Watermelon Bargello

I have a fascination with watermelons. It all started with a picture I saw back in 1989 of canvas shoes painted to look like watermelons. I did my own and I LOVED them! I got a lot of compliments too. So each year, I paint new ones until about the time I graduated college. In the meantime, I love the simple and colorful combination of green, red, pink, white, and BLACK. I adore black as an accent color that seems to make it into almost every quilt I make.

Close-up

The year: 2003. I moved back to Pendleton, OR for a job with the tribes when I started this project. I followed the book, "The Bargello Quilt Book," by Piecemakers that my mom gave me because she somehow ended up with two. The book is only 12 pages, so its more like a deluxe pamphlet. The book says to cut my strips 2" and like my mom said, it would not create a curved effect as well as 1.5" strips. Nonetheless, I started this project with 2" strips, total of 20 strips. So I sewed two units and got started.

Then I was interrupted by a change in jobs and decided to move to Walla Walla, WA. My project was stowed away until last year. I went to a girlfriend's house and this bargello was my project to work on since I was feeling uninspired by another project I have not finished with cats. Many, many yards of thread and seam ripping, I was able to finish the body. I'm also a lazy strip cutter sometimes, so I had to fix a curve, in the end, it works.

I could make it bigger, but I have no clue where the fabric went for a couple of the strips. The book emphasized the mirror, swag effect, while I chose to do the random look. I am really glad how the top looked, going with the zen, I was "finished." I used the watermelon and berries fabric as 8" border as I contemplate when I would like to quilt it.

With Border

I admit it. I like doing quilt tops, but not very committed to the quilting part to actually finish the projects. Slowly, I will. My mom will nag enough and I can show them in a quilt show. Yep, I get inspired to quilt by deadlines.