This was a practice piece for me. I first wanted to play with piecing "fan blades" on the sewing machine. I've always admired fan shaped quilt blocks and wanted to do something in CQ. I started with lots of pie shaped pieces and wound up making a sort of spiral. After I started embellishing I decided to try to make it Encrusted. With encrusted CQ you embellish so heavily that it's hard to even find the original fabric. I also tried to make the treatments on each seam different. I played with this piece for about 2 months. It just kept saying it wanted more. Then one day it finally said, "Enough". LOL Then I had to study it for a while longer to decide what to do with it. It was originally a 12inch square but I decided to stick with the fan idea and give it that general shape. I stitched this lovely lace in the seam when I put the backing on. It's a nice wide lace with a peach colored strip running through and I thought the peach color would set the other colors off nicely. It might have....if I had put the right side out! Then I remembered this pearl belt that I had bought at a yard sale. It was only 25cents and I commented when I bought it that it was going to be a shame to cut it up because the beading was so beautifully done. Well, it just fit! Plus, I didn't have to cut it up. I think it looks better than the peach colored side of the lace did anyway...so we'll just say I planned it this way all along!
Now...what to do with it. I was going to hang it on a wall but I couldn't decide where. My house is literally barn shaped inside and out. It's a great "open concept" space. The only walls downstairs are the ones closing off the master bedroom and the bathroom. While I do like the open feeling of the space, when I go to hang something on the wall it's hard to find a spot. Nearly all of the walls are the outside ones and they have some huge windows and doors. Really, I'm not complaining. I love my house. I just can't hang stuff on the walls! LOL My mom loves this piece so I may give it to her. I thought she might want to hang it on her apartment door. Lots of the residents in her senior complex have wreaths and banners on their doors. She said she'd love to show it off that way but she's afraid someone might steal it and I guess that's a valid concern. So, I'm still thinking.
