More catching up

Last weekend we visited the Century Plant in East Chicago, Indiana, again. It was supposed to bloom the first week of April. I think it was probably the cold, nasty weather and snow that kept it from doing so (ya' think??). It has grown, at least a foot, and if you look closely you can see the tip is starting to open up. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a bloom this weekend. The weather has been a bit more moderate this week (at least there's not been any more snow).

I focused this weekend on my puzzle pieces for Pat Winter's Pieces of Friendship swap. I now have three done and have a fourth underway.

I showed this first piece before, here. Pat suggested that since I felt it still needed something, perhaps a charm would do the trick. I added a small bee charm and I do like it.

This second piece is more traditional crazy quilting, still using wool felt for the fabrics. I had fun stitching this one and another charm added a finishing touch. I stitched it to focus on the lovely little button I'd found in my stash.

This last piece is my favorite. The photograph makes the ground fabric a bit more green than it should be. It's more of a dull tarnished gold color.

In playing with these small pieces, I'm experimenting with colors. The dull gold is stitched edged with dark gray and stitched with a variegated green, a fine, dark metallic, a multicolored thread for the French knots, edged in turquoise and hot pink and topped with bright ribbon flowers. I like the layering effect on this piece. It has a dragonfly charm. (my husband liked this one so much, I set the thread mix aside and am going to make him one of his own, using a heart shape)

The red piece above is really more brick tones and I paired that color with lime, turquoise and taupe. Sounds odd, but I think it works.

I'm trying to move out of my comfort zone and pair colors I wouldn't normally and make it work. I have a theory that any two hues will work together as long as you get the right tint or tone or proportions or a linking color. I'm enjoying experimenting.

The piece I'm working on now is a pieced background of greenish wools with varying tints of blue in them. I'm planning some small beaded flowers for it but haven't gotten the rest sorted yet.

This size piece is perfect for play and experimentation. The odd shape makes it a challenge and keeps it interesting. I'm really happy that Pat came up with this idea and the swap.