Well, I got all the rows sewn together this weekend, and the top looks really nice -- especially with my yellow walls!
This top took me out of my comfort zone, mixing colors that I normally wouldn't use at all, let alone put together. I've never been a big fan of coral, but there it is, smack dab in the middle of my quilt top. I don't use a lot of browns, either, but this project has given me a newfound appreciation for Kona Espresso, especially in combination with the buttery yellows and blues -- I'll definitely be using that one again. And Moss -- it really popped against the yellows and blues as well, something I didn't expect but was really pleased to see.
It gets a little yellow-happy and checkerboardy brown in places and muddy in a couple other spots, but I think with this pattern that's difficult to avoid. The quilting dance (rearrange, step back, squint, rearrange, step back, squint) gets a little old after a while, and at some point you just have to tell yourself to STOP or the dance will go on forever. I was trying to avoid any concentration of really dark or light through the narrower strips (which are much more noticeable than any in the wider rows), and I managed to do that pretty well. I ended up using 17 or 18 different fabrics, but it would have been easier to achieve better distribution and balance if I had used a few more.
The cattail backing fabric was the inspiration for this palette. This was the original pull, all Kona, with a few more blues, yellows and lighter aquas added later to brighten things up a bit.
Kona Ice Frappe, Raffia, Lemon, Candy Green, Mocha, Curry, Parfait, Wheat, Moss, Brown, Periwinkle, Old French, Espresso.
The only problem with it? My math was off, so it's two rows longer than I need and one column short. So I'll be spending a little time over the next few days with my seam ripper.
Then I have to decide whether I give it away or keep it for myself!