MAKING WORK

 I have quite a collection of colorful Japanese prints, along with some larger pieces of darker tones that caught my eye as I was rummaging through my fabric stashes for inspiration. However, one never knows what resources you'll need to tap into while designing quilts.

 After spending some pleasant hours cutting and sewing patches together I started considering how I wanted to incorporate the two styles.  YIKES......it occurred to me I couldn't tell which direction the pattern ran.  I tried seeking out similar symbols on the internet but it was fruitless.  Is this background pattern running correctly vertically or not?

                                         

 Is this one?  Thankfully, I realized I do have someone to ask.  I texted photos of the fabrics in question to my DIL's aunt Tami....who was such a dear.  She gave me her opinion (which turned out to be correct) & she followed up the next day with confirmation from an expert!    Thank you Tami!!

 The strips just didn't seem inspired enough by themselves, so I began testing whether a narrow flange would add a bit more spark.

I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how many fabrics I tried before leaving the studio for the day without a decision......so I won't tell you!!  Just know...it was a lot. (Including auditioning cording/ribbons, decorative threads.) I continue to be indecisive about what to do.....but I'm so ready to do something, anything.....I want to move on.

In fact, I'm now actually considering this layout which was not really a layout but rather a way to store the completed rows up against the background fabric on my design wall.  I had planned to have the background rows at least 5" wide....but am liking the color chaos of the rows close together with no flange. We'll see what my 2 AM thoughts will be.

What would you do??