Tag: Color Improv Series

The Swamp Thing Continues

Green Improv #2 (The Swamp Thing) in process
Green Improv #2 (The Swamp Thing) in process

Slowly, but surely I am making progress on this green improv donation quilt. I am exclusively using it as leaders and enders so I can finish it for the guild Community Quilts project.

It is about 40 inches wide and I want to make it that long as well. That is about the minimum useful size for a baby quilt, I think.

It is fun to remember quilts and bags I have made with the various fabrics in this piece. I am pleased to be cleaning out the random bits of green, but it is hard going. Piecing ‘made’ fabric takes time.

Green Improv Coming Along

Green Improv piece - August 2024
Green Improv piece – August 2024

I have made some progress on the Green Improv #2 donation top. This is the second green improv, though the first one was called The Green Thing. Perhaps I should call #2 The Swamp Creature. LOL!

I started using the green scraps I had already pinned together in the green scrap drawer. It was easy to make progress by using them as leaders and enders while I worked on other projects, such as the Ombre Weave quilt. It is amazing how pieces grow larger if I actually work on them!

it is about 36 inches wide now. I’d like the piece to be minimum 40×40 inches. I don’t really want to put a border on it. I’d like it to matches the other quilts in this series, but I may, if I can’t get it large enough. I was thinking of scattering bits of improv in between sashing. I would want to do that with green solids and I don’t know that I have enough green solids to make the idea work. It is a thought I’ll keep in the back of my mind if I need it.

Grey Improv Donation Top

Grey Improv donation top start
Grey Improv donation top start

The grey improv top is looking good! It’s been a few weeks since I talked about this piece. I am very pleased.

Yes, I have made some good progress and I really like the way it is turning out. This piece is approximately 24.5 w x 17.25 tall. I have some sewing to do before it can be considered large enough for a donation quilt. Still, I really like it and it is shaping up nicely.

I am still concerned I won’t have enough scraps to make it large enough. I am trying not to worry about it. Sometimes I can’t help it.

Black Improv Donation Top Continues

Black Improv donation top in progress
Black Improv donation top in progress

It’s been a few weeks since I talked about this piece. The black pieces are getting larger and my scrap bin is getting emptier.

This is a lot more active than the grey, which you will see in a few days. Those stripes really make this piece dynamic. I think it needs some space for the eye to rest, though. I’ll have to work on that.

Black and Grey Improv Donation Tops Start

Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts
Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts

Because it can’t really be helped, I have started the Improv color quilts for the black-grey-brown scrap drawer. These miscellaneous pieces will end up being two donation quilts at some point in the Color Improv series.

Ignore the pink and grey 16 patch at the top. Design wall space is at a premium these days.

As you can see I have a lot of black pieces from working on the black strip donation blocks. There is also a slowly growing grey piece that I think has promise. One thing I notice about it is that most of it is made up of squares and rectangles.

I am not sure if I’ll have enough to make two whole quilts, but we will see.

Improv from Strip Quilts

As you have seen when I have made other Color Strip donation tops, they have been followed by an improv version. I have been putting a few pieces together from the black/grey/brown (mostly black and grey) scrap bin, but it isn’t going well.

Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts
Leftovers from black/grey strip quilts

Well, I have made chunks of improvisationally pieced fabric, but mostly they are unsatisfactory. Also, I am not sure if I have enough small scraps to make three quilts. I also am not sure I want to combine the three colors into one quilt.

The grey piece looks really good and I don’t really want to ruin it. The others are meh.

I am tempted to bring them to the guild and see who wants to work on them.

Red Improv Donation Quilt Finished

Red Improv donation quilt finished
Red Improv donation quilt finished

Also thanks to Erin, the Red Improv donation quilt is done. This one is also more than 4 years old.

Along with the Orange Improv version from the other day, seeing this quilt finished reminds me of how great this process is. It makes me want to make more

The other color versions that I have made over time are really awesome as well and add to the idea of making more.

Right now my black, grey and brown drawer is overflowing. I have made a few black strip blocks, the first step in my process, but not enough to clear out my drawer. I talked about it with guild members the other day about cheerful quilts. Black is not always a cheerful quilt color like pink or orange. Someone suggested doing a two color version. I don’t think I am ready to branch out from the monochromatic parameters of the project so far.

Yellow Improv Donation Quilt

Yellow Improv donation quilt - finished
Yellow Improv donation quilt – finished

I went the last BAM meeting of the year the other and got to see some of my donation tops finished. This one, was quilted by Erin and I was so pleased to see it finished.

It didn’t even languish for that long. I finished the top and back in April.

The quilting is really hard to see and I didn’t take the time to look at it up close at the meeting, but I am sure it is great. Thanks, Erin, for collaborating!

Yellow Improv Donation Quilt

One of the good things about writing my 26 Projects posts is that I sometimes find projects I forgot to write about. This is one of those times.

Yellow Improv Donation Top
Yellow Improv Donation Top

I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about the Yellow Improv donation quilt. Yes! I finished it. I was super happy to do so. Peggy already has it and I think someone already decided to quilt it.

I am not fond of those big chunks on the left, but I used every yellow scrap I had so I had to get some yardage out to use.

The piece turned out ok. I am not a huge fan of yellow.  Still, I am glad I did it.

Yellow Improv In Progress

Yellow Improv Donation Top in progress
Yellow Improv Donation Top in progress

I decided I needed to get this one finished. All the projects left on my design walls when I put them away were a lot less interesting when I saw them again. I didn’t want to toss them, but I did want them finished.

I started it last year sometime. The first time I talked about it was July, which was right before we dismantled my workroom. I was concerned at that time that I wouldn’t have enough scraps to make a decent sized baby quilt. It’s still a concern as I am piecing tiny scraps together and expect to have no yellow scraps left.

I spent time over the weekend making good progress.

Yellow Improv Grows

Yellow Improv Donation Top in Progress
Yellow Improv Donation Top in Progress

Slowly but surely this piece is growing. The top section, which I think of as the main piece, is about 20×20 now. I am working on growing the bottom piece to fit on to the top piece. At the moment the bottom piece is  made up of 3 different pieces.

I find that I need triangles in these pieces to add interest. The additional, non-yellow, colors add interest, but I find that if I have too many squares and rectangles the eye doesn’t move around as much. In this piece, however, there isn’t much contrast and that helps the eye not linger on the squares and rectangles.

I learned this from the Green Thing, the first top in this series. Those bars, which aren’t even really green, provide a focal point, but I find that the focal point takes away from the rest of the quilt. Good thing I’ll have enough green scraps to make another!

More Yellow Improv

Yellow Strip Improv blocks - Mid-May 2021
Yellow Strip Improv blocks – Mid-May 2021

In between working on Scrap Dash, I made more yellow Improv blocks. I don’t have a tons of yellow scraps and I’ll be lucky if I can make this quilt and a straight Improv version like the other colors I have made. I’ll definitely be able to finish this one, but I have had to add chunks to the blocks. I don’t have enough strips to make all the blocks just from strips.

I sewed way more than one seam throughout the day. I felt kind of manic about these blocks. Even though I was working on Scrap Dash, I wanted to make progress on this quilt as well. I am pleased with the progress.