Blogged here An original improv quilt by Sewfrench Kona solids 42″ square machine pieced machine quilted 1/8″ – 1/2″ spaced organic lines
I have done quite a bit of Improv quilting over the course of the last year or so…. for me it is a great way to dust off the cobwebs, particularly if I have lost my sewjo a little. So this wo…
My improv pieced curve quilt is finished. In my bid to practice sewing pieced curves, I got out a bunch of 5" squares that I had left over from a previous project and took to them with my rotary cutter. It was a little scary at the beginning, but I'm so glad that I made it... and finished it. I learned a lot about curved piecing along the way - the right ways of doing it, and the wrong. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, it seems that I sewed my curves together the 'wrong' way. I had the concave and convex curves in the opposite order when I made these blocks, but hey, they worked just fine. I finished off my quilt with a cute backing fabric print and spiral quilting. I even added a hanging sleeve to the back, but just need some dowel from the hardware store. I'm counting this as my OMG finish for February 2020. Yay!!
I’m excited to be teaching my popular “Artful Improv” class at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, VA on Saturday, May 12 this year. In this playful class we learn how to design qui…
23"x24" BeeSewcial November 2017 When I read the description for November's #BeeSewcial block : Maximalism, fun, happy, all color, no rules, no rulers proposed by Leanne @shecanquilt let's just say I was thrilled. "Time to laugh and play" how cool is that for prompt?! building parts My scrap basket was a perfect place to pull shapes that were already partially cut into bits of inspiration as a starting point. I also dipped into my fat quarter stash to find the right color and larger pieces when needed. It was a weekend of scissors, freehand rotary and stitching with no pins. Definitely my kind of fun. composing with "chunks" I've worked this method enough to know not to get too attached to what I see mid-way on the design board. Things change and evolve as I sew parts together and I try to remind myself of that. Although it may look random, in the moment, when I'm in the zone, there are a ton of composition decisions being made. The photo above shows the the left and right quadrant on the design wall separated and the photo below showed them overlapped and pinned in place. With gentle curves I can get away with no pins which I prefer to help keep the momentum going but there are steps near the end where pinning in place to position the key visual "connections" is helpful. rare pinning in place before the glue Excess is left until after I've sewn the joint as seen below in this underside process shot. The split egg shape has become a favorite thing to include and something I'd like to explore in a series. underside before trimmed Here's a link to see the blocks Leanne has received from my other mates HERE. There is something so satisfying when they are all together and also a huge relief to see proof that it didn't get lost in the mail. Split Egg - a Future Series Maximalist Circles for Leanne November 2016 Waves Depth Flow block for Felicity March 2017 Block for Di 2015 One of my fist BeeSewcial blocks and a design that I'd love to super size into a quilt is this one for Di. I think that subconsciously it sparked the "Reflections" theme that I chose when it was my turn back in 2015.
It's Week 1 of the 30 Days of Improv Quilt Along and this week it's all about quilt play with improv stripes!
from my Quilt Festival class with Jean Wells Keenan - Intuitive Color and Design.
stack improv curves tutorial
Happy Wednesday! Today I have a different type of quilt project to share, wall art! This project took a long time to come about. I picked up these blocks and coordinating scraps off of a sharing table at Camp Stitchalot hosted by Pink Castle Fabrics in Pleasant Lake, MI either in 2012 or 2013. I can't remember which. I also don't know who made them! (if it was you, please let me know!) They sat in my stash for many years until this past Summer when I decided I needed a big piece of artwork for above our mantel. I knew I wanted to make something, so I came around to the idea of stretching some patchwork over a frame. If you're looking for some inspiration, I recommend checking out the work of Heather Jones. I couldn't find a frame the dimensions I wanted, so I made it with some lumber I already had on hand. I made mine similar to this tutorial. My frame finished at 48" wide and 34" tall. The piece ended up being a little too big for our mantel, but worked perfectly in our dining room. Unfortunately I took absolutely no process photos of making this. I made the decision to use these blocks and made the entire top in one afternoon, so it was pretty spontaneous. I made two blocks from the matching scraps and used various off white scraps and yardage from my stash to sash the blocks and border the patchwork. When it came time to stretching it over the frame, I decided to add a layer of plain kona white underneath, to make it more opaque. I didn't want the frame to show through. Then I slowly stretched it over the frame and secured the pieces with staples. There is a lot of room for improvement if I made another piece like this, but it was really fun! I am thinking I would like a smaller piece for over the mantel eventually, just need to decide on a design and colors. I do think it suits more organic lines and shapes since the seams do get somewhat warped when stretched. So something scrappy and improvisational would be great. Here is a video showing the back and more on how I put it together. This was a super satisfying project, and I already had everything on hand to make it. This big piece of artwork cost $0 extra dollars to make, which is pretty darn cool. Plus I was finally able to use up these fun blocks. I hope that the person who made them likes what they became! I'm just glad they aren't sitting in my drawer anymore and I can enjoy them everyday!
Yes! I made my first video tutorial! Can you believe it?! It was fun.... and DEFINITELY homemade! ;) I think figuring out how to export it (file format and all those details), and then uploading it was the hardest part. It took a couple of tries to film it, and then I about cut it in half - editing out all the unnecessary details. I tried to add some comic relief in the boring parts. ;) Here is the block that I end up making. I used all scraps - so it's not really anything that I'll probably use, but at least you can see how the diagonal and curved piecing turn out. :) The whole thing was inspired by this block that I made for the Moody Blues 2 Group, and I had a question from Annabella, if I knew of any tutorials on how to do improv. I couldn't think of any, so I just made one up. :) I made my hubby suffer through the video for some input before publishing it. He actually like it! And he doesn't know very much about sewing. I hope you like it too!! (It's a little long, but even my hubby was surprised when I told him how long it was. So hopefully it will be fast for you.) :) At least for me it is loading slowly, so I am working on figuring out how to compress it so it will load faster! I'll update this if I can get it fixed. Otherwise, hopefully it will be faster for you. If you have questions or feedback (or suggestions for making better videos - maybe get an actual tripod?! lol.) please be sure to let me know!! :) I'd love to know what you think! Thanks!
This quilt-inspired block printing tutorial is a creative way to add character to fabric. Together we will carve a block and stamp!
My improv pieced curve quilt is finished. In my bid to practice sewing pieced curves, I got out a bunch of 5" squares that I had left over from a previous project and took to them with my rotary cutter. It was a little scary at the beginning, but I'm so glad that I made it... and finished it. I learned a lot about curved piecing along the way - the right ways of doing it, and the wrong. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, it seems that I sewed my curves together the 'wrong' way. I had the concave and convex curves in the opposite order when I made these blocks, but hey, they worked just fine. I finished off my quilt with a cute backing fabric print and spiral quilting. I even added a hanging sleeve to the back, but just need some dowel from the hardware store. I'm counting this as my OMG finish for February 2020. Yay!!
Kawandi is a style of quilt created by the Siddi people of India, traditionally done by hand. It is truly scrappy and improvisational. While I like doing hand work, I was also intrigued by faster machine methods. I've listed some resources at the end of this tutorial if you are interested in creating Kawandi by hand, want to see another machine tutorial, want to see some footage of Siddi creating Kawandi by hand, and a discussion of creating Kawandi in your own style. This tutorial describes a new way of creating Kawandi by machine. These are NOT traditional Kawandi, but inspired by the joy and movement of Kawandi-style. I started with a background piece of fabric approximately 8x10", a piece of batting of the same size, and many scraps of batiks or quilting cottons. 1) Place the background over the batting, right side up (this is a quilt as you go technique, so the batting is incorporated from the beginning. 2) Place 4 scraps in the corners, right side DOWN - NOTE I'm using batiks in these examples, so its hard to tell that these pieces are upside down. In this image, you are looking at what will be the WRONG side of those scrap corners. 3) Begin UNDERLAPPING adjoining scraps into the corners. Fold approximately 1/4 inch on the side that will go UNDER the corner. Again, the scraps are placed upside down. Pin the piece in place along the edge. This will be machine sewn. 4) When you get to the next corner, fold the 1/4 inch on both sides of the scrap because it will go under 2 pieces of fabric. 5) Continue folding and underlapping scraps, pinning along the outer edge until you get the entire edge filled. Notice that it doesn't matter if you use short scraps, or long scraps. And again, its impossible to tell from this image because I'm using batiks, but you are looking at the right side of the background, and the WRONG side of the colorful scraps. 6) Sew 1/4 in seam all the way around the edge, removing pins as you come to them. 7) Clip the 4 corners close to the seam, being careful not to cut the thread. 8) Turn right side out by flipping each scrap over the seam. Use a tool to poke out or pull out the corners. There should be no raw edges of fabric along the edge of the piece because they are either in the seam OR they are folded under. 9) Carefully press the outer edge - taking care not to press the batting, as it might melt depending on fiber content. 10) The result is a piece with finished edges like this: 11) Top stitch close to the edge, This will secure all the folded under edges of each scrap. 12) When you are on the 4th side, approaching the beginning of your stitch line, turn the corner about 1/4" or 3/8" before you get there, to start the 'spiral' of stitching. The next steps are done just like Kawandi by hand, but you continue sewing on the machine. 13) To place the next piece, fold under 2 edges. Finger press or iron as necessary. Overlap the unfinished edges of previous scraps. 14) to place a color into a long strip, fold under 3 edges, staying aware of where you will place another scrap to overlap. 15) To keep a small scrap straight as you sew over the edge, it may be necessary to use long tweezers or stiletto. 16) Continue placing scraps and sewing in concentric rectangles, into the center. Note: this picture is from another project than the ones above. 17) Prepare the final scrap by folding under all 4 sides, and sewing the ever smaller rectangles/squares of stitching. 18) For the piece made of batiks, I decided the center "squares" looked better on the diagonal. Although not traditional at all, I've already broken so many 'rules', that I just decided to make this mine. Also, I'm aware that traditional Kawandi have 'folded flowers' in the 4 corners. Include them if you wish. Make it yours! Paula RESOURCES: How to make a Kawandi by hand by Kieren Dutcher https://youtu.be/yFd0xEfKeto How to make a Kawandi by machine (with binding) by Mel Beach https://pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com/2019/03/modern-kawandi-making.html Margaret Fabrizio travels to India to learn Kawandi from Siddi quilters: https://youtu.be/WqdIswL96q4 Margaret Fabrizio shows her own Kawandi quilts, and talks about making them in her own style. https://youtu.be/4NRxqOqp_UA
While we continue to cover the exhibitions from QuiltCon West that was in Pasadena, California in February of this year, we know QuiltCon East will be in Savannah, Georgia in 2017, AND we now know …
Creating a quilt without a pattern can be hard - here's a few ideas on how to start with your own improvisational quilt-making process, including how to choose quilt colours. Using hand slow stitching, applique, embroidery & instinct you can create your own Fear-Less quilt. Make your own textile
The Kentucky Quilt Project
Hi Everyone, Well, my first day of spring break was completely unproductive. But it felt GOOD to be unproductive! haha! Thank you so much for all of your positive feedback and comments on my finished project. I really appreciate them. I am very excited by how Finding my Marbles turned...
Organizing your scraps for improv is a little different than organizing them for more precise piecing. Improv scraps don’t have to be any particular size, and sometimes those awkward cuts are just what you need to add a spark to an improv block. I keep small, colorful baskets at the back of my cutting table, organized roughly by color. Any scraps from cutting other projects that are larger than about an inch go into the appropriate basket. Of course, you don’t have to keep scraps that small if you don’t want to—it’s up to you to decide how small is too small to keep. Often I’ll sew the smaller scraps together into units so they are less likely to get lost in the basket. When I’m working on a new quilt—maybe with warm, summer colors—I dump out the basket of reds and let the scraps lead the way. I have a second basket for my leftovers. I often make more blocks or units than I need for a particular project so I’ll have choices when creating my designs. Or because I’m an improv artist, I’ll put a unit together to see how the colors and shapes work together and—um, they don’t. Or at least they don’t for that particular design. All those extras and leftovers live in their own basket. I never throw them away, even if I hate them! Sometimes those abandoned units or blocks are perfect to jumpstart my next design or to add interest to a current project. Time Travel, above, was made almost entirely from scraps and leftovers—the only part that I made from new fabric was the curved red and green borders. In Lime Medley, above, I challenged myself to make a quilt using a variety of lime green scraps I had for the background. Many of the improv units were created using leftovers from my basket. The important thing about using scraps for improv is that you devise a way to keep your scraps so you can get to them easily and use them often. You can find more ideas for handling your scraps and more in my book, Artful Improv: Explore Color Recipes, Building Blocks & Free Motion Quilting. You can enter to win a free copy of my book right here: a Rafflecopter giveaway. Giveaway ends 9/15. What's your favorite way to keep track of your scraps? Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Learn techniques to tame silk's challenging qualities and create gorgeous silk quilts, breathing life into quilt projects ranging from bed-sized quilts to home decor items. Master the art of quilting with cherished silk fabrics! Learn techniques to tame silk's challenging qualities and create gorgeous silk quilts! From working with reclaiming materials like ties, scarves, and garments to exploring the history of sericulture and its use in historic quilts, you'll find the secrets to quilting with silks. Discover key techniques when working with silks, including traditional machine piecing with fusible interfacing, improv piecing, fabric foundation piecing, fussy cutting, applique, finishing, and more! From sarees to kimono, you'll explore ways to combine various silks in one project. Put newfound skills to work, breathing life into quilt projects that range from bed-sized quilts to home decor items. Perfect for quilters of all skill levels, whether you're a traditionalist or a modern enthusiast. Work your way to zero waste and transform your sentimental attire and textiles into treasured heirlooms with confidence. Find inspiration in the projects and stunning photo gallery included, making this book the perfect guide for crafting memory quilts from your loved one's clothing. Illustrations, color
Sewing curved pieces or strips usually scares off most quilters but with these simple key concepts the results are amazing every time.
What do you get when you add art to scrap quilting? Scrap art quilts, of course! These beautiful designs will inspire you to create your own.
Some of the things I finished / made this year include two improv quilts, a massive woven wall hanging, lots of stitching work, and all the beautiful colours from my garden and landscape
I’d like you to meet the quilt date for May – his name is Trey. I don’t think he’s exactly a technique, more an approach to combining fabrics and colors for design purposes. I met this guy as an exercise in a Nancy Crow strip-piecing workshop. She had us make strip sets with three pieces, either black-white-black or white-black-white. Within each color combination we would make several sets of varying widths. Then we would slice the strip sets crosswise and recombine them. It was amazing how many different variations you could come up with using this approach. At the time I was so firmly tied to the traditional concept of making quilts from rectangular blocks that I could do nothing else with these strips, but I was struck by some photos that Nancy showed from a recent workshop she had taught in Europe. She told us that students in Europe tended to be more sophisticated about art and more willing to let their imagination run free, and sure enough, many of their compositions were not at all block-based – they went off on diagonals and formed irregular shapes and did all kinds of things that I couldn’t make mine do. I did immediately make one major piece using this approach, using commercial solid colors. My strips sets were either dark-light-dark or light-dark-light, and I arranged them to make a dark shape on a light background. Hot L Baltimore Some years later I returned to the concept of the three-strip block to make a series of quilts using my dyed, discharged and painted fabrics. I had accumulated a huge box full of interesting fabrics that I could never figure out what to do with. The surface design was beautiful, but not striking enough to let me just plonk it out there as a whole-cloth quilt. But I didn’t want to cut up the beautiful fabric into small pieces and lose everything that made it special. Finally I figured out that cutting medium-sized pieces was a good way to split the difference. The blocks in these quilts are about 7” square. Most of the blocks consist of three strips, cut from longer strip sets. The occasional accent block is made from a single fabric rather than three strips. I liked this approach because it showed off my interesting fabrics, yet the three-strip organization gave some cohesive structure to the quilts. War Zone 1: Firefight War Zone 2: Desert Storm If you’d like to get to know Trey, your first date might be any of these three variations: black and white, dark and light colors, or interesting surface-designed fabrics. When you make strip sets, you need to be careful in sewing and pressing so they end up straight instead of curved. A curving seam usually means that you have pulled on your top strip as you sewed. Your first clue might have been that you started with strips exactly the same length, but when you got to the end of the seam the top strip extended a half inch or so beyond the bottom strip. One way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to pin the strips every ten inches or so. Another is to concentrate on how you are holding the top strip – don’t put any tension at all on the strip, just position it properly side-to-side, let it fall onto the bottom strip, and let the machine pull both of them simultaneously under the needle. When you press your strip sets, pay attention to laying them straight on the ironing board and make sure they don’t curve under your iron. You can even correct a little bit of sewing curvature by careful pressing. Make several strip sets at least 12” long in different combinations of colors and widths. Then slice them into pieces and arrange those pieces into blocks or shapes. You’ll want to use your design wall to try out different arrangements. For the first date, make your strip sets approximately the same width. For instance, you could have some sets with three 2-inch strips, and some with two 1-inch strips and a 4-inch strip, but they’d all be about 6 inches wide, so you can easily sew pieces together into a square or rectangle. Some possible arrangements include: Blocks in rail-fence arrangement (this photo shows both Y-O-Y and O-Y-O, but you could use blocks from just one color pattern) Columns Nine-patch blocks Diagonal slices If you like this technique, here are some ideas for the second date: • Do the same thing on a larger scale than your sample. • Change your color palette – if you tried black and white, add some color; if you tried monochrome, add another hue or try another color. • Change your scale – make larger or smaller strip sets. • Combine different widths of strip sets or sizes of blocks. • Or anything else that strikes your fancy. Let me know how it works out. If you want to send me a picture of what you made, I’ll post it. Have fun!
A couple of weeks ago, Moda hosted a blog hop called "Spell it with Fabric". I pinned every single alphabet and number and punctuation mark, and you can find it on my Pinterest board here. It was so much fun to choose the fabrics!!! I chose red for "A" because it reminds me of apple. "B" is for blue. "C" is for my cute little grand daughter Charlotte, and me, Cynthia. This fabric is Mary Engelbreit, which makes me think of cherries. I just like the blue and gold together ;) I love this olive green with the paisley orange. "F" is for flower. I thought there would me more of a contrast if I used a solid color letter and flowered background. I pinned some completed quilts to my board also. This is as far as I got, I spent 2 evenings sewing these letters, it was my "fun" project. Now I have things I have to get done, like my son's tee shirt quilt!
I was a lucky enough to be asked to teach at the Valdez Quilt Festival this year, and as the termination dust settles on our mountains, I finally have time to share what a great adventure that was.…
Okan Arts Quilting & Textile Tours to Japan are open for booking. To learn more +click here By Victoria Stone YOKOHAMA JP One of the great joys of a quilt show is being able to get up close and personal with the pieces on display. I managed to get close enough to look at several incredible quilts, and I am excited to share them with you! To see a post full of quilt photos from the 2022 Yokohama International Quilt Show +click here # # # # # ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria sell Japanese textiles online, host creative quilting experiences, and lead quilting & textile tours to Japan. FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
Copy Right Anne Ibach 2021 (I’m really happy that a lot of people are making this bag! Since it’s free, when you post a photo of your bag on social media, please credit me, use the hash…
Hi! This is Wendi, and I am the project manager for our Q2 community outreach quilt. Once again we've agreed to make a quilt for Fisher House of the Emerald Coast supporting their silent auction and gala, a major fundraising event which benefits military and military families during times of medical need. The vision for 2017's quilt is a bed of roses - literally! The blocks are improvisationally pieced roses inspired by Corey Yoder's Newtown Auction Pillow. Corey used a Quilt As You Go (QAYG) method, but our roses are going to remain unquilted until the top is put together. Using the method below, you may create roses any size between 6" and 18". As you can see, these blocks are not square, so you will have estimate their size. They can be any color that you might see actual roses growing in a garden, although you might wish to stay away from white, since our background is going to be low volume on white. The blocks are super scrappy, but try to stay within one general color family - reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, etc. It's ok if your fabrics have other colors in them, but the fabrics should "read" your primary color. So get out your scrap bag and let's get started. Choose a small scrap of yellow or orange for your center. Since my block is going to be orange, I chose yellow. If your block is square, cut some of the corners off so that it is NOT square. I like to start out with 5 sides. Choose the fabric for your first strip. It should be between 1" and 2-1/2" wide and slightly longer than the side of the center you intend to attach it to. You may use solids mixed in with your prints, but please do not use all solids. I generally start with narrower pieces and gradually add wider strips. Remember that you will be trimming the width frequently, so try not to begin with extremely narrow pieces. Tip 1: Since the pieces in my scrap box tend to be very wrinkled, I find it helpful to press each piece before I sew them together. You may use starch, but I find that a light sprinkling of water or steam works well. Tip 2: Since some of your edges will be on the bias, be careful not to stretch too much when you stitch and press. Tip 3: Be sure to use a 1/4" seam. Seams that are too narrow tend to fray and pull apart, and we want our quilts to have quality construction. Sew the two fabrics together. Press the seam away from the center. Trim off the excess. Trim the other side. Try to avoid 90-degree angles. Repeat the process on another center edge. Stitch. Press. Trim. Trim the other side. Repeat, building your rose "log-cabin style", adding a new strip to the next side in order, although it doesn't matter if you build to the left or to the right each time. Stitch. Press. Trim. Here, I trimmed off the 2nd strip so that it was at an angle. Be sure to leave more than 1/4" all along your strip for your seam allowance. Trim the other side and cut your strips at different angles each time to give interest to your "rose." Repeat the entire process - Stitch. Press. Trim.... working your way around and around your "rose." Trim off odd corners and try to avoid 90-degree angles and straight strips. If you notice that you have a "corner" approaching 90-degrees, cut it off. As your "rose" grows, this will create a number of new "sides" to your flower. Keep adding rows... Pressing... Trimming... Avoiding straight strips and 90-degree corners... And "grow" or "build" your flower... Around and around until you are satisfied with its size... Give it one last trim.... Until it makes you happy. I try to balance the colors to avoid all the darker fabrics being on one side, but honestly, no matter how you put them together, these "roses" are pretty. If you have any questions, give me a shout!
Next chapter of solo travel in France... I leave Honfluer on the west coast of France and take a high speed TGV train into Paris' Gare St. Lazarre. There are five train stations in Paris, each with transportation to and from certain regions, so I need to get from Gare St. Lazarre to Gare L'Est so I can make my way east to the town of Colmar, my base for the European Patchwork Festival. I decided to walk between the two stations. (Since people have asked, I travel with a medium sized backpack with a change of clothes for three days. It's light enough and easy to navigate all the stairs, cobblestones, etc.) The beauty, charm, and history often takes my breath a way! A brief down pour. I take refuge under an awning of a tea shop for fifteen minutes. These three French pigeons take their own refuge! Time to keep walking. This is the big shopping area of Lafayette. Finally, I make it in time for my train! I find this magazine in the newspaper stand. I take it as confirmation that I am where I am supposed to be! "ici and maintenant" translates to "here and now". LOVE that! I am up early the next morning and leave for the Patchwork festival. Here's my hotel in Colmar. My single room is up in the attic! It's a taxi ride, to the train, to a bus ride, through delightful landscape. Hooray! I get right down to business and look through the small market first. Ha! Liberty fabric! Drum roll please... patchwork! The quilts are spread out through four charming towns with a free shuttle running between them. It took me a full eight hours to make it from one end to the other. Quilts are displayed in churches, halls, store fronts, community buildings. All four towns are saturated with quilts and quilters! These two ladies took advantage of the crowds and set up a lunch stand. Look at the size of that loaf! My sandwich and nutella muffin were delicious! OK, back to more patchwork... LOVE this one! This was a group quilt. I really enjoy quilts when the humor shines through. Unfortunately, I start to realize I am going to run out of battery power for my camera. I apologize for not photographing all the artist's names! This one is for you LeeAnn! And then my battery dies! I spend a few minutes feeling crabby and mad at my self. Then I let it go and really enjoy just looking and being in the moment with the quilts. It becomes a nice balance of having camera/tourist syndrome and being an awake and present human! Great show, wonderful experience, completely unique. I just love thinking of other nutty/addicted/creative ladies worldwide expressing themselves through patchwork! C'est manifique
Hi Everyone, Well, my first day of spring break was completely unproductive. But it felt GOOD to be unproductive! haha! Thank you so much for all of your positive feedback and comments on my finished project. I really appreciate them. I am very excited by how Finding my Marbles turned...
I shared this finish with you last week, but I took pictures while making the facing as I thought some of you might be interested in learning how I did it. First I cut 2 1/2 inch strips and pressed…
23"x24" BeeSewcial November 2017 When I read the description for November's #BeeSewcial block : Maximalism, fun, happy, all color, no rules, no rulers proposed by Leanne @shecanquilt let's just say I was thrilled. "Time to laugh and play" how cool is that for prompt?! building parts My scrap basket was a perfect place to pull shapes that were already partially cut into bits of inspiration as a starting point. I also dipped into my fat quarter stash to find the right color and larger pieces when needed. It was a weekend of scissors, freehand rotary and stitching with no pins. Definitely my kind of fun. composing with "chunks" I've worked this method enough to know not to get too attached to what I see mid-way on the design board. Things change and evolve as I sew parts together and I try to remind myself of that. Although it may look random, in the moment, when I'm in the zone, there are a ton of composition decisions being made. The photo above shows the the left and right quadrant on the design wall separated and the photo below showed them overlapped and pinned in place. With gentle curves I can get away with no pins which I prefer to help keep the momentum going but there are steps near the end where pinning in place to position the key visual "connections" is helpful. rare pinning in place before the glue Excess is left until after I've sewn the joint as seen below in this underside process shot. The split egg shape has become a favorite thing to include and something I'd like to explore in a series. underside before trimmed Here's a link to see the blocks Leanne has received from my other mates HERE. There is something so satisfying when they are all together and also a huge relief to see proof that it didn't get lost in the mail. Split Egg - a Future Series Maximalist Circles for Leanne November 2016 Waves Depth Flow block for Felicity March 2017 Block for Di 2015 One of my fist BeeSewcial blocks and a design that I'd love to super size into a quilt is this one for Di. I think that subconsciously it sparked the "Reflections" theme that I chose when it was my turn back in 2015.
These charming little quilts are inspired by Mid-Century Modern design, and are a great skill-building project to learn a number of quilting techniques. Work small, work smart, look great. 3 […]
Busy week but finally here is part 2 of the Improvisation category from the QuiltCon 2016 exhibitions put on by The Modern Quilt Guild, this year in Pasadena, next in Savannah!
I thought the hard part was done when I finished piecing the arcs for this project. The original design calls for the background to be the same color as the lighter stripes…or as the darker s…
