Okinawa in the 1970s)--to use:
Looking forward to measuring and cutting things, and getting my design wall filled again!
Where there are too many choices I go with Sandy's line of "Finished is better than perfect". I can spend hours debating with myself about choice A (make THIS one bigger or THAT one) when actually, it doesn't matter. Sometimes choices are equally vaild and there is no right one.
ReplyDeleteAs I rarely live by my own advice, I'd cut the blue one longer because it looks to have more contrast with the background and is therefore "better" by that definition that I just came up with.
Instead of cutting the sashing larger you could insert strips of other fabric that plays nicely with both the t-shirts they frame and the Totally Awesome dachsies. The Mary Ellen Hopkins print looks positively contemporary.
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