Friday, October 01, 2010

Buglies

Bugly is a term that stands for really ugly or "b--- ugly." Ugly fabric helps a quilt, lifting it out of the expected. I'm all for that, but I think these particular buglies would overwhelm my current quilt:


Smaller pieces than I'm showing here wouldn't be so overwhelming


but would lose their zing! I got these in an exchange with Nifty Quilts, whose blog I absolutely adore. Nifty sent me these buglies:


and in exchange all she got was bright plaid fabrics--positively boring in comparison--and labels. Anyway, I love looking at Nifty's quilts, such as this one, and this one and these ones (Heck, just go read her whole blog.) made with lots of uglies. So I want to do something big scale with the buglies she sent me, and not just use slivers...

Meanwhile, making slow progress on the hope and stars quilt, as you can see in the top pic. I've auditioned backgrounds. I thought this yellow check would work:


but it looks boring, especially in comparison to this:
Speaking of string stars... Years ago I started a string lone star, but bogged down after completing the big pieces. V aka Bumble Beans, who is a crazy woman and loves sewing Y-seams, took it home with her along with some fabric. She's pieced some amazing giant crumb blocks to be the star background. It looks so awesome, go check the star in progress. That link will take you over to 15 Minutes Play, a great blog with lots of fun going on - everyone is welcome to join in.
 
Sujata posted a pic of her current project there and it's amazing! Sujata, V, and Nifty--as well as several other fun quilters--post pics of their work to the Rebels! blog, which I also recommend. Great stuff out there in blogland.

Complete change of topic. This is such a great season of Project Runway. Without getting into any spoilers, I was sooo happy last week at who went home, but this week I would have gone with the other choice. Meanwhile, love Mondo and the fabric pattern he made this week totally rocks.

Cat photo time. I remember the days when I would put down fabric and instantly attract kitty attention. Now, Habibi would rather sleep:



And just because I'm afraid of rebellion (from you lot - not her) if I don't include Pokey too:


that's all for me today. take care!

20 comments:

Sharon said...

Definitely like the blue behind the stars. Yes, these fugly fabrics need to find a different place to play. I'm sure you will find the right home for them!Yes, I saw your star over at V's the other day, WOW!

Mary said...

Pokey certainly knows to pose on the pile with blues to match her eyes. Makes them pop. Your kitties are gorgeous.

KathieB said...

The bright prints are so happy... I got sucked into buying a bunch of that type of thing when Yellow Bird Art was going out of business. I'm powerless over the spell of on-sale fabric, no matter what it looks like. Now I look at them and wonder what the heck I'm ever going to do with them. I'll be watching to see what you decided to do.

qltmom9 said...

OOOOOOooo...I love love LOVE those quilts! Thank you for showing her blog. I do NOT have time for this, but I MUST. I love those fabrics! SOOO COOL! I think I have a few buglies laying around here...
THANK YOU for utterly corrupting me more than I'd have ever thought possible.
Lucy~

YankeeQuilter said...

The blue...the yelllow...the blue and the yellow...duh!

the sting stars are coming along nicely...I have some made up but they are 6-pointed stars (so fewer Y seams!)

heather said...

I love obnoxious fabric. Maybe that's why I love Mondo too.

Sujata Shah said...

Okay.. If you call those buglies, what are pretties? I am confused..
What a great stash!
Your stars look incredible. Can't wait to see what you choose for the background.
Thanks for mentioning my blog on the post. You are very sweet :)
Yes, I love Mondo's fabric choices too. Bright and bold!

Twisted Quilts said...

I wrote a nice long comment and it disappeared! I agree, the blue is much better. I love seeing what you are doing with these shirt plaids.

maree said...

Wow doesn't that blue just lift the star - yay go for that! And don't despair about those other buglies ..... they will definitely find their space at some point in time when you lease expect it. Loving seeing how your work is progressing. Ciao

Browndirtcottage said...

OH Yeh...I'm a Project Runway GROUPIE too...Mondo is my FAV!

Great things going here...thanks for the links too!

Kim said...

You have been very busy!
Fabric fabric fabric looks like I'm not the only one who can't get enough of it!

The stars are divine......the hope quilt is gonna be a real beauty.

Happy sewing

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

You've got me hooked on stars... well, I'm practicing piecing them before I tackle yours!
I like the yellow and the blue...and green, and pink, oh what the heck, anything on these is going to look fabulous!

Kristin L said...

You're right, the buglies just don't play as nicely as the blue. I'm sure there's a place for them in something else though -- they'd probably play great with all your purple and magenta solids and prints. V is so great to take on your lone star -- it's looking FANTASTIC! I love the crumby background -- that's so you. And I love the orange as it (at least for me) references Bonnie's string lone star That I think was an inspiration (it was definitely an inspiration for my string lone star).

As for PR, I personally would probably never wear anything of Mondo's, but I absolutely LOVE all of it! He's got a great vision and seems to marry it so well with each challenge. On the other hand, I probably would wear a lot of Ivy's non-Project Runway clothing, but she just faltered so much on the show. Bummer, since she's originally from the Big Island, so I was enjoying rooting for her. My fingers are crossed for Andy since he's a local boy and I gotta root for him, plus, behind Mondo, he's my next fave designer.

Chris Daly said...

Buglies! Thanks for starting my day off with a laugh!! I'm traveling again and missed P.R. on Thursday. I can't wait to get home and see what I've missed. Have fun playing with the Buglies :)

Bonnie said...

Don't give up those stars. I think they would look great with a stronger color background and a solid color. They need to appear as strong as the center. Just a thought. Bonnie

Clare said...

I like the pink background in the second photo and the blue. Definitely not the yellow.

I had to Google Project Runway. Hadn't the foggiest what you were talking about. Looks interesting.

I love Nifty Quilts. Her quilts are gorgeous.

Alice said...

I am finishing and repairing a string pieced lone star from the 1930's. I assume that the maker wasn't put off by the y seams because they are really easy by hand (her star was hand pieced). I wouldn't like to face them on the machine either. You should try hand piecing (if you haven't already) - you could have set that star in no time.

Sarah said...

Dude, those supposedly "buglies" that you received are absolutely gorgeous! They look vintage and the colours are superb. Enjoy!!!

Nifty Quilts said...

Holy cannoli! What nice things to say about my blog! I do so appreciate it. Yours is also one of my very favorites. Gosh sakes, I'm honored!! THANKS!

Shelly said...

I inherited a bunch of quilt fabric from my Grandma but I've been afraid to use any of it. The fabric colors are straight out of the 70's and funky! I need to use them up. :-D