my Lantana has begun to grow

Deciding to begin with the most difficult sections seems to have been a good idea on my part.  I wanted to be certain that the teeny pieces would have the desired effect.  And be worth the effort.  Try as I might, I just could not come up with a more simple pattern.  I am certain that Ruth McDowell  could easily simplify it.  If she saw what I was doing, she would likely run screaming from her computer.  I also opted, rather than use all commercial prints, stripes, dots, etc, as I normally love doing,  it was time to cut into all those hand dyed fabrics that I created last summer. This would give a different look to the piece. 

Working on the first section, I had serious doubts.  

 

The next section, I am thinking that maybe this was not a such good pattern after all.  

 

Stressing out over values and selecting just the perfect color was another issue.  I had to constantly remind myself that I was not striving 

for a photographic image, 

but an interpretation using geometric shapes.  

(You should see all the post it notes covering the ironing surface, my machine and the design wall.  Being of a "certain" age seems to bring on a dependency on such items.)  

is that pathetic or what

A few days later and I have pressed on and I am thinking that it could be worth the effort.

So here we are.  Some on the tiny pieces have been sewn together.  Which is not what I normally do.  Since they are not much bigger than my little finger nail, I was afraid they would get lost in the shuffle.  So why not go ahead and stitch them up.  If one of these little sections doesn't look quite right, I can always remake it.   Once I have all of my small sections made, then I will sew them into larger sections.  When all the sections are sewn together, 

it  should be about 76" X 60".  

Unless . . . . . .

I only use half of the pattern for this piece and save the other half for another quilt.  

Or it could even become a triptych. 

Three small quilts rather than one large quilt.

Oh the options. 

 I am now thinking that as the larger sections are sewn together 

 Ms. Lantana  will look even better.  

Methinks that these sunny colors are just the anticdote for rainy day blues.  

I keep forgetting how nice it is to sit down and write myself right through the angst of the unknown.   Gotta put up a post-it note for that too!