Claire's Wagga. Shhh! She's turning 30!

It's for her birthday next week. It's difficult to photograph it inside the dark lounge room. In fact it's difficut to lay it out in there too. I've dragged the chaise aside and crammed the furniture to one end. If we want to watch tele we have to climb and snuggle in the corner.
It's like a cubby house. I like it.
I want to show you how it goes. I make bits, with a bit of a scheme in mind (which evolves and presents itself as you go along), then lay them out. Then you can see if it needs more brights in that corner or if the effect of the longer strips is working etc.

I doubt you could make one that looked bad if you tried. I had a lady in one of my classes who made the other Wagga (with my old pattern)... she had a bag of fabric and instead of choosing the next colour she just put her hand in the bag and grabbed the next one. She might have three reds of the same cloth, sewn next to each other, but it looked amazing. In fact, it gave a look that no amount of trying would achieve.

I start by:

1: Making a pile of colours that look good together. Throw these on the floor. Roll over in them naked to get a proper feel for the project.

2: Put the rest away. Most important. Get dressed.

3: If you have a 'flash' colour that would look a bit loud and bright in a big piece, cut it small and add something to the side. These flash colours give life and movement, albeit in small bits.

4: Continue in this way! Look at the pictures, as bad as they are. It's like BUILDING. I love it more than anything! I say that out loud, frequently. I love doing this!

Look here too.

5: Lay you cameo's out and move them around a bit to get a little thing happening. Make sure you overlap them a bit to account for seams. If you think a colour would look better bigger, just add more of it rather than another colour.

6: It's best to vary your sizes. Areas of intricate piecing, areas of large blocks. I'll frequently make a section, then cut it down the middle through all of the seams.

7: Joining is just filling in the gaps. Occasionally this will look good as one colour or range of colours. It's up to you.

I want you all to make some. They're more fun than lots of things that are really good fun. Much more, and I'm desperate to share the love.

I've used one of Mum's dresses and the pinky hound's tooth (woven in Yackandandah where my Granny and Gramps lived) was Mum's but she hadn't used it yet. The knitted bit was done by my Grandma but never got finished or sewn together.