Improvi Robin Comes Home

I have recently made the fifth addition to the last circulating quilt in my improvi robin group.

As received–44 inches wide

I had one idea involving white rick-rack that I “knew” I had.  Couldn’t find it anywhere, so on to plan B.  Oh I could have gone shopping, but it was the weekend of heavy ice and snow, and Portland doesn’t do well with heavy snow. I don’t do well with heavy ice. (Once the piece was in the mail, I did find the rick rack, of course.)

I knew I wanted to make an addition that extended the bottom zig zag, but not duplicate it exactly. It was 6 inches wide, so I went for 5 inches. Also a friend suggested adding  black gingham cupcakes. I didn’t have black gingham, but did have the race-car-flag checked fabric.

As ready to send home

And what little slide block did those checks end up by?  Cars from about the 50s.

I pondered what color “cherry” to put on top since red wouldn’t show up, then went the way of the four corner cupcakes that had none.  That way the big cupcake in the center remains the star.

The tan fabric to the lower left has the word cupcake and the saying of the woman to the right is “When I learned to sew I forgot how to cook.”

A round robin changes its character so much as it moves through various hands. One notices a need for light or dark, for this color or that, and adds it. The next sees the balance tip one way and adds something to rebalance the piece, and so it goes. I always think of a saying I once heard: walking is a series of unbalanced steps. In this case the one before me saw the need for red and big and plain.  I saw the tipping toward red and brought back the black and white. I kept the feature, large, in my upper border. Echo some, change some.

I was waiting to post this till mine returned.  This is what I sent out:

As sent into the world

My robin mates went for a Wizard of Oz theme.

I love the gray gold and green to the right–that says thunderstorm to me, suggests the source of the rainbow, and fits the emerging theme. And all those lovely bright triangles look so much brighter in contrast. I should find some bicycle print to add to it. It is the width of a child’s quilt–just needs some more length.

Into the “someday” pile it goes. Linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday and I Quilt Thursday: buttons in the sidebar.