Has This Ever Happened to You?

I've been interested in vintage all my life it seems and now I have worked my way to being vintage myself. LOL There doesn't seem to be an age limit as such on what qualifies as vintage and it also seems there are two streams at work right now in the stitchy world...real vintage and vintage-style.

 So vintage is inspiring brand new items and designs all the time and thus continually renewing itself.

Now then, have you ever done this??
Put a lot of effort into something and then not liked it in the end.

A couple years back in 2015, I embroidered a group of blocks that were called Hazel's Summer Wildflowers. They were being offered by  Shelly Pagliai in memory of her mother Hazel Ilene. At her site Shelly also offers the actual page by page transcript of her mom's diary she began at age 14 and kept until a married woman.  The sections as a teenage girl in the early fifties were very interesting I thought.

At the Hazel's Diary  site you will find free patterns for a number of blocks and quilts, all beautiful. I've also added Shelly's blog to my sidebar there for easy access and I guarantee it is worth checking out.

While I took so much enjoyment from working the blocks, I had a heck of a time putting them together to make a hanging. I actually put them all together twice and tried many different fabrics with them.
So much so that  I became a little worried I would damage the material because I had used old pillowcases (pillow slips we called them growing up) I found at a thrift store for the embroidery.  Here are a few photos of my efforts.

Just so you get an idea of what the embroidery was like.  Certainly vintage.

In the end I put the blocks together like this.

Anyway, I didn't care for the end result at all and it went away in a box.

 My main issue was when all together the design and colours totally overwhelmed the embroidered blocks.  Why I couldn't see that as I worked on it I don't know. Though these fabrics in themselves were pretty and I especially liked the bee fabric, I actually would have a lot better idea of what fabrics to use now that I am further along in my quilting journey...I have learned.  And I have learned from visiting your blogs and seeing how you choose fabric and put blocks together.

I have thought I might get them out to see if I could take them apart and try a completely different fabric with them.  But who knows.  I seem to keep forging ahead with new projects, so...
Do you do that too?

Oh well, I have happy memories of my time spent stitching the embroideries and it's so true that we all have to start somewhere.

Happily joining the many wonderful stitchers at Kathy's Quilts,   Small Quilts and Doll Quilts,   Sew Fresh Quilts,  Crazy Mom Quilts, Quilt Fabrication and Sew Can She. I'm off to explore these sites.