The Big Reveal

 Well here it is. Finally!! No doubt you are getting tired of hearing about this quilt by now.You've likely been thinking  Will she EVER finish this one? Of course it isn't finished yet - still three borders to go.. and then the decision on how to quilt it, but I am feeling good that I've finally got the top together and the first border on. That first border is necessary to complete the nine patches in the intersections. I'm not 100% sure yet on the other three borders. I'm going to try two options and post photos and get your opinions.. if you'll indulge me just a little while longer...  One option would be much

faster than the other but I'm thinking I won't be satisfied unless I do the more time-consuming one..  We'll see... By now some of you will have recognized this as one of Bonnie Hunter's quilts. She calls it Talkin' Turkey, as it is her variation of the Turkey Tracks block. It was her block contribution for the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 5 magazine (Summer 2012). I loved it as soon as I saw it and knew right away I wanted to try it. It has really been a lot of fun and working with red, a color I don't use very often has been.. well.. refreshing!!  Blue is still (and will always be) number one in my heart but I think I have a new appreciation for red. (Are you listening Jeanne Kaye? lol)
 I had great fun selecting fabrics for this project. As I went through my stash pulling reds, I quickly realized my red fabrics were "boring" - largely all tone on tones that "read" as solids from a distance. So I began the search for more "interesting" reds that would add some movement to the quilt - dots, swirls, paisleys, stripes, etc. Adding some novelty fabrics of things I love (cats of course, music symbols, candy, etc.) was fun, and I managed to work in a good number of good ole Canadian maple leaves too.

(If you look real close you'll even spot a few pieces of CQA 25th anniversary fabric!) And of course I did what all good quilters do -  I appealed to some of my quilting friends for their red scraps! Thanks to those who answered my plea  - Jeanne Kaye S, Gail M, Barb F, Monica W, Barb P, and Nancy E. I do hope I haven't forgotten anyone...
 So there it is. At this point, it has roughly 1,795 pieces. Ready for borders.... Now for more cutting!

Piece,
Linda

"If one says "red" - the name of color - and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected there will be fifty reds in their minds. And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different."
~ Josef Albers