My Bargello Adventure Part 1

Last summer I decided I finally.. after 40 years, I wanted a nice bed spread for my queen size bed. Yes, never in 40 years have I had one! I have had comforters but never a dust ruffle. I have had nice blankets on top.. but never a bed spread. And I didn't like comforters, so it had to be a full spread. So I suddenly thought my favorite colors were teal..blue and green shades but preferably blue.  I intended to make a block quilt. I went to the fabric store, bought several prints and colors of blue/green teal and started looking for a block pattern. Now, a year later.. I am starting it! However, not a block... a BARGELLO!!! Yes, those wonderful and amazing motion quilts! Bargello is a pattern that shows motion or movement predicated on how you place the tons of tiny little squares vs. the colors of the squares vs. the size of the squares!

My first attempts turned out pretty good..Orca for my grand daughter as she loves the whales, and the pink for my daughter.. she loved pink!!! If you want to check them out...here are the links...

Orca, Whale of a Quilt

Pretty In Pink  


But now... it is my time. How many times do you actually make for yourself? I am always making for others, but now... I want a bedspread!!!

So I got out the prints I had from last year, of course, needed a few more prints/colors and ended up with 10 prints/solids in blue/green teal.

 This is how I layed them out...the first time! You have to spend some time organizing, reorganizing, replacing, matching etc..before you get that "Ah-Ha" lightbulb moment of "THAT'S IT!" Then... walk away for a few hours and go back....often that "Ah-Ha" moment says... "no...not quite right" and you juggle the prints again.

And also... when you think you have the perfect line up...remember, they will be repeating the line up so...take half from the left.. and place them on the top of the right end and see how it looks that way, as that is how it will look when you have the squares sewn together. Some times it doesn't really match!  In other words..play with it! Walk away, come back and play again. Ask your friends..online ones too and see how the "see" the prints and colors. Some times a second pair of unfamiliar eyes help you see what ...is right in front of your eyes!!!  Hopefully it won't take you as long as it did me.. I have a hard time matching colors.. odd as that sounds coming from a 50 years sewer!


After 2 days of fiddling and chatting with others for their view, I decided on this line up.
I went from dark to light..then fiddled. I am not completely happy with that small black print, but it is close as I could find to match the other 2 prints. I am not wanting the image of the print to stand out... just the colors. I tried it with light colors and with dark and it seems like...in the middle is where it looked best..separating the darker blues from the lighter green teals

 Then, I took the 5 fabrics on the left in above picture and put them on the right side of the line up..as that is how they will be when sewn together. and I am kind of liking that small black print more..seems to blend in a bit better.

This one.. I just wanted to see how it looked without the small black print at all, so I put it at the end....and I find, it has grown on me and I do at least kind of like it in the mix so I will be keeping it in the line up. I am thinking also, it and the solid black...will (hopefully) make a kind of outline throughout the bargello pattern, maybe enhancing the flow in some way! I will be able to see that once I get the strips cut and layed out in the pattern I create.

So...that's it for now. I have to pre wash everything, iron the wrinkles out and then..I will cut one yard from each and start cutting the strips of various sizes. I am hoping to have some of these left to make pillow shames or at least some deco toss pillows.

I watched a video that really helped me and even have been talking with the maker of the video and it and she have been a huge help so if you'd like to check it out....here it is!

Making a Bargello Quilt with Patti Carey

Thanks for reading and hope you will join to follow along...maybe make your own!

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