Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
I started off the month continuing to make white strip blocks. The bin really was not organized well and I found a whole new selection of strips I could use to make blocks partway through. I was up to a total (not just the ones made in October) of 40 white strip blocks early in the month, but continued to make them. I like my scrap bins to be as empty as possible. The white bin is proving to be a challenge to empty.
I finished Sidewalk #4 very quickly. I wanted to turn it in at Sew Day since the pieces were clogging up my workspace.
This is partially because my design walls are full. I have a lot going on (Country Revival/Sad Quilt, Patchwork Palooza, Four Patch Fun, 2 other Sidewalk quilts, Circle quilt). I even had to use the floor since there is no room on any design wall. Very hard on my back, but I was on a mission.
I definitely need to think about less white in the Half 16 Patch blocks. This quilt is VERY white and you don’t really get the sidewalk effect with so much white.
I have been working on some green and blue Sidewalk blocks with white and I may use a different color for the background.
I was very surprised at how well this back went together. I didn’t worry about eeking every little inch out of the fabric. I got enough pieces out and cut there where I needed to. It means I have more scraps to cut up as well as a finished back.
The stripes in this piece are really striking. The rainbow stripes from Chain Link make this piece less depressing than it might be if I had excluded them.
I am pleased that I finally finished this piece. It has been on the design wall for more than a year and it is a relief to get it to the Community Quilt team.
I am pleased with the way it came out. Most of these improv quilts are hard to pass along.
I worked on the Black Improv a lot, which doesn’t really have blocks, so that means fewer for this post. I added a few blocks in green and white to my stash of pieces for the next Sidewalk.
I finished working on the Black Improv top quicker than expected. Since it was already out and not completely empty, I kept the Black-Grey-Brown scrap bin out and made a few blocks from brown and grey. I just wanted to lighten the box up a little bit more. I don’t have much brown and I used all the strips to make the brown strip blocks you see below. I also made a couple of grey blocks and one black strip block. I’ll save these for another rainbow strip quilt or when I get enough Black-Grey-Brown strip blocks.
Once I was done with the Black-Grey-Brown strips, I got out the white bin, which was overflowing – again- and started in on white strip blocks. I don’t know whether I’ll make a white strip quilt like the last one or make a Sidewalk quilt with a color for the background. I like the idea of a blue background.
I have numbered the black strip block as #10, but I don’t really know what number it is. I suspect it is about #41 since I made one black strip donation quilt. Still, the other blocks aren’t numbered, so here we are.
I started Sidewalk #4. As you can see from the photo, I am using my design floor. The design walls are full. I can’t take Country Revival/The Sad Quilt off the large design wall until I get more sewn.
Sidewalk is too big for the small design wall so design floor it is. Not my preference, but needs must. Too many projects on the go, so I needed to get one of them off my list.
I have been randomly sewing Half 16 Patch blocks to the white background pieces as leaders and enders, so I have a small start. I have a lot to do, however. The Community quilt team for the guild really needs backs, so that is an extra step. I know I normally do it, but was considering being lazy this time. More fabric used, however.
I have been working diligently on the Black Improv. Surprisingly it is getting quite large. Not king-sized or anything, but large for one of my donation quilts.
After having this piece languish for a long time, I thought it would be a chose to finish it. Even though I am not finished yet, I am having fun working on it. So many stripes!!
I am using the strips I cut for color strip blocks to make the quilt bigger and to make the piecing a little easier. I know I will make more black scraps at some point, so why not?
At the widest and tallest points in the photo above, the piece is 38w x 35l. It is getting to be the size I like giving to the Community Giving project.
I haven’t made much progress on this piece, but I haven’t given on it either. After I posted about the most recent Color Improv finishes, I got some nice feedback and decided to get back to this piece.
I had a couple of the strip blocks and I decided to add them to the piece so as to make it larger sooner.
It has been a struggle, because I have the half 16 patch blocks for the next Sidewalk quilt as leaders and enders as well as the Four Patch Fun piecing.
So much quilty goodness!!
I quickly completed Cosmic Crazy over the weekend so it would be ready when I went to Sew Day. I didn’t know how much time I would have to sew after my mom’s surgery.
I didn’t have the kind of gold fabric I was imagining, so I used this yellow with red dots. I hope that it isn’t too ugly.
I used some greens as the back and am calling this one done. Not a great work, but someone will like it. At least that is what I am telling myself.
Mostly, I am trying to stock up on Half 16 patch blocks so I can make another Sidewalk quilt. A couple are from Sew Day. I am cutting some 4.5 x 8.5 inch rectangles from larger scraps and yardage to make another Sidewalk quilt from plain pieces of fabric. I am not including those ‘panels’ here as they are not really that interesting since there is no piecing.
I wasn’t able to make the guild meeting on the 17th, but Lee Ann was kind enough to send me some photos of the recently finished quilts.
The grey looks really great. This grey improv quilt is one of my favorites. I am kind of sad to see it go to some random person. I am sure that person will appreciate it.
Since I have been using quite a bit of grey recently, I expect to work on another in the not too distant future.
The recent green one is also finished. It is not a favorite, but I know someone will like it.
I really appreciate the other guild members’ efforts in finishing these. It allows me to do the parts I enjoy.
A few weeks ago, I talked about the Diamond Test project, which I turned into a donation quilt and top. When I found that project, I also found the piece in the photo.
I sort of remember getting the pack of rectangles and sewing them together because I didn’t want to cut the pieces up. The colors are incredibly vibrant. I can’t remember anything else about it. I can only think of it as Cosmic Crazy right now.
It is about 35 in x 35 in at the moment. I have it on my design wall while I think about what to do. My current thought is that I will add a gold border then another border and call it done. It will be another donation quilt.
I made good progress on Sidewalk #3 and was able to get this finished quickly. Using one patch, instead of improv piecing or Half 16 patch blocks, for the 8.5 inch x 4.5 inch units helped make the piecing go very quickly.
This is already with Laura waiting to be quilted.
I noticed after it was gone that I forgot to put a top border on. WTH? Oh well. I’ll do better next time.
I know I made a back for this quilt, but I didn’t take a picture of it. Again, WTH? Not like me at all.
At a recent guild meeting, we talked about themes for the Fair challenge. One idea was an ugly fabric challenge. Been there done that. I am not a fan.
When I was rummaging for the Handbag Sampler a few weeks ago, I found a few small pieces and some blocks about which I had forgotten. One of the pieces was a diamond test I worked one before I made the Fabric of the Year 2010 quilt and to test a border idea for one of the Bullseye quilts. I also found a post about it. I thought it was older, but I guess 15 years is old enough. This test was made with ugly fabrics. I think the outer brown might be a Civil War print. Yuck.
I didn’t remember making this when I saw it and knew I wasn’t going to make it the center of a quilt. I decided to make it into a donation quilt. My mantra is “someone will like it” whether I like it or not.
The color scheme was a bit depressing to me. That is one reason why I am not excited about an ‘ugly fabric’ challenge. I decided to pull out the greens. The more subtle greens in the background of the border print are hard to see, but the odd greens I found worked very well. I used a lot of green not only to make the quilt a decent size, but also to overwhelm the brown.
The piece wasn’t quite big enough, so I found some browns that weren’t hideous and added some additional strips. I didn’t have enough to put on both sides. I used two different prints that are similar colors.
The brown borders are ok. And I’ll be able to say I used some brown. 😉
The back was with the test piece. it started as that beige with the stripes around three sides. It was small, so I made it larger as well.
The blue improv top and back are finished and delivered to the community giving team.
I am not sure about the border, but I wanted it bigger and it is too late to go back now.
The border also kind of stabilizes all that improv piecing and bias edges.
I am doing quite a bit of rummaging in my fabric bins, so there are some interesting fabrics on the back.
I enjoy these improv pieces and may need to get back to the Black Improv piece pretty soon.
This is a different kind of Sidewalk design. I thought of this design after cutting some 4.5 x 8.5 rectangles for another another Rectangle donation quilt. Remember the first one I made last year?
I had cut enough rectangles to make another of those rectangle quilts. However, I saw that the size would work with this design as well. While I was on the sidewalk roll, I decided to try it. It will be super easy to sew together.