AprilM

You know... “simplicity” does indeed have its virtues - thank you all for being so clear-headed about it! I tend to overthink some things (ok, well a lot of things) to my own detriment at times!

To be honest, i think i was feeling i had miserably failed at the whole thing. I even wondered if i should just turn it into a pillow or a dog bed (gasp!) - yes, but it was better than just throwing it out, which i also considered. As it turned out it is even too small for a lap quilt. Its too dark, too small, took too long too get to this point, etc.

I just found the other 20+ blocks i made - they were all dark and “muddy” which was why i didnt use them in the first place and didnt wanna make more. I might take those apart and mix them up for a wall hanging since they are equilateral triangles - maybe i will piece them into the back - i kinda like that idea!

Anyway, my thinking was maybe if i just could pull off something half-spectacular on the finish that somehow i would feel a little better about all the hours spent obsessing about what i did wrong with the project.

I really respect every last one of your suggestions about this and i very much thank you for putting them out there in an encouraging and positive manner!

So... as they say “less is more” and “perfect is the enemy of done”!

Because, as others have mentioned - that sky blue does appear to be the “spark” here - i might do a little more shopping to find a different blue as a more suitable and brighter accent for the border?

An assessment of the blue i have does seem to indicate that it really does lean to the dark end of the spectrum again and i would like not to reinforce that darkness if i can avoid it. But maybe the blue i have - which is from the same fabric line as the “mother” fabric might work great as a binding? Maybe if i have enough i could cut the binding on the bias to give it a little bit of a striped effect without being too overwhelming - comments or suggestions?

Secondarily i was hoping to maybe pull out a little of the rust. although i havent done a flange binding before might this be a good application for it?

I have done piping but i prefer to do that on smaller projects because even cut as an inch (leaving a finished 1/4” piping) sometimes leaves me wishing i hadnt used it at all. I think people just cant seem to refrain from touching and handling it (non-quilters) and i always feel like i need to iron it down flat again after the offenders go home! I am willing to admit that this may well be a problem that i need to “get over”!

So where would you fit the gold into this scenario? Would you favor leaving something above out in favor of including it? Or should that be the border touching the quilt? If the border - would you think 3” finished would be sufficient, or?

I like the idea of using the “mother” yardage on the back. My applique skills are nothing to be proud of, but maybe i could not get in too much trouble by adding the bear in that manner to the label - i guess i could live with that!

Thank you all so much - bouncing this off of you really has really helped me get through all the static! I’m going to take a photo of possible binding and border as above to see if anything bad pops out at ya!

You guys are the best!!!

AprilM

Ok... here is a folded fabric “audition” of where i’m at...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]619560[/ATTACH]

JudyG

Like Rhonda, I like the pointy ends. How about squaring up the top and keeping the points on the bottom and putting a facing on the bottom instead of binding? Absolute gorgeous quilt, no matter what you do with it.

wildyard

Here is how I did my borders, using some of the "mother" fabric and some scraps that were smaller than the original triangles.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]619578[/ATTACH]

Rhonda K

You might think about this option for those pointy ends.

Layer the quilt and quilt as desired. Cut a piece of fabric across the width maybe 6- 8 inches. I can't tell how deep those points are on the end. I would cut this fabric one inch wider and trim down after stitching

Hem the cross width at 1/2 inch with a double fold. Hem one edge only.

Lay it on top of completed and trimmed quilt. Fabric will be right side together. The hem edge lays towards the center of the runner.

Stitch along the points and down the sides. Then trim the fabric points.

You then turn right sides out. Hand stitch down the hemmed edge on the back.

NJ Quilter

Ok. This may be way off the mark. Admitidly I've not read every word of every post. I would square up your ends with some of the golds/tans with half hexies or whatever shape that would be. Or just chop of your points - your choice, obviously. I would then (if you have enough) do a thin border of the blue sky/cloud fabric. I think your quilt is fabulous but tends to be a bit dark so I would want to brighten it a bit. After the thin blue 'stop' border, I would go with the tans/golds that you have for an additional border.

I think a thin border of the blue would highlight that fabric in the quilt and make it 'pop' a bit more. And the tans/golds would brighten the whole quilt. If you did a 1" blue inner border and then a 3" outer border it would not increase the overall size that much since that does not seem to be your goal. But you could easily increase those sizes if you have enough of those fabrics to get to whatever size you want. Perhaps a nice sofa throw if too large for a wall hanging?? I don't have nearly that much wall space in my house, lol!

Good luck. You've done an amazing job so far!

zozee

Try this since you just want it done and need it brighter:

Square off the points.
Add the same sky blue that's in your quilt. (Repetition is a great design element--don't add a new blue.) Make that sky blue 4" wide as a single border --not to make it bigger but to brighten up the darkness and keep it simple.

You want to move on, right? One border, not two. Then bind it with your multicolored forest fabric. (It has all the colors in it, unlike your multicolor stripe.)

Call it done.

loisf

April, I think your quilt is beautiful. And I agree that the design is the hardest part of this quilt. Here is what I did with mine. It was supposed to be a wallhanging, so I "framed" it as if it was a picture. I think your idea of a gold "matte" and then a darker "frame" is great. Mine turned out to be so big that I didn't have a wall large enough, and it hangs over a railing now. Your blue hexagons remind me of morning glory flowers. So pretty.

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maviskw

This is the perfect example of a quilt that might need coping strips. You want the ribbons to be in the right places at all the corners, so the border just inside the ribbons needs to be the correct width to accommodate that.