At least I think it pays off. Here’s the latest view of the Inchie Quilt on the design wall:

You can see the other design stages here and here. There are no more changes in the plan coming though, since it’s all sewn together. I think I like it. Though I hope that feeling isn’t just because the piecing went extremely well; all those little fussy points matched up perfectly, and it’s remarkably flat considering the number of pieces and seams.

Each square in the quilt will have an Inchie attached, so this dramatic black, white and grey quilt will burst forth with color when complete. The original idea required that the quilt design stand on it’s own perfectly well without the Inchies, and I think it does. I still have to tackle the border piecing, but I have to draw it out first. The background of the border will be a black fabric with a bit of linear silver metallic overprinting, and there will be more places for Inchies in the border.

So, have you figured out where this quilt is going yet?

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Paisley Pavane is on it’s way to Columbus, Ohio, and will be on display at the National Quilt Association Quilt show June 19-21, 2008. At one point, I was planning on going to the show with the quilt, and with my girlfriend Dawn, but ITMan’s new job and the move got in the way.

That’s okay, since that means I have some more time to finish up something really grand to enter in the show when I’m going to be able to be there too. Not that Paisley Pavane isn’t grand, it is, but I have some other things waiting in the wings that might be even better.

The funny thing right now is that in the midst of the pre-move craziness, I entered this quilt into two other shows as well, only one of which I can remember! So I’ll probably be getting a couple of envelopes at some point, with what I hope is good news inside, but I have no idea where one of them will be coming from or when to look for it. This is a great argument for photocopying entry forms before sending them in!

I haven’t entered anything in a show for a while, and I’m really looking forward to some feedback from the judges on this quilt. Paisley Pavane was the Third Place winner in the New Quilts from an Old Favorite contest from MAQS, but even though the quilt gets published in the book and goes on tour and all, you don’t get any feedback in the form of critique or judging sheets from the judges at all. It will also be interesting to see how the quilt fares in a much larger venue than the MAQS contest, where it will be shown with and compared to so many more quilts.

If you’re headed to Columbus for the show, keep an eye out for Paisley Pavane. It’ll be the one sparkling at you from across the room, with it’s 3,000 Swarovski crystals!

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I’m beginning to get past some of the confusion and uncertainty of direction on my current project, which I’ve dubbed Epic Insanity Elemental Changes as a working title. I settled down to really play with some of the fabrics I sorted the other day, and I have these to show for it the last few days (click for a bigger pic):

I really love making Inchies! I’m afraid I’ve become completely addicted to these lilliputian works of art, which is a very good thing, since my big plan for this project calls for no less than 510 of the little suckers. And this project comes with a show deadline attached too: October 1, 2008! 16 down, 494 to go!

Needless to say, there will be Inchies on the brain and in the blog for some time to come. I’ve been digging through tubs and boxes of embellishments that I’ve stashed away over the years, and cruising the Arts & Crafts shop for anything new, unusual, and usable in such a small scale. Three of my favorite finds: Artistic Wire colored copper wire, Robin’s Nest Dew Drops, and Hoffmann Originals Bead Gravy.

The wire is great (as any of you who do scrapbooking surely know already), because it’s easy to shape into swirls, zig-zags, hearts, even a treble clef! The treble clef was ITMan’s idea, believe it or not!

The Dew Drops were also a scrapbooking department find, and I love them as well. These little flat-backed, domed plastic bits are appropriately named, and are the perfect size for Inchies. I do still have to hunt up a more effective glue to affix them, something that will permanently adhere them to the fabric, but dries clear so the fabric can still show through the Dew Drops.

Bead Gravy comes in small packages of many assorted glass beads in coordinating colors, so you get a lot of variety without breaking the bank. I’ve been filling in the color gaps in my bead stash with these little packs of seed beads, bugles and small cubes that are the perfect size for Inchies.

I have 20 more Inchies in similar colors to the ones above sitting on the table ready to embellish, so I’ll be spending the day on them while the kids have some Dad time! If you know of an adhesive that might fit the bill for the Dew Drops, “dew” let me know! Happy Quilting on this lovely Sunday!

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