Advice needed for finishing quilt

So, I really do want to finish this quilt and give it to him. It's
kind of my "going away" gift to him. I gave him up emotionally a year
ago so it's not a painful thing to do.

I applaud you, Mardi. Personally, I think I'd rather stick needles in my eyes,
but it seems like you're doing what you need to do for "closure."

Bravo!

Kathy (been there...done that)

Mardi - I looked at the full size picture that you can click on and found
that the white fabric in the background is delightful! If you don't mind a
mostly white quilt, it would be very pretty to set on point with the same
white fabric between the shirt blocks, keeping the emphasis on the cute
shirts. Maybe a border that is made of long thin strips sewn together and
then rotary cut and resewn so it looks like you have spent years sewing
together 2"strips would look good out of all your shirt materials. Or if
you don't like the 'white' look, you could use some kind of fabric that
reminded you of the color of the ocean, which always seems to go with
Hawaiin shirts to me. Or you could take a group just like you show of 16
shirt blocks, and make them a unit, with sashing around that set, and make
several sets (I can't tell the size of these blocks, if they are too big it
couldn't be 16 in each set, maybe just 4). I also thought the squaring up
each block by sewing a triangle on each side by using the shirt fabric would
make a nice secondary pattern. Well, you'll have lots of ideas to think
over and try out. I'm sure it will turn out wonderful, whichever way you
go with it, because you already have such cute blocks to start with.

--
email: change the word cozy to cozyhomelife and change the word netscape to
net


Mardi wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:20:28 -0600 (CST), (Leslie
in Missouri) wrote:

Mardi, I applaud you for being a bigger and better person than I am. I
couldn't/wouldn't do it for him. Period.

Leslie (who had a very generous and amicable divorce and feels that way
any way)

I think this whole thing needs a little explanation as to why I am
completing the quilt for him.

He is really a very good guy. I left him, he didn't leave me. He's
the kind of person who can't deal with anything emotional. So, he
stuffs all his feelings in his "closet". I stuck with him for 15
years thinking that I would be able to help him learn how to share his
thoughts and feelings and how to love himself. I failed, and I
finally decided that if I wanted to have a "rest of the story" I
needed to do it now. I lived with him for over a year pretty much as
a roommate. He was fine with the arrangement, but I wanted so much
more. So I gave him an ultimatum, either he got some therapy to
learn how to deal with his emotions or I would leave and make a new
life for myself. He chose to not get therapy. He doesn't want to
deal with all the painful things he would have to deal with to learn
to love himself.

So, I really do want to finish this quilt and give it to him. It's
kind of my "going away" gift to him. I gave him up emotionally a year
ago so it's not a painful thing to do.

Mardi


Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot
com.
____________________

My Quilting page: http://www.mardiweb.com/quilts/MardiQuilts.html
Paint Shop Pro tutorials: http://www.mardiweb.com/web
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You are a beautiful and loving lady, Mardi

--
Mary
http://community.webshots.com/user/mardor1948
"Mardi" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:20:28 -0600 (CST), (Leslie
in Missouri) wrote:

Mardi, I applaud you for being a bigger and better person than I am. I
couldn't/wouldn't do it for him. Period.

Leslie (who had a very generous and amicable divorce and feels that way
any way)

I think this whole thing needs a little explanation as to why I am
completing the quilt for him.

He is really a very good guy. I left him, he didn't leave me. He's
the kind of person who can't deal with anything emotional. So, he
stuffs all his feelings in his "closet". I stuck with him for 15
years thinking that I would be able to help him learn how to share his
thoughts and feelings and how to love himself. I failed, and I
finally decided that if I wanted to have a "rest of the story" I
needed to do it now. I lived with him for over a year pretty much as
a roommate. He was fine with the arrangement, but I wanted so much
more. So I gave him an ultimatum, either he got some therapy to
learn how to deal with his emotions or I would leave and make a new
life for myself. He chose to not get therapy. He doesn't want to
deal with all the painful things he would have to deal with to learn
to love himself.

So, I really do want to finish this quilt and give it to him. It's
kind of my "going away" gift to him. I gave him up emotionally a year
ago so it's not a painful thing to do.

Mardi


Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot
com.
____________________

My Quilting page: http://www.mardiweb.com/quilts/MardiQuilts.html
Paint Shop Pro tutorials: http://www.mardiweb.com/web
Low-Fat Lifestyle Forum: http://www.mardiweb.com/lowfat

"Marcella Tracy Peek" wrote in message
...
What if you took your leftover fabric and cut triangles to sew around
each block? Each block would look like a square in a square block with
the shirt block the center. Then you'd end up with a square quilt
rather than a diamond shaped one. Easier to hang nicely.

I think you are awesome to finish this and give it to him in spite of
everything.

Snaps for Mardi! :-)

marcella


I ditto Marcella. I would do it square in a square and put a lot of
emphasis on the shirts. They look great, Mardi! Hope working on it gets
you out of the "funk" and you can fondle your Moda Marble Mates with glee
=).

A Joy in Hawaii

Hullo Mardi
I truly agree with you about the making of the quilt. This is not the
run-of-the-mill reason for a divorce, and you are clearly both fond of
one another - but with different needs. It was started for him, and it
obviously means a lot to him, so ...
As to the quilt: I like it on point, so that the little shirts hang
parallel to the floor (if you see what I mean!). As they are on a pale
background, they probably need darker sashing or alternate darker
blocks. But I think it will need to be made square for hanging - or at
least the top will. I'm making one at the moment with a horizontal top
(for hanging), but with a triangular bottom half, taking the line where
the pattern ends naturally. The top corners are just fill ins, but I
would put a shirt block in each of the fill in corners probably.
..
In article , Mardi
writes
On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:20:28 -0600 (CST), (Leslie
in Missouri) wrote:

Mardi, I applaud you for being a bigger and better person than I am. I
couldn't/wouldn't do it for him. Period.

Leslie (who had a very generous and amicable divorce and feels that way
any way)

I think this whole thing needs a little explanation as to why I am
completing the quilt for him.

He is really a very good guy. I left him, he didn't leave me. He's
the kind of person who can't deal with anything emotional. So, he
stuffs all his feelings in his "closet". I stuck with him for 15
years thinking that I would be able to help him learn how to share his
thoughts and feelings and how to love himself. I failed, and I
finally decided that if I wanted to have a "rest of the story" I
needed to do it now. I lived with him for over a year pretty much as
a roommate. He was fine with the arrangement, but I wanted so much
more. So I gave him an ultimatum, either he got some therapy to
learn how to deal with his emotions or I would leave and make a new
life for myself. He chose to not get therapy. He doesn't want to
deal with all the painful things he would have to deal with to learn
to love himself.

So, I really do want to finish this quilt and give it to him. It's
kind of my "going away" gift to him. I gave him up emotionally a year
ago so it's not a painful thing to do.

Mardi


Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot com.
____________________

My Quilting page: http://www.mardiweb.com/quilts/MardiQuilts.html
Paint Shop Pro tutorials: http://www.mardiweb.com/web
Low-Fat Lifestyle Forum: http://www.mardiweb.com/lowfat

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Ooh!
Having written my first thoughts already, I have to jump in here and say
that I really like Cozy's idea of squaring up each shirt block, rather
than what I said - squaring up the whole thing later.
..
In article , cozy
writes
Mardi - I looked at the full size picture that you can click on and found
that the white fabric in the background is delightful! If you don't mind a
mostly white quilt, it would be very pretty to set on point with the same
white fabric between the shirt blocks, keeping the emphasis on the cute
shirts. Maybe a border that is made of long thin strips sewn together and
then rotary cut and resewn so it looks like you have spent years sewing
together 2"strips would look good out of all your shirt materials. Or if
you don't like the 'white' look, you could use some kind of fabric that
reminded you of the color of the ocean, which always seems to go with
Hawaiin shirts to me. Or you could take a group just like you show of 16
shirt blocks, and make them a unit, with sashing around that set, and make
several sets (I can't tell the size of these blocks, if they are too big it
couldn't be 16 in each set, maybe just 4). I also thought the squaring up
each block by sewing a triangle on each side by using the shirt fabric would
make a nice secondary pattern. Well, you'll have lots of ideas to think
over and try out. I'm sure it will turn out wonderful, whichever way you
go with it, because you already have such cute blocks to start with.

--
email: change the word cozy to cozyhomelife and change the word netscape to
net
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Mardi wrote:


So, I really do want to finish this quilt and give it to him. It's
kind of my "going away" gift to him. I gave him up emotionally a year
ago so it's not a painful thing to do.

I understand. I'd like to think I could do the same.

The blocks are charming. I'd want to sash them to avoid the white next
to the white. I'd also not want to lay them out as a diamond. I'd offset
rows of three, and I'd make one block of white near the bottom and
embroider an empty hanger on it- to get the 15 even. Use the extra
hawaiian fabric to make the triangles to even out the rectangle. I'd do
another band of sashing to finish the outside edge, piece Hawaiian
fabric in squares or similar for the border, and bind off with the
sashing fabric.

That's one of the neat things about quilting- everyone's got their own
ides and you can spend a lifetime just exploring one block.

-georg

said...
snip
But, I'm at a loss as to how to finish it. I didn't like the way the
pattern finished the quilt and I seem to have misplaced the pattern
anyway, so I'm wondering where to go from here.

Here are some pictures:

http://mardiweb.com/quilts/hawaii.jpg (the blocks)
http://mardiweb.com/quilts/hawaii1.jpg (the blocks with interspersed
fabric)
http://mardiweb.com/quilts/hawaii3.jpg (a closeup of one block)

Anyway, my first thought was to take the miniature hawaiian fabric I
used for the shirts and intersperse them every other block. My second
thought was to use one of them as sashing between the blocks. Any
other ideas? I have lots of the miniature hawaiian fabric left so
using it as blocks is not a problem.

And, as far as finishing it is concerned, do you think I should make
it square or let it be hung on point?

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Mardi

I have a few thoughts to add to the ones that others have offered. You
could piece one more shirt block (without your pattern) then do the
"blank block" with the coathanger- I loved that idea! Then I would sash
the blocks on point. I would then treat that as a medallion type center
and add corners to the center to make the quilt square. Add border(s) and
finish.

I am not a big fan of the unpieced hawaian fabrics with the pieced blocks
because of the weird number of pieced blocks.

Good luck,

Julie

I think I picked a free pattern in In the beginning for that quilt. want
me to look for it? I am glad you guys still get along well enough that
you are willing to finish his quilt.. good prognosis for the amicable
future of the relationship!

Mardi wrote:

Hi:

My soon to be ex-husband was by yesterday and asked when I was going
to finish the quilt I had started to make for him. Since I do want to
finish it and give it to him, I decided that maybe this will get me
out of my funk and quilting again.

But, I'm at a loss as to how to finish it. I didn't like the way the
pattern finished the quilt and I seem to have misplaced the pattern
anyway, so I'm wondering where to go from here.
--
Dr. Quilter
Ambassador of Extraordinary Aliens
http://community.webshots.com/user/mvignali
(take the dog out before replying)

she did explain in the past that this was not a bitter separation,
guys... I guess not everybody ends up hating each other when they stop
living together, some people might just decide it is not a good idea to
be together any more for X reason. If she feels like finishing the quilt
for him, let's not question her!

Martha in IN wrote:

Mardi,
Gotta say that I'm with Leslie and Polly on this...I just don't get it.
There are lots of people in this world to make quilts for, why an
ex-husband?

--
Dr. Quilter
Ambassador of Extraordinary Aliens
http://community.webshots.com/user/mvignali
(take the dog out before replying)