Dina

I am just starting a quilt that is sort of a Bargello quilt (called Navajo from a book called Tradition with a Twist by Blanche Young & Dalene Young Stone).

In the front of the book is the best hint ever for figuring out if the fabric selection is "just right." It says to cut one inch strips, and then cut ten inches off of each strip. Glue those onto paper in the order you want, and then cut those into inch strips and play with them and see if you like what you have.

I love this idea. I sure wish I had known to it fourteen months ago when I started my first Bargello.

I don't have a picture of my fabric glued to the paper before I cut it, but I have a picture of those strips cut into one inch strips in an arrangement. It is enough to let me know that I am ready to go....and the other five fabrics that are rejects can go back in my stash...

In my picture, you can see one inch strips side by side, where I was trying to decide if I liked them, but in the "design" to the right, you can see what it might look like. Now....that is not the design of my pattern, but it is close enough that I am confident to move on!!!

Maybe this is new to someone else and it will help them? The rest of you probably already do this, right?

Dina