Twinkle

 Several months ago I showed you my first paper piecing efforts. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with the block, but I took the advice several of you imparted, and opted to make it into a challah cover/wall hanging. I added a slim aqua border and then a larger natural border, making the block a generous 19" square.

I knew pretty quickly that I would back it with a piece of Dogwood Stripe, from Laura Gunn's Poppy Collection (I think this print is now out-of-print, seeing as it's not longer listed on Michael Miller's website). I had used a tiny scrap on the front and wanted to show off the larger scale on the back.

{Please pardon the wrinkles!}

When quilting it, I opted for straight lines spaced about 1/4 - 3/8" apart within the natural border regions (I realize that makes it sound like I was quilting a political map of a contested war zone rather than a piece of art). I wanted the focus to be on the center circle of triangles, and I think I accomplished that. I also like how the slim aqua border puffs up a bit because it wasn't quilted.

I spent several months (literally) mulling over the binding. At first I considered using another aqua print, but that just seemed blah. Then I thought a green print would work well and pull out the green from the backing print. But I just looked at it, never finding it quite compelling enough. Finally I decided this was going to be a gift for friends I stayed with in Minneapolis and I needed to finish it before I left for the trip. And suddenly I knew that the peach Pearl Bracelet print (from Lizzy House's Red Letter Day collection) would be perfect. I had a momentary pause when I worried about the gray clashing with the natural, but I decided to stick with my gut, and I think the contrast makes the piece zing. And now "Twinkle" resides with my friends Dara and Barry who graciously let me stay in their Minneapolis apartment while they were away.

I think the binding is my favorite part of this challah cover/wall hanging. I already have more plans for the fabric as the binding of a future quilt. It's one of those prints that just works with so many colors, designs, and projects. While I missed out on some of the ducks from Red Letter Day, I'm glad I got my hands on this print. In fact, I'm finding myself more and more drawn to a lot of the "secondary" prints in big collections, especially the tone-on-tone or two-color prints that are extremely versatile and play well with others.