Thursday, June 20, 2013

Trade you!

Some of you may remember my gushing over the Daiwabo fabrics, design, and ultimately, the finished quilt top.  Man -- I love this!
But, these are fabrics well out of my price range and quite frankly, out of my normal comfort zone when it comes to color and tone.  So -- how did I get so lucky?  I'm glad you asked.
A few years ago, I posted about falling out of love with this quilt block.  When I saw the original quilt (made from old kimonos) in a Quilters Newsletter, I fell madly in love with it and knew it was how I wanted to use up my scraps from the Wavy Log Cabin I had made.
I sort of believe that these beautiful Asian fabrics can't really go on your shelves by color -- like Kaffe fabrics (in my little world), they have to stay together.  So, I had a tote of every little scrap as I couldn't bear to throw them away. But I got tired of it.  I fell out of love.  I don't really like paper piecing and the process was taking the joy out of the design.  I thought the blocks were fabulous and the potential for the quilt was great -- but I was losing any mojo for finishing it.  And into a shoe box it went!
Wavy Log Cabin
At the same time, mom22smartchix was losing her mojo for the Daiwabo quilt.  These little blocks look so simple. Ha!  Lining up 1/2" strips after you have sub-cut is not easy and there is a lot of ripping involved.  Whether it was a pity swap or a joyous swap, I'll never know for sure -- but last year during a visit, we gladly gave each other our shoeboxes and walked away from our projects.
I am still doing the Snoopy Happy Dance that I don't have to paper piece all those strips -- and now the Daiwabo top is done and making me smile every time I walk by it.  It's in the living room -- never even made it upstairs to the quilt top closet.  I have chosen not to fret about how to quilt it or what color thread as those decisions are far far away -- instead, I am tickled it's done and happy to have it to look at and all the little snippets remain isolated (of course) in their shoebox!

Tired of something that you started -- find a friend to trade with -- it's a blast!

Jan

16 comments:

Ricky in Codman Square said...

What a brilliant idea! I have a few projects that have been sitting 3/4 of the way created for years, and I just can't force myself to go back to them. This is a great way to walk away from them without any guilt.

Smultronbo said...

I love those squareblocks. Really nice. Thanks for sharing.

Aunt Marti said...

Jan, what a brilliant idea! So glad you posted it.

Leanne Parsons said...

What a great system! The quilt top is amazing too.

Loris said...

Great idea! and gorgeous quilts! Your friend got a treasure too!

M-R Charbonneau said...

What a great idea! And it turned out beautiful too. Now you have a great story to go along with your great quilt! Thanks for linking up to TGIFF!

Quilter Kathy said...

A fabulous idea and a creative solution!

Melinda said...

Sounds like a perfect trade - and you both got the best of it!

Anonymous said...

what a great idea, swap! I love the little four patch too. I have had my eye one similar for quite some time. Your Asian fabric block is very striking!

Lori said...

a perfect match! I like the neutral colors--even though they are out of my comfort range too!

Paula@TheSassyQuilter said...

What a fun idea, i have definitely felt like doing that! They look so perfect so it was a success for sure:)

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

It is so neat that you both are so happy with the swap....great idea and what a great quilt! Thanks for sharing.
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momiji said...

Gorgeous! I love the Daiwabo quilt, with its muted, sophisticated colors. The block is actually the same as the one for the lattice quilt I'm working on now--I knew I coudn't have been the one to invent this block!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic idea! Just swap the whole lot and get a project you WANT fo finish! :)

Be Colorful Coastal said...

This definitely worked out well for both of your. We should all probably be doing more trading. :D Thanks for sharing your post this week.
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Susan@Organized31 said...

Snoopy happy dancing with you. Perfect solution. Thanks for sharing at Inspire Us Thursday at Organized 31.