Friday, January 19

Advice

Have you noticed that most people- including me- only take advice when it tallies with what they have already decided, or tallies with what they want to hear?

This is a quilt top I have had 'finished' for some time now. It is made using one of Ruth Buchanan's quilt patterns, called Gathering the Harvest, and was published in Patchwork & Stitching Vol 4. No 1. I have taken a pic of it from both angles to better show the design. It turned out very 'pumpkin' coloured to me, so I have decided to call it Pumpkin Soup, which I love. I dont have as much contrast in fabric colours as Ruth had, so I wondered if it needs another border, to offset the busy one, or perhaps highlight the centre further. I have been thinking in terms of a dark brown 1" band?? So what do you think? Or should I just bind it in a dark brown? I have fabric from the final border, which I had intended using for the binding. The way it is now, is just as Ruth made it, but as I said, she used more of a contrasting fabric than I have.
I had laid it out on our bed, & GOM took a great fancy to it, suggested I get it finished & use it for our bed as a topper. I am not sure about that, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. I had gone 'off ' it a bit previously- hence it got put aside.
Anyway, I would like any opinions, please. I dont guarantee to take the advice but another point of view is always welcome.
I find it is always surprising too, to see how different things can look in a photograph.

Which brings me to another 'gripe' of sorts.
Those lovely appetising pics on the boxes of 'convenience food meals'. They always look so nice & tempting. So you tell yourself they will make a nice emergnecy meal, for when you are tired & really hungry in a hurry.
And inevitably, they turn out to be major disappointments. All gluggy, with none of the shining indgredients which seemed to be included in the photo meal.
I have been very tempted to write to the manufacturer, with photographic evidence, demanding they replace my 'missing ingredients'!
And yesterday, I read with amusement Keryn's mention of Cat food. We dont have a cat, but we have noticed with amazement the delicious varieties of 'gourmet' food in tins for dogs. I stand & read all the delicious sounding meal titles, & am ashamed to find to myself salilvating at some of them. As Keryn pointed out, they are probably offal, at best with fish waste included.
I love the way they have lightly sauteed this, & a lovely sauce of that, over the 'meal'. And when you open the tin, you can see wisps of dill, & slices of cheese, or fish, with diced carrot- sorry Aunty, for the mention of carrots!
And every time I buy something like that, -only when they are on special- I feel I have been manipulated in the worst way. Dogs -or cats- cant read, so who are they 'tempting', making meals with names like that!! Just stealing the money out of your very pocket is what they are doing. GRRRRR.
I might add, I quite often make my own versions of 'gourmet meals' for our dogs, using much the same ingredients that are supposedly in the tinned variety! A great deal more economical, even so.

13 comments:

Julia said...

Hi Meggie.
Thank you for your comments on my blog about the Japanese quilt.
Your quilt is lovely and I don't think your quilt looks 'pumpkinny', the blue and green stand out more to me.
personally I would bind it in the same fabric as the border, Just my opinion...

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

Once someone told me to "always" (like there are hard and fast rules)bind in the darkest color from the quilt. I don't take to people telling me what I should do, but I remember that now, don't I? Hmmm... anyway, the quilt is pretty, I love Pumpkin Soup and the Shake and Bake chicken I made for dinner didn't look at all as advertised on the box. I demand a refund.

Joyce said...

I love the quilt. I would be inclined to put a dark brown border on it. THat would make it a bit bigger to fit on your bed too. I always like borders for some reason.

His Office, My Studio said...

I love this quilt and its name. I am not sure what you should do. A lot of help I am. I can never decide if a border, binding or both and what colors to use. I do all my quilts in EQ so I can see what my mind is seeing.

meggie said...

Now that is a nice diversity of opinion to mull over!
O to be able to have the luxury of EQ.

Thanks for the input, & I will consider those ideas.

Aunty Evil said...

Hi Meggie,

Don't ask me, I don't even know what you mean, let alone what colour it should be!

But, I ask you, when was the last time you saw a Big Mac look the same as in the commercials? Are they as high? Does the meat look as thick? The lettuce and tomato garden fresh? The buns so fluffy and light?

Nah.

It's like trying to find an honest politician!

molly said...

I'm with ribbonwiz---the blues and greens stand out, so why not border and /or bind it in a dark blue or green [or is that turquoise?] used in the piecing? Have to agree with Mrs. Goodneedle ---a darker colour makes such a nice frame to finish a quilt....

meggie said...

It is very strange, but this pic of the quilt really illustrates how different something can look in a photo. In reality, the blues & greens & yes, some turquoise, dont take on such a prominent/bright role, as they seem to in the photos.
The sashing fabric has lots of pumpkins on it, & this seems to stand out in 'the flesh' -as it were!
I am still trying to decide on a final decision, but it really does need to be larger, & as Joyce says, frames are rather nice.

I really do appreciate the advice & ideas of everyone.

And Aunty, did you see the case about the man who sued McD's over his sad saggy looking Big Mac.
I personally never eat them- the red meat thing, but my kids like them. GOM is with me.

My favourite 'poison; is Pizza- & that is a very rare treat.

Jeanette said...

HI Meggie im not into Quilting but i think i would just add or extend the same colouring it looks lovely. Im not into fast food either enjoy a good home cooked meal. occassionly fish and chips take away,or a nice meal out.

Beck said...

What a gorgeous quilt! I think that dark brown will either work REALLY well and tie everything together beautifully or it will be super distracting. Is there any way of checking before you sew it?
THanks for commenting at my place!

Lois R. said...

I vote for the brown border - for contrast. It looks great.

meggie said...

Thank you all for the interesting in-put.
I had been thinking to 'audition' some brown, to see how it looks.
I dont have a design wall, but I can lay it on the bed, or floor- except the 'babies' take that as an invite to leap all over it!
I will have to consult the stash to see what I have.

rooruu said...

Your quilt looks just lovely! - so glad you found the design useful. It's great to see how one idea can be interpreted in different ways by different people.

Regarding binding, I tend to go for a distinct binding most of the time, as a 'frame' to the quilt. A couple of times I've used lighter fabrics, but they're not usually as successful. I love striped bindings, as they are busier than a tone on tone but quieter than most patterns.