Marcelle Medallion Border 2 Triangle Torture

Triangles of Liberty Fat Eighths?  Love the colors...but do I really want to chop up my limited supply of Liberty into tiny triangles?  Maybe it will be better as the crosses.  Agh...

Hmmm dip into my Anna Maria Horner scraps, including my last itsy bits of Good Folks?

Well...maybe I'll find more Good Folks through the Favorite Fabric Swap!

Get ready and check out more of the Favorite Fabric Swap details here!

Linking up...

- rebecca lynne

Marcelle Medallion Border #1

The last six days in quick summation: Sickness (Miss O), Visiting Family, Quilt Show with WNYMQG, 3 Year Old Birthday Party (Miss L), Sickness (Miss O & Miss L), Picture Day at School (Miss E), Sickness (Miss L)

Nevertheless, I made it a priority to squish in Border #1 on my Marcelle Medallion quilt.  Sorry for the IG pic, however, clearly I didn't have time for a proper photo shoot!

Miss O is scheduled for ear tube surgery on Friday.  Not looking forward to it.

Doubt I'll get much else in before then.

- rebecca lynne

Marcelle Medallion Center Block

Marcelle Medallion Center Block MRL Style

Enormous thanks to Jess for letting me use her paper piecing template to make the center block!  To learn how to create your own paper piecing template pop over to Penny Poppleton and read this post which is part of the Marcelle Medallion QAL.  

If you notice my scrawl above I labelled all the little triangles at least for the first two sections in order to keep it all straight in my head!  I knew exactly what fabrics I wanted for the very center (lime green as if there was any doubt as to my favorite color), border (teal, keeping that tertiary love going), and the part I see as the star (pink, of course) - but as I got further along I went through some major auditioning to find the right neutral gray.
I seriously think I spent 30 minutes or more debating the right shade and pattern of grays.  I went through a whole stack, took a ton of photos, put each photo in black and white to check value and contrast.  I mean, I am not kidding when I say I auditioned these babies...  

Ultimately I was really happy with my choice of the Les Amis gray...however...if you are considering your own fabric choices for this pattern I would advise thinking twice before picking a fabric with a direction as I ended up going through a lot of fabric to get it all going in the right direction!  I love the result, but I probably would've had an easier time with a dot.

At this stage, where the pattern is finished off by the last four corners, I sewed the quadrants in Jess's pattern together in order to have a solid fabric piece for each corner.  This is because I just knew I had to use the last bits of my crown fabric.  Sigh.  If this is going to be another *mine all mine* quilt I had to give it that bit of fabric that really became a signature part of this quilt.

I had an epiphany about my next border...one of those dancing around the house saying to my husband "I just had a great idea, no, really, it is a really really great idea!"  I don't want to share it yet because I think it will ruin the overall "ooh" and "ah" moment when I have it sewn.  But, I am really really excited about my choice and think it is so MRL!

While choosing the fabric has been the biggest challenge of this pattern it is also the best part of this quilt.  I want my quilt top to scream making rebecca lynne and so far I think it does that...the test will be keeping that energy going.

If you haven't already you should really check out the Marcelle Medallion Flickr Page and be wowed by all the amazing quilt tops out there.  Also don't forget to check out #mmqal or #marcellemedallion on Instagram.  I am hard pressed to choose a favorite because they are each inspiring in their own way.

- rebecca lynne

Aha Moment - or how I learned about the Marcelle Medallion Quilt Pattern

 

Like so many DIYers I have a very very very loooong list of projects I'd like to tackle.  Just under the heading of Quilts I hope to someday finish a Swoon, Low Volume a la Sunday Morning Quilts, all solids, all Oakshott, a QAYG log cabin, Del Hi, Ruby Star Rising whole cloth, Chicopee triangles...well, you get the idea...just check out my Pinterest board and you'll see that the ideas and inspiration are endless!  [and this is just quilting, my knitting, garment making, ceramic, house decor lists are almost as equally ridiculous...]

Anyway, towards the top of that very long list I have become really fascinated with the idea of sewing something with low volume and plus signs, something with flags, and challenging myself to use my stash by mixing prints and collections.  Hahahahhaaa...well it wasn't until I saw an Instagram post by Jess from the Elven Garden that I learned about the Marcelle Medallion Quilt.  I asked her what it was and she said:

This is especially hilarious because my first response to every random question is a shrug and a "Let's Google that shit."  {Those of you who know me in real life can definitely confirm that it is true!}  So, to get this answer from Jess was totally appropriate and motivated me to delve into the world of the Marcelle Medallion pattern on IG, Pinterest, and Flickr.  On top of all of this research, I've been enjoying Jess's own Marcelle Medallion quilt developing over at her blog - really it is stunning and you should all go visit at once and make the appropriate oohs and aaahs.  Especially as she has strategically incorporated my favorite Anna Maria Horner collection ever, if you know which one I am referring to without looking then you clearly know me too well, wink!

In MRL terminology this quilt is probably going to be titled The Hole in the Head because clearly I need another project like I need another hole in my head.  However, my rationalization is that I am eliminating some other ideas on my quilt list by making a quilt with so many different techniques and fabrics that I intended to make as individual quilts anyway.  

Hmmm...maybe a better title would be The Multitasking Quilt. 

That kinda makes sense...right?

How about you, ever heard of the Marcelle Medallion?  If you'd like to join the Marcelle Medallion QAL more information can be found at Penny Poppleton.

- rebecca lynne