Bargello (re-think)

Remember the Hunter's Star quilt I started for my sister last October? 

NO MORE HUNTER'S STAR

The more I look at it, the less I like it.  I hang it up out of sight to give myself some space from the project (working on my Memories of Africa quilt is a creative balm!), and when I return over a month later, I recognize

1. the sage sprig is too gentle for the spikes of the star, and
2. the contrast between the colors is not high enough for the Hunter's Star, and not low enough to flatter the sage sprig!

A new pattern is required.  And quite accidentally, I find it through a merry link trail on Reddit! 

BARGELLO

Purse (USA) with flame stitch embroidery, 18th century. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Marbled paper by Rosamond B. Loring, 1933. Peabody-Essex Museum

"Bargello" refers to palace in Italy which has some cushioned chairs covered in a counted needlepoint style also known in English as Florentine work or flame stitch.  In Italian, the palace is pronounced like "bar jello", but with a rolled-R, but the needlepoint style is called Hungarian stitch!  In English, as if to fancy it up and make it sound more foreign, bargello is sometimes said with a G like the S in "pleasure". 

Bargello needlepoint reminds me of marbled papers, such as were used in the cover-pages of old handmade books.  And that reminds me of Italy, which reminds me of my sister, who loves Italy. 

Donna of Jordan's Fabrics (whose videos are consistently well-made and informative) not only has a free Bargello quilt pattern, she also has a tutorial video on YouTube showing the whole process!  So, for once in my life, I decide to make my life easy and follow a pattern. 

COLORS

The Sage Sprig my sister picked out back in October, claiming it was "soothing", is the color to build off of.  I start looking around and seeing it everywhere! 

(The Portland Building, downtown PDX, is photographed with my phone camera during my morning commute.)

It looks nice paired with shades of pink, mauve, and dark green-blue.  I go online and into my fabric stash to build a few palettes:

Colors from my and my housemate's stash

One of many online palette generators.

My sister's selections for the accents, circled.

BUYING FABRIC

In the end, despite my original idea to use stash fabric, I need to buy new yardage to go with the sage sprig.  Well, another trip to Pioneer Quilts!  (I love this store!)  My housemate takes me there and she and Beth (saleswoman) help me run all over the place picking just the right shades and saturations to match my vision: the dark green and bright pink to be the focal point, with gentle gradations of pale pink and green for the gaze to nestle in:

(The sage sprig is 5th from the left. It's a hard color to photograph: in person quite subtle and pretty, but in pictures washed out and gray.)

The pinks I choose for their soft color, and avoid anything too frou-frou.  The pale blue is an oddball, but it seems to work, and nothing else did.  The green with cross-hatching looks like the oddball in the photo, but in person plays nicely with the sage sprig.  The one with ribbony scribbles makes me think of my sister's calligraphy, and the dark green-blue and pink are just perfect! 

I buy 1.125 yards of each, and heed Beth's advice about making afterquilts (to be sure to press, square-off, and pay attention to grain with the afterquilt, just as with the top quilt, so it won't cause trouble at the long-armer's). 

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So now I am ready to get going, as soon as my sewing machine Boudica returns from the shop (regular maintenance needed, and the acquisition of a new foot pedal, since the cats chewed the cord of the old one).