Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Some fabric sanity...subtle Orca Bay differences and NYE Mystery layouts

Without time to sew lately, I at least played around with the Orca Bay layouts.

You may recall my post last week where I was panicking that my orange strings (Bonnie's blue strings) were going the wrong way. Here are the 8 rows I had pieced, with strings going the WRONG way, that will SOON be ripped apart and fixed. At least only 8 rows were completed and NOT the whole top! Whew.

Pictured: Orange strings going RIGHT way, mimicking Bonnie's 100%. For those of you who say "Ah, Amy, your 'wrong' layout works." I disagree. If you "relax your eyes" with both pictures, you simply MUST agree that a diagonal pattern is CLEARLY visible when the orange string blocks are placed in the CORRECT arrangement as opposed to my WRONG placement pictured at the top of this post. The strings accompany the diagonal pattern created by the Birds in the Air triangular blocks made with the green strings.

However, as I have been watching more and more quilt tops being completed, a few ladies chose to switch around the Dark/Light Ohio stars. So...pictured: Orange strings going RIGHT way with LIGHT Ohio Stars in the center of the green strings. And...me thinks me realllllly likey it!

This project has been an excellent reminder of TAKING A PICTURE and looking at it before making final decisions. Just seeing it in print (on screen) gives such a different perspective than just standing in front of it.


Therefore, since I was downstairs with my camera, I decided to layout my New Year's Eve mystery blocks as well.

Pictured: layout as suggested.

But then came some playtime with an on-point layout. Ooooo.....THIS is a fun a layout! BUT, those green setting triangles just don't work.

Grabbing my extra blocks, and folding them diagonally in half......v'iola! Oh yes. Quite lovely and most likely what I will end up doing in the end PENDING I have enough background fabric to make a few more blocks to create the setting triangles.

So...no sewing, but ideas ideas ideas galore rambling in the mind.

I hope your Tuesday was glorious!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

they both look very nice

Ray and Jeanne said...

When you switch the dark/light blocks in Orca Bay, you can really see the diagonals - I like that! Nice colors in your New YEar's Eve Mystery! ~Jeanne

Anonymous said...

I too have fallen in love with the swap of dark/light Ohio Star blocks. My favorite layout of your blocks is that one. I love on point blocks so second quilt in that configuration appeals much more to me too. Looking forward to watching your progress.
~Jillian in North Dakota

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

Oooh, I LOVE the switching of the dark/light Ohio stars. The dark stars pop instead of slightly receding. And I love the second on-point setting of the other mystery quilt ... in part, I'm sure, because I love on-point settings. ;-)

Quilter Kathy said...

That was really fun to see all those different options! I especially LOVE the new year's eve mystery with the on pointe setting and the half blocks!
Hope you're feeling better today!

Anonymous said...

You have made me rethink my orca layout. I am purple and green. Also the on point is so much more interesting of the NYE quilt.
Love them both.
Judi

Anonymous said...

Amy, I'm plugging along with other turtles on the Orca Bay quilt. When I looked at your pics, I definitely could see the diagonal movement with the string blocks going in the right directions. Thanks for posting. In this case, a pictures is worth a thousand words.

Jan
In NW Wisconsin too.

Bonnie said...

nice selection of settings for both quilts. I do like the on point of the NYE quilt. I couldn't do it this year but I did save it. I think I'll add a note to it about setting on point in case I ever want to do that quilt....

Thanks for sharing your creativity.

The Calico Quilter said...

I was interested to see your NYE mystery quilt layout. Your on point alternative is wonderful! I have decided to completely modify mine and add another fabric in the mix. I'm going to post an EQ mock-up on my blog. It's fascinating to see what different quilters do with the same starting point. And you are right about the string diagonals. It amazed me the difference just a small change made.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for photographing this. Made it all very clear. Love your setting exchanging the light and dark stars. Also like your NYE setting with the half-blocks!

Ellen said...

I really like the OB with the light/dark positions switched - sort of gives it a "cleaner" look. I will have to try mine that way and see if I like it. I like your version of the mystery quilt too!

Candace said...

Hmmm, I like the third choice of each of your gorgeous quilts, although choices one and two aren't too shabby either. I imagine that the third choices are probably the most work, lol. Either way, I'd be proud to show them off if they were mine.

carolyn berroeta said...

Orca Bay :What a good idea to have switched the diagonal strings ! I really like it. I have made mine traditional - colors and placement- and it is too late to change, but I should have given it a try.

Helen in the UK said...

What fun to see your various layouts! I really like the final versions of each quilt you decided upon :)