suggestions needed to finish up quilt
 

These blocks had been donated to the church. They were sashed with the fabric shown but I took it all apart to straighten it up. The picture shows the blocks put up on the design wall to see if the sashing would be useable again. I want to be able to reuse the sashing if possible but might need to add some cornerstones in the sashing. The blocks and sashing needs to be trimmed and squared. My question is ...what can I do to finish this up? Suggestions needed for border colors, designs, etc. Someone did a lot of work embroidering the blocks and it was headed for becoming a UFO. Can't let that happen. Took hours to take apart. Thought about just cutting it apart but then would cut down on the sashing size. The blocks would have been fine trimmed up. The original sewist thought the more stitches to the inch the better it would be. LOL Teeny tiny stitches.
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Just my opinion--I think the sashing is too busy. I think it takes too much attention away from the delightful embroidered blocks. Others may think differently and that is okay. I am anxious to see other opinions. I love the embroidered blocks.

My first thought was to use a black with white pindot for the cornerstones and binding. It has lots going on already. I tend to be conservative, though.

Let us know what you decide.

bkay

Those are so cute!!

I would border the blocks with solid fabric in that muted blue. That will distance the blocks a bit from the busy (but adorable) snowman fabric. Your sashing is limited to what you have, so if you also cornerstone the sashing with the muted blue, you can still use it. If your blocks end up slightly different sizes after you square them, make the blue different widths so they all end up the same size.

Wonderful that you are finishing this delightful piece!

hahahah! bkay & I cross posted. It must be a good idea if we both had it. hehehhe!

The embroidered blocks are absolutely adorable

I tend to agree that the sashing is a bit busy for the embroidered blocks.
IMHO I think adding cornerstones to the snowmen sashing would be worse than it is now.
At the same time, I don't think the original sashing fabric looks totally out of place.

Somethings to consider ...
Will the original donor be disappointed or even insulted, if the snowmen fabric is still not there?
Will they recognize and be upset that the blocks and sashing have been taken apart?
Will there be bedlam around the church because you changed it?

I have no idea as to your answers or whether they even matter.
Howeverrrrrrrr ... I also know how things can go around churches! :)

Is there an end purpose for this quilt?
i.e. a fundraiser? gift to someone at Christmas? selling at a bazaar?
Or perhaps it is yours to keep and do as you wish ... and the thoughts/feelings of others do not enter into this.

The answers to these may help you decide how much work you really want to put into this project.

My thoughts would be to either keep with the original sashing, or switch it up to a blender-nothing-print in a rich blue or deep cranberry red. You may even be lucky enough to find a small snowflake print that could amp the adorability even more while not taking away from the amazing embroidery work.

If it were mine to finish...
I'd use a solid color fabric or one that "reads" solid to go around the blocks.
Then, I'd piece the print and use it as a border.

I think the sashing is too busy for the quilt. I quilt, but I've been embroidering since I was 6 years old (49 years), won dozens of county fair awards for my embroidery, and this is my feeling about embroidery blocks: a lot of work goes into embroidery, so you should show it off. These are adorable blocks, so I would sash it in something solid. It's hard to choose which solid color you should sash in, because all the blocks are so colorful (my general rule is no more than 3 different colors for embroidery projects- too many colors muddle the work. General rule, not hard and fast.) Those sweet snowmen would have been perfect for a Redwork or "Blue"work project. With Redwork you can add a busy sashing, but those nice blocks need a solid sashing.
And sorry the stitches are so small. What was she thinking?

Those are the cutest blocks ever. I think I may have the embroidery pattern in my stash. I love the sashing fabric. But, feel it may be a tad busy also. What if you sashed each block in a coordinating tone on tone or solid. Then used the print fabric in the outer corners of the blocks with a coordinating fabric. Then you put together and sash again with the coordinating color for the outer border. And maybe use the print to do the outer 4 corners if there is enough. Just an idea. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

I agree with the others that you need something solid between the embroidery & the snowman sashing. If you really love the sashing, I'd add in a solid colored piping or flange around the embroidery to help feature them better. If you're going that route, I'd split the snowman fabric and add another fabric between to help break up the business a bit, again with the goal of refocusing more attention on the embroidery.

Here's one idea I came up with that might help you come up with others. I did a red piping that matches the red in the embroidery, a grey & white polka dot fabric that is added where the snowman sashing gets split down the middle, more red as a border & a black & grey (and maybe some white) striped binding.
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