January’s Newfo and tea towel update

Here’s an update on Cardinal Sin, my Tea Towel challenge quilt. It’s also my January new start for the Newfo Challenge over at Cat Patches.

It started with a cardinal print tea towel and a black-on-red and a black-on-white print [shown here]. I used the two fabrics to make a variety of off-beat four patches using Joe Cunningham’s Fantasy Four Patch process I learned in his Craftsy class. The blocks will all finish 6 inches square.

Once I had the blocks made, I tackled the towel. I eventually decided to cut 6 1/2 by 12 1/2 inch pieces around the birds (which were too big for 6 1/2 by 6 1/2). From the rest I cut two 6 1/2 inch squares, and then cut the bigger scraps into pieces I could combine with leftover red and white scraps for a few more 6 1/2 inch squares.

I started my layout with the bird pieces, then started fitting the four-patches around them. I thought placing as much red as possible around the birds would frame them, but when I stood across the room and looked at it from a distance (and without my glasses), the birds got lost in all that red.

Time to rearrange things. This time I put as much white as I could around the birds, including the other dish-towel pieces. Much better.

On to the border. I had a few ends of pieced strips, and not quite a yard of red to play with. I liked my border until I took pictures. My poor birds get lost again in the final quilt top. That’s what I get for rushing to get ‘er done. I didn’t put the border pieces on the design wall and stand back for a good look before sewing it all on. Now, I did do a little of that, but not from across the room and I wasn’t paying attention to the birds. I was focused on how the border looked to the overall quilt. Which I still think is fine (after getting rid of most of that big white splotch on the lower right), but overall I like the unbordered version better.

I’m going to let it sit for a bit while I decide what to do with it. I might cut it down to a more reasonable size for the birds. Then, of course, I’ll have some leftover bits to make something else with.