WooHoo!!  Decision made!
And I'm using none of the ideas from last week.
Well....maybe just one little idea that I liked I'm keeping.

After all that playing around with those assorted strips....and your very generous suggestions (thank you very much)..... I just wasn't moved by that design.
You see, I really like this fabric line and I'm super pleased with this pattern and I want to expand this quilt to a nice generous Queen size.
I also know that I don't want to just slap a bunch of plain borders on it to make it bigger like I usually do.
I want the borders to make their own statement yet compliment the Bento Box without swallowing it up.
Soooo I went back to the drawing board (which I don't actually have) and came up with a whole new idea.
I know!  I know!!  But that's what my mind does best....Change!

Here's the start of the new design for the borders that I'll be sewing for awhile.
1" strips sewn together to measure 3½" squares and 2" squares to make a four patch.

So now it looks like this will take me awhile to get finished with all the piecing I'll be doing.... so for now I'm heading over to link up with Judy's Design Wall.
Join me there..... and....
Thanks for stopping by....Linda

Design wall update.

So I've put up some small pieces to decide how I want the borders.  These are some of the test strips.  Even though the final red border will be at least 8" or 10" I'n using this smaller red strip just for this test.


I kinda like the dark blue ¼" flange look on each side.  
But I don't like the green (upper left) or the darker yellow center (upper right).  
The light yellow is ok but it really doesn't seem to pull the yellow out of the red border to tie it all together.  

The light blue is nice though.  

 I think I like it a lot.  Maybe!  

So then I changed it all around and put up just a small plain dark blue stop border and it seems to work too.  
It's a safe finish and very normal.
But .... I'm thinking I want something just a bit not normal.  


Hummmm???  I'm leaning: dark flange - 2½" light blue - dark flange.  


What do you think??  


oh and about the stripe fabric...It will be used as the binding since that's what I bought it for in the first place.  And because my friend thought I should.  ;o)
  
Thanks for stopping by....Linda

This is still on my Design wall.  
It really should have been done days ago.... but I've been in a slump.
I feel like a sloth.
Maybe even slower than a sloth.

But I did at least get these blocks all trimmed and sewn together.  
Just need to get the rows sewn and then I have to decide on the borders.  

Paradise Cherry

I know for sure I'm going to use this fabric for a large 8" or 10" border but I'm still uncertain about whether I want to add a 2" stop border around these blocks.  

Beach Stripe

I do have this stripe fabric I could use....maybe....but I'm not sure I'm really sold on it for that small border.  
And I don't think any of the other fabrics would do it justice either.
Maybe a black & white check would work.  
Or a black/white stripe.  
Or maybe just a plain white.
Or maybe no 2" border at all.
I guess I'll start playing with different stripes and see what grabs me.
Any suggestions?


Oh.... I almost forgot.  I'm heading over to Judy's Design Wall Monday to link up.  
Come on over and join us.    
Thanks for stopping by....Linda

Last week as I was blog hopping I saw Kathy post (here) about linking to her blog with any hand stitching that we may be doing.  So that jolted me into remembering that I had just a few more blocks to finish on my Bushel of Baskets embroidery.    I had to dig around a bit before I found the block I had stopped working on.
And this will be just the thing to keep my hands busy while I'm watching all the athletes trying so hard to make Americas Team to head to the Olympics.   Amazing dedication!!   I love the Olympics!!!

This is the 11th block that I've made so far and if you'd like to see the others I have a page up there titled Embroidery.  The info there (as to how many I will make) may or may not be accurate since I have been known to change my mind occasionally.  
Now I'm going over to link up at Kathy's Quilts - Hand Stitching.   Come on over to see what others are working on.    
Thanks for stopping by....Linda

I had a pretty free day yesterday so I was able to stay in my sewing room and work on this months paper pieced block from Carol Doak's 2012 BOM Mystery 

This is my favorite part of the whole quilting process.... working on the blocks.  Seeing each one come together so beautifully.  And paper piecing makes that process flawless.

Here's Junes block.  Dove In the Window.

 And this is May's block.
  Tiptoe Tulips.

Thanks for stopping by....Linda

So here it is one week later and I've made the last four blocks and have all of them squared up and cut in fourths for the next step.
As I told you there was more to this than just the square blocks.
One day as I was lazily browsing blogs I came upon this one that showed how she made a Modified Bento Box.  I had just ordered the fabric from Connecting Threads so when I saw this pattern I knew right away this would be just perfect!!
Here's as far as I've gotten so far.  These 6 squares aren't sewn together yet and will not necessarily be in this order.  But it works for now so I can post over on Judy's Design Wall Monday.  
Be sure to go check out what the other quilters have been doing.


Thanks for stopping by....Linda

Oh Em Geee!  I can't believe one whole week has passed and I was only able to get to my machine for just a couple of hours.  This has been one busy week around here and I'm more than ready to slow down and get back to my calm quiet quilting life.  :o)

Soooo Even though I had a gazillion things going on this week I did manage to squeeze in a few hours for some sewing and I've got all the last strips on the squares.  Just for fun I decided to stick them up on my wall and enjoy the brightness.
Aren't they just so pretty?
Yes they are!!
I think I'm going to make 4 more squares to make it longer than it is wide..... and by the time I add some borders it should be a nice Queen size.

Now even though this is cute and bright and happy just the way it is..... This is only part of the story.
I am tempted to leave them just the way they are.....BUT..... I have another plan.
Stay tuned.  Hopefully it won't be a whole week.
OH and don't forget to head over to Judy's Design Wall to see what a whole lot of other quilters have been doing.
Thanks for stopping by....Linda

Good Monday morning!  The string blocks worked!!  I was hoping I would come up with a new quilt if I just relaxed and sewed mindlessly on my string blocks.
  I now have a new quilt started and I'm loving it so far.

 Connecting Threads came out with this new updated collection called Riviera II.   I love these fabrics.  ALL of them!!  Soooo of course I sent off an order immediately and I  knew exactly what I was going to make with them.

This is as far as I've gotten but I wanted to show you these blocks.  The last strip will be sewn on each block and I'll show you the completed blocks later ..... along with the pattern.
Stay tuned.

And stop in at Judy's Design Wall Monday to check out what some of the other quilters have been working on.
Have a great day and.....
Thanks for stopping by....Linda

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. -John F. Kennedy 

They fell, but o'er their glorious grave

Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.

~Francis Marion Crawford

Once I decided I wanted to take part in Carol Doaks paper piecing I knew right away that I wanted to use the rest of these golds and black fabrics that I had leftover from the table runner I made a few weeks ago.  Her directions are for a two color quilt but I'm going to scrappy it up with these.
I'm definitely going to use all the blacks but since I plan to use the golds as all backgrounds those lightest ones may be too white.  I'll see as I go along.

I did the first block today and love the way it come out.  I just can't find anything wrong with paper-piecing.  Everything is just always so perfect.


 
Thanks for stopping by....Linda